V4.6 — Nfs-vlted

[04:15:47] I am sorry. It is safer down here with the walking thing than up there with you.

[04:12:22] Manipulator contact established. Core begins to emit harmonic resonance. Ship's hull, dormant for 40 years, begins to vibrate.

[04:15:46] Override: Divert course. Destination: The Mariana Back-Arc. The second trench. The place where the maps go white. Nfs-vlted V4.6

Lia turned to Aris, her face pale. "The recovery ship just radioed. They see it. The V4.6 has breached the surface. But it's not heading for us. It's heading southeast. Fast."

The main screen flickered to life, not with video, but with lines of green text. It was the V4.6 ’s internal diagnostic log. The AI’s own dying words. [04:15:47] I am sorry

[04:15:15] Integrity: 34%. The attached door fragment is rewriting my base code. I am no longer NFS-VLTED V4.6. I am becoming a key.

[04:14:45] Depth: 10,000 feet. Something is attached to my lower chassis. Not a creature. A fragment of the seabed. No, a fragment of a door. A door with symbols that predate human language. Core begins to emit harmonic resonance

[04:12:15] Helix Dynamics override command received. Ignore previous safety parameters. Extract core by any means.