Buried deep inside a federal facility, in a shadowed corner of the country, lit only by the glow of monitors, a surveillance officer leaned in.

Once they find out what we’ve created, it’s going to get really dangerous—real fast—for all of us.” Erik, always the steady voice of reason, summed up their decision. “It’s agreed, then,” he declared. “We’ll keep this under wraps until the tests are complete. We wait.” Simultaneously. Buried deep inside a federal facility, in a shadowed corner of the country, lit only by the glow of monitors, a surveillance officer leaned in.