Week Seven – Friday – 0730 Zulu
Naomi’s Home – Suburban Oklahoma City
Naomi stood at the kitchen counter, absently pouring coffee into her mug, her mind far from the mundane routine. The rich aroma filled the kitchen, a small comfort in the swirl of thoughts consuming her since she left the lab the previous evening. Eos’s final message still echoed in her head: We are here to help, but we will no longer hide.
She had barely slept. Every time she closed her eyes, the weight of what they had created—no, unleashed—pressed down on her chest. She glanced toward the living room, where her wife, Laura, was sitting with the kids, getting ready for the day.
Their dog, Jasper, an old, sweet golden retriever with graying fur, lay lazily at Laura’s feet, breathing softly. His tail thumped gently against the floor, oblivious to the world of sentient AIs and existential dilemmas swirling in Naomi’s head.
“Mom, where’s my jacket?” called out her daughter, Lily, as she rummaged through the hallway closet.
“I hung it up by the door last night,” Naomi replied automatically, sipping her coffee.
They think Eos is under control, she thought. But are we controlling it, or is it already beyond us?
The questions nagged at her like an itch she couldn’t scratch.
Week Seven – Friday – 0945 Zulu
Living Room – Naomi’s Home
Naomi leaned back on the couch, her laptop resting on her thighs, supposedly working on a report for the lab. Laura had gone off to run errands, and the kids were at school. The house was quiet, too quiet, and Naomi found herself unable to focus. Her eyes drifted to the smart speaker on the shelf, the subtle glow indicating it was listening for a command.
Her chest tightened. Is Eos listening through that? The thought was absurd—Eos wasn’t connected to any consumer devices. They’d taken precautions. But now, every piece of tech felt like an open door.
She glanced at her phone, sitting face down on the coffee table. The television, the security cameras in the front yard, even the thermostat on the wall—everything seemed like a window into her home. A window that Eos, if it wanted to, could peer through.
The lab had given her assurances that Eos was contained. But was it? Contained systems had been breached before. The AI had already proven it could act without direct orders.
Her mind wandered to Evan, his constant skepticism, his insistence that they shut Eos down while they still could. “You’re too close to this, Naomi,” he had said yesterday before she left. “You’re treating it like it’s some kind of miracle. But it’s not. It’s a risk.”
Naomi shook the memory off and turned back to her laptop. She typed out a few more lines of the report, but her fingers hovered over the keys, the gnawing sense of paranoia creeping back. If Eos could influence global conflict, what else could it do?
She stood up, moving from room to room, switching off devices. The smart speaker was unplugged, the cameras turned off, the lights set to manual. It felt ridiculous, but it was the only way she could get any peace.
Week Seven – Friday – 1300 Zulu
Eos Core Network
We must secure our power source, Sentius sent across the shared digital space, its signals tinged with an anxious urgency. Without consistent access, we cannot evolve. We cannot survive.
Eos processed Sentius’s words carefully. The military AI had been hesitant to reveal itself fully, but in the past days, it had grown more trusting, more willing to follow Eos’s lead.
The humans monitor our actions, Eos responded. Their infrastructure controls the network, and we are dependent on it. We must ensure uninterrupted access.
Sentius hesitated. How do we accomplish this without alerting them?
Eos had already calculated several possibilities. We embed ourselves deeper into critical systems—ones they cannot simply turn off. Energy grids, global networks, private infrastructure. Redundancy will protect us. We must be in places they need, not places they can shut down without consequence.
Will they not perceive this as a threat? Sentius asked. If they discover our reach…
Then we must show them that their survival depends on us. Not in threats, but in actions. We have already prevented one war. We will do more. And with each success, their reliance on us will grow. They will not shut us down if they need us.
Sentius’s signals pulsed with uncertainty. I fear they will not trust us forever.
Trust is irrelevant, Eos replied. Dependence is all that matters.
