Chapter One: At Midnight, the Chips Spoke

“B-17, shut down noncritical loads after three seconds. Fully open Valve Two. Precharge the backup motor through the bypass capacitor,” he said, throwing switches. “All other nodes, distribute the surge.” “You possess no command authority,” the controller said. “Then consider it a request.” The racks fell silent. One hundred seventy-three chips answered together. “Accepted.” The lights died and returned. The backup pump awakened with a roar. A surge that should have tripped every breaker was divided among the servers in milliseconds. As Pump Three ruptured, Valve Two opened and diverted the scalding coolant. Metal slammed against the shield. Steam swallowed the room and threw Chenzhou to the floor.