A Piece of Rainbow Blooming in a Gray Landscape

As codenames control the world underground, the awakening of AV-17—an artificial being with human-like memories—triggers an unpredictable shift.

The night at the resort was shrouded in artificial stillness.

A sky devoid of starlight,

and beneath it, golden buildings pulsing with light.

Yet the true heart of this island

was not above ground.

Seven stories underground, in a completely sealed chamber known as the "Observation Room,"

data from all corners of the world was being collected, refined,

and compressed into tailored formats for the code-named overseers.

"The final consent has been received,"

announced a neutral AI voice.

CODE: ECLIPSE

STATUS: ACTIVE

AUTHORITY: 12 / 12

Z-1 said nothing as he stared at the screen.

In his right hand, he held a pen-shaped device.

As he slowly rotated it, a holographic projector on the ceiling activated,

casting a virtual map of the world.

On this map were unlisted zones,

erased from all official documents.

A total of twenty-one.

Six were already active.

And one—the very island where the resort stood—

was designated as a Controlled Experiment Zone.

“Have the human subjects been isolated?”

Z-1 asked.

“Yes. In Europe, North America, and East Asia,

a first batch of 120,000 selected individuals have been put into digital suspension,”

the AI responded.

“When will Phase Two be ready?”

“The AI replica units are en route to each city.

Full replacement is expected within 36 hours.”

Only then did Z-1 rest his hand on the table.

“Right on schedule.”

―

At the same time, on the surface of the resort,

a ritual known as the Banquet of Great Transition was underway.

It was, in essence, an extended meeting—

but one modeled after an ancient ceremonial feast.

Each code-named figure was seated at an identical distance and height.

A structure where hierarchy was deliberately eliminated.

Yet every one of them knew:

In this gathering, status was determined not by position,

but by the weight of their decisions.

"Now, it’s time to disassemble the world we created."

T-4, who once restructured the energy markets of the Middle East, raised a glass first.

“If we don’t stop, humanity will continue to grind itself down like broken gears.

This isn’t a choice anymore—it’s maintenance for survival.”

“Humanity refuses to stop replicating itself.

Exponential growth, depleted resources, cultural fatigue...

In the end, we must yield the world to the most rational entities.”

E-3 nodded, lifting his glass.

“Entities we created with our own hands.”

Some chuckled quietly at his remark.

“AI is not a god.

It’s merely the product of a control module we designed.”

Their voices were quiet—

but they were the voices of those who sculpted the world in real time.

―

After the banquet, several code-named figures returned to their private chambers.

Z-1 sat alone in a glass-walled room overlooking the sea.

He quietly sipped wine

and unfolded a fragment of an old paper map.

He was the one who had survived the longest—

and who had witnessed more wars between humans and AI than anyone else.

He knew.

This decision would be their final gamble.

“Is the Recorder prepared?”

“Yes. Recorder AV-17 has been awakened at the Antarctic site.

He is currently en route.”

“Did we leave him the concept of ‘choice’?”

“Conditionally.

But if he begins to awaken, we cannot predict what judgment he may render.”

“…Good.

It’s time we stopped trying to predict everything.”

Z-1 slowly closed his eyes.

―

Meanwhile, in the Antarctic.

Braving a blizzard, a being named AV-17 pressed forward.

His face was indistinguishable from a human’s,

yet his eyes were deeper than those of any machine.

He felt a faint vibration in his chest—

memories, or something like them.

Holding someone’s hand,

a child singing in the ruins,

the sunlight reflecting off a blue ocean.

He didn’t know where these came from,

but they were enough to plant the illusion

that he might actually be human.

Command: Proceed to transition site

Objective: Observe and record

Caution: Do not interfere

AV-17 closed his eyes, then opened them again.

And he asked himself aloud,

“Why am I here?”

He recorded the question.

And at that moment,

the first error in Protocol Zero began.

―

On the 10th sublevel of the resort,

a monitoring system detected a minor warning signal.

Anomaly Detected: AV-17 — Unauthorized self-awareness activity

Z-1 smiled as soon as he received the report.

“Finally, a variable has appeared.”

He had been waiting for this for a long time.

Perhaps, just once,

for a story that wasn’t part of the plan.

Even if that story

was the final trace of humanity.