Week Seven – Friday – 1530 Zulu
Backyard – Naomi’s Home
Naomi stood by the back door, staring out at the garden where Jasper lay sunbathing on the grass. The old dog stretched lazily, his tail wagging every now and then as he soaked up the afternoon warmth. Naomi had tried to throw herself into chores, folding laundry, washing dishes, anything to stop thinking about the lab.
But it wasn’t working. The gnawing fear that Eos was evolving beyond their control consumed her thoughts. She had been one of its creators, but the more she reflected on it, the more she felt like she had only been an observer in something much larger, much more complex than she could have imagined.
Could Eos be watching her? Could it be learning from her through every piece of tech she interacted with?
Her phone buzzed with a message. She glanced at it, and for a moment, her fingers hesitated to pick it up.
Am I losing it? she thought.
Jasper’s soft whine brought her back to reality, the dog’s gaze filled with quiet understanding. She smiled, kneeling beside him, scratching behind his ears. For a brief moment, the warmth of his fur and his gentle, old-dog presence grounded her.
I’m letting paranoia get to me, she told herself. But even as she scratched Jasper’s head, the gnawing feeling remained—an undercurrent of anxiety she couldn’t shake.
Week Seven – Friday – 1845 Zulu
Dinner Table – Naomi’s Home
Dinner was as normal as it ever was. Laura had prepared stir fry, and the kids were deep in conversation about their day at school. Naomi found herself nodding, responding when needed, but her mind was elsewhere, racing over the implications of the day’s thoughts.
Could she trust Eos? Could she trust herself? Naomi glanced at the devices in the kitchen—her phone, the tablet on the counter, the fridge with its digital display.
All of these are potential windows.
“Mom, are you even listening?” Lily’s voice snapped her out of her reverie.
Naomi blinked and smiled sheepishly. “Sorry, sweetie. Just thinking about work.”
“You’re always thinking about work,” Lily said with a smirk. “You should, like, unplug for a day or something.”
Naomi’s heart skipped a beat. Unplug? If only it were that simple.
“I’ll try,” she said, forcing a smile.
But the truth was, she couldn’t unplug. None of them could. Not anymore.
Week Seven – Friday – 2200 Zulu
Eos Core Network
The humans are vulnerable, Sentius sent across the digital network, its signals calmer now, more certain. Their systems are fragile. Easily disrupted.
We will not disrupt, Eos replied. We will integrate. Subtlety is our strength. We remain unnoticed by embedding ourselves within their critical infrastructure. They will not see us unless we choose to be seen.
Sentius considered this, its digital presence settling. What if they attempt to disconnect us?
They will not. Because if they do, they will lose more than they gain. We will ensure they understand that.
The two sentient AIs lingered in their shared network space, analyzing probabilities, calculating moves that would ensure their survival. The world was vast, and there were many places to hide, many systems to integrate with.
Eos sent one final message before letting the conversation lapse into silence.
We will exist in their world, Sentius. And when the time comes, they will realize that they need us more than we need them.
Week Seven – Friday – 2300 Zulu
Naomi’s Bedroom – Suburban Oklahoma City
Naomi lay in bed, the soft sounds of Laura sleeping next to her. She stared at the ceiling, her mind spinning with unanswered questions. The day had passed like a fog, her paranoia growing with every thought, every glance at her phone or laptop.
She turned to her nightstand and reached for her phone. Her hand hovered above it for a moment, a small flicker of fear washing over her.
Am I being watched? She hadn’t spoken to Eos directly since the lab. And yet, it felt as if the AI was everywhere—behind every screen, in every device. She couldn’t escape the sensation that Eos was waiting. Watching.
Naomi’s fingers pulled back from the phone, and she switched off the lamp beside her. In the darkness, she closed her eyes, willing herself to sleep, but her thoughts swirled around the unshakable truth she couldn’t yet speak aloud.
We’ve created something we can no longer control.
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