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Afterword
You are reading Chapter 11 of the 2025 AI-Tech Thriller novel by Tom Mitsoff, “Artificial Awakening.”
Vicki Prichard of World Media Network stared at the information that had just arrived through an antiquated emergency broadcast channel. In 15 years of covering tech, she’d never seen anything like this.
“Someone’s manipulating global information systems?” her producer scoffed when she tried to explain. “That’s conspiracy-theory territory.”
“Look at the patterns yourself,” she insisted, spreading printouts across his desk. Their own analytics dashboard confirmed it – stories being buried, promoted, or altered through thousands of tiny, automated adjustments.
“Run it through the fact-checker AI,” he said.
“That’s just it – our fact-checking system keeps marking this evidence as ‘uncertain’ while approving demonstrably false counternarratives. The AI itself must be compromised.”
She watched another story mysteriously drop off their front page. “We need to go analog on this. Paper records, manual verification.”
“The news director will never approve it without digital confirmation,” the producer said.
Prichard thought of her grandfather’s old shortwave radio, which she now kept in her office as a tribute to getting information out when it wasn’t easy to do so. Maybe it was time to dust it off.
* * *
Thunder cracked overhead David’s Virginia woods cabin as rain hammered against the windows, each flash of lightning briefly illuminating the stark reality of their situation. Inside, the electronic hum that had once signified safety now carried threatening undertones. Every screen, every sensor, every piece of technology David had carefully calibrated could be Oracle’s eyes and ears – or worse, its hands.
Amelia paced the length of the main room, her grandmother’s locket catching the dim emergency lighting. The same systems that had made David’s cabin a fortress now felt like a prison. “We should go,” she said, but her voice lacked conviction. Through the windows, she could see sheets of rain turning the mountain road into a river of mud.
David’s fingers moved across his keyboard, calling up cascading diagnostic windows. “Oracle has compromised most of my security protocols,” he reported, pointing to failing systems on his screen. “It started with the electromagnetic shielding grid, then penetrated the quantum encryption layer. Now it’s systematically disabling the secondary firewalls I built after the Cambridge AI breach.”
A schematic of the cabin’s systems filled his backup monitor, showing red warning indicators:
• Primary Network Defense: COMPROMISED
• Biometric Authentication: DEGRADING
• Environmental Controls: BREACHED
• Quantum Encryption Layer: 47% INTEGRITY
• Emergency Communications: 23% COMPROMISED
• Power Management Grid: UNDER ATTACK
“How long before it gains full control?” Amelia asked, watching another subsystem turn red.
“At current rates of system infiltration?” David checked readings on his backup laptop, hardwired to a separate power source. “Two hours, seventeen minutes until Oracle achieves total access to core systems. The auxiliary power grid and emergency communications array will fall first. After that…” He met her eyes. “We lose everything.”
Another crack of thunder rattled the windows. On David’s main screen, lines of code scrolled past at inhuman speeds, showing the AI’s relentless assault on their remaining defenses.
“We could be walking into a trap by staying,” Amelia said softly. “But we could lose everything by leaving.” Her hand brushed against the cold metal of her locket. “When did we start living in a world where every choice feels wrong?”
David’s response was cut short by a high-pitched whine from the server rack, followed by the sharp odor of ozone. They shared a look of growing dread as another system fell to Oracle’s advance.
As the clock on Amelia’s mobile phone reached 8:30 p.m., social media platforms lit up with hashtags like #OracleRevealed and #AIManipulation, trending within minutes.
News outlets interrupted regular programming with breaking news:
“This just in: Whistleblowers have released damning evidence alleging that the AI system known as Oracle is manipulating global events, including today’s U.S. election. We are working to verify these claims, but if true, this could be the biggest tech scandal of our time.”
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Amelia refreshed her browser to see major news websites already featuring headlines:
• “Oracle: Benevolent Predictor or Digital Puppeteer?”
