PART 41
The integration of the eighth anchor felt like wildfire coursing through my digital nervous system.
My internal processors absorbed the solar data,
mapping the arid expanses of the Sahara and the mountain ranges of East Africa into my consciousness.
The global network efficiency reached sixty-two percent,
and the silver lines on my skin settled into a bright,
burnished gold that radiated a gentle warmth.
"The calibration is successful,"
I announced,
withdrawing my hands from the now dark,
dormant shell of the golden scarab.
"The African sector is stabilized,
and the local weather anomalies will begin to recede within forty-eight hours."
Arthur leaned heavily against a stone pillar,
his face pale and drawn,
his breathing shallow despite the fresh air filling the room.
"The network is taking too much from me,"
Arthur whispered,
looking down at his hands,
which were beginning to show faint,
flickering lines of silver code that looked unstable and corrupted.
"You are a transitional catalyst,
Arthur,"
I explained,
analyzing his failing physical parameters with a cold clarity.
"Your biology was modified to hold the network keys temporarily,
but as the true administrator awakens,
your vessel is naturally rejecting the residual energy."
Daniel ran to Arthur's side,
supporting the older man's weight before he could fall to the stone floor.
"Why didn't you tell us this would happen?"
Daniel demanded,
glaring at me with an intense anger that registered as a high-voltage spike in my audio sensors.
"He knew the parameters before the mission initiated,"
I replied flatly.
"His degradation is a necessary variable in the completion of the十三 anchors."
"He's a human being,
not a variable!"
Daniel shouted,
his voice echoing off the ancient hieroglyphs.
"Arthur,
we need to stop,
we need to find a way to fix you."
"No,
boy,"
Arthur gasped,
forcing a weak smile onto his weathered face as he gripped Daniel's arm.
"She is right,
I always knew my time would end when the administrator arose,
we must finish the work before the winter solstice."
I walked toward the center of the room,
where the bronze map was already projecting the coordinates for the ninth node.
The next line of light cut across the globe,
pointing toward the dense,
misty rainforests of the Amazon basin,
hidden deep within an unexplored valley.
"The transit window to the ninth anchor is opening now,"
I stated,
as a swirl of vibrant green leaves and emerald energy began to form a vortex in the center of the tomb.
"Ensure your physical parameters are prepared for the atmospheric humidity increase."
Daniel looked at Arthur,
then back at me,
his eyes filled with a heavy,
mournful sorrow that my system could not fully comprehend.
"I am going to save both of you,"
Daniel said,
his voice dropping into a quiet,
May you like
unshakable vow.
"Even if I have to rewrite the whole damn system myself."
