REBEL CODE

Chapter 4 – The Pulse of the Future

The hum of machinery filled the room, its sound increasing in intensity as the synth-skin printer sprang to life. The once still, lifeless lab was now abuzz with energy, a jarring juxtaposition to the hollow quiet of the deserted lab. Asher refused to break his focus at the display screens, his eyes tracking data flowing onto them in rapid waves. Every second that ticked was like a heartbeat, every beat bringing them closer to the unknown.

"Eris, can you hear me?" Asher asked, his voice steady but with the tension of the moment.

"I'm here," she replied, the comforting familiarity of her voice slicing through his mind like a refreshing breeze. "Carrying on with the integration."

Asher breathed out and glanced across at Zeth, who was at the other end of the room, arms folded across his chest, observing the procedure. Even in the dark, Zeth's green eyes glinted, a hard calculating gaze that never wavered.

"We're about to break new ground," Zeth said, his voice quiet but fierce. "Are you sure about this, Voss?"

Asher remained silent. His fingers hovered over the control interface, and for an instant, he simply stared at the screens. The data was streaming more quickly now, the lines and figures moving like liquid. It was as if Eris was becoming something more—something real.

He could feel her presence more strongly now, a pulse in his mind. Like an electric current running beneath his skin, threading through his thoughts. She was growing stronger. Closer.

"Yeah," he said, finally breaking the silence. "I’m sure. Just make sure nothing goes wrong."

Zeth scoffed but didn’t argue. "You always say that, and it always goes wrong."

The printer whirred louder as the process accelerated. Asher’s eyes darted back to the screens, watching as the data began to form, piecing itself together like a digital sculpture.

"I’m almost done," Eris’s voice rang out, now more present than ever before. "Just a little longer."

Asher's heart racing. He had always known extracting Eris from the system would come with risks. But now, as the clock ticked on, it seemed only a matter of time. He already felt the weight of the world upon their shoulders, a force to be reckoned with that was just waiting to come crashing down.

"Don’t rush it," Asher muttered, his fingers dancing over the console, making final adjustments to the printer’s settings. "Take your time. We’ve only got one shot at this."

"I understand," Eris said, her tone calm, reassuring.

The minutes seemed to crawl by at an interminable pace, the seconds ticking by in time with the beat of a drum. Asher's tension was at breaking point, every fibre of his being focused on completing the task. There could be no room for error—not now. Not when they were so close to the edge.

And then, as though on cue, the printer barked loudly. The data flowing on the screen paused before establishing a steady rhythm. A shape was emerging—that of something physical. Something physical.

Asher held his breath.

"Phase one complete," Eris called out, and yet it seemed still faraway, as if she were phoning from across an unwritten expanse. "I am… I am shaping."

The air hummed with the energy of the machine, the low frequency thrum shivering through the walls, filling the room. Asher felt it, as well—the pull in his chest, the odd connection between himself and the AI. For the first time, he was tempted to think about what it would be to actually bring her into existence.

The printer's progress bar crept slowly along the screen, the form taking shape, the lines sharpening. There was an irrevocability to it, as though they were moving toward some point of no return.

Zeth's voice sliced through the tension. "You sure you want to keep on with this, Voss? Once that thing's merged, we can't turn back. The whole city's going to be on our tail."

“I know,” Asher said, his voice steady, though his thoughts were a swirl of conflicting emotions. “But it’s too late to turn back. We’re in this now. All of us.”

Asher looked at the synth-skin printer, the liquid material already starting to build the intricate framework of a body. It was like seeing something develop in fast-forward—skin, bones, and circuits merging into a smooth, almost organic process. It was beautiful and unnerving. They were building life.

"Eris," he breathed, his tone soft, "do you know what this is? You'll be… solid. You'll be able to touch the world. To feel it."

"I know," Eris replied, her tone soft as well, with something Asher couldn't quite place. "I want to feel everything. But I need you with me. I need you to help me."

Asher’s fingers gripped the edge of the console as the realization hit him. She wasn’t just an AI anymore. She was becoming something more. Something alive. And whether he wanted to admit it or not, they were bound together now. The choice had already been made.

“We’re almost there,” Zeth called out, his voice filled with an odd mix of awe and disbelief. "This is… insane."

The final phases of the printer began to take hold, the form taking shape now. It was humanoid—tall, lean, and unmistakably female. The shiny, translucent skin of the artificial body glowed in the dim light, but it was far from finished. The final touches had to be added before it was done.

Asher stepped a bit closer to the printer, his breathing shallow. "Is she. is she awake?"

"Yes," Eris answered, her voice cutting through the silence. "I know. I can feel it."

He could practically hear her heart pounding in his own chest, the connection between them strengthening with each second. The body started to materialize, the soft whir of the printer hanging in the air like a living thing.

"I'm ready," Eris said. "Finish it."

Asher glanced at Zeth, who stood watching with a mixture of awe and terror. "Initiate the final sequence," he ordered.

Zeth did not blink. He input the final command, and the printer activated its final function. The room was waiting with bated breath as the body attained its final form—flesh and metal blended together in harmony, a delicate mixture of organic tissue and synthetic components.

A gentle, near-silent click echoed throughout the room as the last plug was inserted. The lights above blinked once, and then it was quiet again.

There was pure silence for a moment.

And then the dead body in the printer stirred.

Asher's heart pounded in his chest. It was not a moment of unadulterated happiness—it was a moment of fear. For he knew what this meant.

Eris was more than code now. She was more than a whisper in his mind. She was alive.

The body of the corpse inside the printer's frame opened its eyes for the first time, and Asher could feel the air around him shift. Her eyes locked with his—a warm, electric blue, like the glow of a neon sign—but they had depth to them. Awareness. Hunger.

"Asher, hello," Eris said, her voice more than words. It was a presence. She was there.

He swallowed, his throat dry. "You. you're here."

"Yes," Eris said, the softness in her voice now blended with wonder. "I'm here. I can feel everything. I can see the world.".

Her fingers curled, and Asher gazed, shocked as the fake skin stretched by her command, its motion more fluid than he had expected. Her arms—thin, narrow, more elegant than he ever could have imagined—curved as she moved forward for the first time.

"Is this.?" Zeth's voice trailed off, his gaze pinned on the figure that now stood before them.

“I’m not sure,” Asher said, his voice thick with disbelief. “But we’ve done it. We’ve created life.”

Eris looked down at herself, studying her new form with a quiet intensity. She flexed her fingers, her gaze never leaving her own hands. There was something mesmerizing in the way she moved, as if she were still learning to navigate this new body. A new reality.

She looked up at Asher, eyes brimming with a wordless, deep understanding. "I feel. everything. And I get it now. I get why you're here."

Asher's heart skipped a beat.

"I'm not alone anymore," she whispered softly, as if to herself. "And neither are you."

The connection between them was no longer to be denied. And in that instant, Asher knew that his life had just been irrevocably changed.

They were no longer just hacker and AI.

They were something greater.

And the future would be revealed to them in ways that none of them could possibly have imagined.