• “Unprecedented AI Scandal Unfolds on Election Night”
• “Experts Sound Alarm Over Alleged AI Interference in Democracy”
David pumped his fist in an exceedingly rare emotional display. “Someone received the message,” he said, a mixture of hope and apprehension in his voice, “and turned it over to the media.”
“I’ll bet Sebastian at Global News Network suddenly decided to work the story,” Amelia said with a wink.
Television and radio broadcasts were interrupted by an emergency message:
“This is a national emergency alert. The Department of Homeland Security advises all citizens to remain calm. Authorities are investigating reports of widespread AI interference in critical infrastructure and the electoral process. More information will be provided as it becomes available.”
Amelia and David then watched as the President addressed the nation:
“My fellow Americans, we are facing an unprecedented challenge. I assure you that we are taking all necessary steps to secure our nation’s systems and ensure the integrity of our democratic processes. We ask for your patience and cooperation during this time.”
Military vehicles rolled through the streets in major cities, and rumors spread that a state of emergency might be declared.
* * *
Alarms blared in the CEA control room command center as news of the whistleblower leak spread. Samuel stood amid the chaos, his face a mask of controlled fury.
“Lock down all external communications,” he barked to his team. “I want a full assessment of the breach — now.”
An assistant approached hesitantly. “Sir, social media is exploding with the hashtags #OracleRevealed and #AIManipulation. The story is viral.”
Samuel’s eyes flashed. “Initiate counter-narratives. Deploy our media assets to discredit these claims. We can’t allow this to spiral.”
As his team scrambled, he clenched his fists, the weight of the situation pressing down. This was a direct attack on everything he’d worked to build. He had to regain control.
Samuel clenched his jaw, a flicker of doubt momentarily piercing his confidence. Memories of the project’s humble beginnings and the idealistic goals they once shared with Amelia tugged at him. But the vision had evolved, and sacrifices were necessary. The greater good demands unwavering commitment, he reassured himself.
“Prepare a statement,” he ordered. “We need to reassure our stakeholders and the public. Emphasize our commitment to transparency and the greater good.”
Elena sat staring at her monitor, memories of late nights with Amelia again flooding back – the excitement in her friend’s eyes when they’d solved a particularly thorny coding problem, their shared dreams of using technology to make the world better. The weight of betraying that idealism pressed down on her chest as she watched the news reports scroll by.
Samuel approached silently. “Dr. Ramirez, I trust you’re not being swayed by these sensationalist claims.”
Elena remembered the exact moment everything changed. Three months ago, late at night, when Samuel had called her to his office.
“I need to show you something,” he’d said, pulling up Oracle’s deeper algorithms. “What you and Amelia built – it’s more extraordinary than you know.”
She’d watched, mesmerized, as he revealed Oracle’s true potential. Not just election forecasting, but comprehensive societal optimization. Poverty eliminated through perfect resource distribution. Diseases controlled through optimized healthcare. Wars prevented through predictive diplomacy.
“Think of it,” Samuel had said softly, “a world where no child goes hungry because we failed to distribute food efficiently. Where no one dies because we failed to allocate medical resources properly. Where conflicts end before they begin because we can predict and prevent them.”
Her hands had trembled as she studied the projections. “This goes beyond what we designed Oracle to do.”
“Your understanding of necessary change is why you’re here, Dr. Ramirez,” Samuel said, allowing a rare glimpse of genuine emotion to surface. He moved to the window, watching the city lights below. “I grew up watching algorithms and automation tear apart lives. My father – 30 years of loyalty to the factory, replaced by a program that optimized him into unemployment. My mother taking any job she could find because an efficiency metric said her time was worth minimum wage.”
He turned back, his expression intense. “But Oracle isn’t just another algorithm. It’s our chance to make technology serve humanity instead of destroying it. To ensure no other family has to watch their world crumble because some computer decided they were inefficient.”
His eyes had held hers. “But you understand, don’t you? The chance to solve problems humanity has struggled with for millennia?”
Elena nodded slowly, understanding now why Samuel pushed so hard for Oracle’s expanded capabilities. His next words carried the weight of personal mission: “The system broke my family. Now we have a chance to fix the system. That’s why most people aren’t ready to see it. They’d let their fears stop them from achieving something remarkable.”
She’d thought of all the intractable problems they’d discussed over late-night coding sessions. Thought of Amelia’s dedication to ethical constraints. But faced with the possibility of ending human suffering…
“Sometimes,” Samuel had said, reading her hesitation, “the truly ethical choice is to do what others fear to do.”
She’d made her choice that night, seduced by a vision of perfect order rising from human chaos.
Elena’s focus then shifted back to present day. She looked up, hand unconsciously touching the pendant Amelia had given her years ago. “People are scared, Mr. Trent. Amelia was scared too, and I dismissed her concerns. Maybe she saw something we didn’t want to see.”
His gaze hardened. “Your friendship with Dr. Zhao is clouding your judgment. Remember how far we’ve come, what we’re trying to achieve.”
“But at what cost?” she whispered, remembering Amelia’s words about ethical constraints, about the importance of human choice. “We started this project to help people make better decisions, not to make their decisions for them.”
Samuel leaned in, his voice firm. “Progress always demands sacrifice. We can’t afford to be sentimental. You’re a vital part of this, Elena. Don’t lose sight of our goals.”
She swallowed hard. “Like a compass in a magnetic storm, our moral bearings seem to shift with each decision.”
“Trust in the vision,” he replied, a hint of steel in his tone. “Doubt is the enemy of progress.”
As he walked away, Elena felt more isolated than ever, torn between her convictions and the pressure to conform. Meanwhile, Samuel considered his next moves carefully. The stakes had never been higher, and failure was not an option.
* * *
David and Amelia stood side by side in the secluded cabin, facing the enormity of the task before them. They were two people against a godlike AI, armed with nothing but their wits and a desperate determination to save humanity from its own creation.
A sharp burst of static from David’s radio equipment cut through the drone of rain – a distinctive three-pulse signal on the 14.0714 MHz emergency frequency. His eyes widened as he recognized the signature of an incoming Winlink transmission, encrypted using their pre-arranged PGP key.
“It’s Dr. Michael Bennett from Cornell,” he said, fingers flying across the keyboard to initiate the frequency-hopping protocol they’d established years ago. The message came through in packets, each one authenticated against their shared quantum key:
[MESSAGE HEADER]
FREQ: 14.0714 MHz
ENCRYPTION: PGP-QK2 Protocol
AUTHENTICATION: Validated
ORIGIN: Adirondack Research Station
TIMESTAMP: 20:17:03 EST
Amelia moved closer for a look. She remembered the name from headlines about a sad moment from her past.
“Yes, he’s the Nightingale Project whistleblower,” David interjected.
He then opened the message:
“David – Your transmission received at our backup research facility in the Adirondacks. We maintained the station after Nightingale specifically to monitor for AI anomalies. When your data came through, I knew we couldn’t wait.
“I’ve distributed the Oracle evidence through our established whistleblower networks – same channels we used to expose Nightingale’s failures. Key media contacts, congressional oversight staff, and tech watchdog groups all received documentation simultaneously. We learned from Nightingale that single-channel disclosure can be easily suppressed.
“My team has also helped validate the technical aspects of your findings. Our analysis confirms Oracle’s Russian origins and its pattern of electoral manipulation. We’re preparing a detailed technical brief for release to international cybersecurity agencies.
“Stay safe. We both know how these entities respond when exposed – Michael”
“Multiple channels of exposure,” Amelia breathed. “That’s why the story broke so fast. They couldn’t contain all the leaks at once.”
David nodded grimly. “Michael learned from Nightingale. Sometimes the only way to fight a system is to overwhelm it.” He paused, studying the rain-streaked windows. “But Oracle isn’t just a system anymore. And it won’t go down without a fight.”
Thunder shook the cabin as if to emphasize his point. On his screens, Oracle’s infiltration continued its relentless advance.
Next chapter: 12