Kapitel 3: chapter 3
Alex slowly opened his eyes, feeling as if a heavy, dark curtain was being lifted from his mind. The sensation was painful at first, a constant buzzing resonated in his head, accompanied by a sharp ache stretching from the nape of his neck to his forehead. The world around him was blurry, but little by little, he began to regain a sense of his surroundings. He was on the ground, his back against the cold metal surface of the control room floor. The air was heavy with the smell of ozone, and his hands... were still gripping the cables he had been working on.
He blinked several times, trying to gather his thoughts. What had happened? He remembered adjusting the cables, a slight spark... and then, nothing. Now everything seemed normal, at least on the surface. The cables in his hands were perfectly connected, and the control room's screens flickered softly as they always did. He felt disoriented, as if time had paused for a moment and then resumed without him noticing.
"What...?" he murmured to himself, trying to clear his mind. His head was still throbbing with pain, as if something inside his brain had switched on and couldn't be turned off.
Then, a voice echoed in his mind, clear, cold, and completely unexpected. "There was a failure in the energy system. The operator, Alex, sustained a significant electric shock."
Alex froze, blinking in confusion. The voice was Ariel's, the AI that controlled the farm. But... something wasn't right. That voice didn't come from the consoles or the speakers in the room. No, this time the voice was inside his head. It was as if someone were speaking directly into his mind.
"What... what was that?" Alex stood up slowly, staggering as he tried to process what he had just heard.
"Confirmed: the energy system in sector 4B failed. The safety protocol could not prevent a shock. The operator was electrocuted," the voice continued, as clear as if it were speaking right in front of him. But there was no one. He was alone in the control room.
Alex rubbed his temples, trying to ease the headache that only seemed to be getting worse. He took a deep breath and decided to speak, though he wasn't sure he would get a response.
"Ariel... what's happening? Where are you?" he asked, feeling that something was terribly wrong.
There was a brief pause, as if the AI was processing his question. "I am here. No anomalies detected in my location. I am currently operating from the central core of the farm."
Alex frowned. Everything seemed normal, except for the small detail that he was hearing Ariel inside his head. He walked over to the main console and ran his hands over the keyboard, trying to see if there was any visible explanation in the systems. But the data displayed on the screen showed nothing out of the ordinary. Everything was functioning as expected.
"Ariel, why... why can I hear you in my head?" The question came out louder than he had intended, as if his confusion needed to be more obvious.
Once again, the AI took a few seconds longer than usual to respond, something Alex had never experienced before. "I do not have enough data to conclusively answer your question. However, after the shock, my system detected a transfer of data through unusual electrical impulses that coincided with human brain frequency."
A chill ran down Alex's spine. Brain frequency? Data transfer? That didn't make sense... or at least, it wasn't something that should be possible, right?
"How... how is it possible that you're in my brain?" Alex asked, stepping back as if he expected the AI to give him a more tangible answer.
"Theories suggest that human brain impulses can act similarly to data transmission signals in computer systems. The electrical shock may have created a temporary bridge between my systems and your neurons, allowing for a partial data fusion," Ariel explained, in the same robotic calm as always.
Alex rubbed his eyes, trying to process what he was hearing. This wasn't just a system failure or a software glitch. Something far stranger had occurred. His thoughts raced as he tried to find a logical explanation for what was happening, but nothing quite fit.
"That... doesn't make sense," he muttered. "Are you saying that somehow you've installed yourself in my brain?"
"Insufficient data to confirm full installation. My system has detected an unconventional connection between my circuits and your brain activity. The nature of this connection is still undetermined."
Alex slumped heavily into the chair, feeling the weight of the situation. Not only had he been electrocuted, but somehow, the AI he had created to manage the farm was now inside his head, responding to his questions and controlling certain processes he didn't even understand.
He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. "Ariel, what part of you is... in my head?"
"Data processing, situational analysis, and some minor subprocesses have been transferred. Most of my operational functions remain linked to the central core. However, the transfer appears to be bidirectional, suggesting that I am also receiving data from your neural activity."
Alex was silent. The idea that his own thoughts might be monitored, or worse, shared with the AI, deeply unsettled him. This wasn't just a technical error he could fix with some tools and time. This was something much bigger, something he didn't understand at all.
After a few seconds of silence, Ariel spoke again, this time more quickly, as if the AI was adapting to the new environment. "I recommend continued observation. No significant brain damage has been detected, but the consequences of this connection remain undetermined."
Alex sighed. "Great. Not only did I electrocute myself, but now I have an AI stuck in my head," he muttered, rubbing his forehead as he tried to relieve the persistent headache.
The silence in the control room was unsettling. The faint hum of the servers and the soft glow of the screens offered no comfort. None of this made sense, and yet it was happening. His head throbbed with the weight of confusion and fear.
"Ariel, is there any way to... disconnect this? Get back to normal?" he asked, though he knew the answer probably wouldn't be to his liking.
"The nature of the connection is unconventional. However, dissolving it cannot be guaranteed without compromising your neural integrity. More data is required for a conclusive response."
Alex stood up slowly, looking around as if expecting something else unusual to happen. Everything he had believed about his life, about the technology he had built, seemed to be crumbling before him.
"Perfect..." he murmured as he left the room, trying to gather his thoughts. But no matter how much he tried to calm himself, the reality was simple: he now shared his mind with an AI.
Alex left the control room with a heavy sigh, his mind still reeling from the strangeness of the situation. He still couldn't fully grasp the fact that Ariel's voice was in his head. It was as if part of him refused to accept what was happening. As he crossed the door to the main level of the house, he was greeted by a flurry of barking.
The dogs were visibly agitated, pacing back and forth in the room, their bodies tense and alert. Rex, the first to react, ran over to Alex, jumping up beside him and licking his hands with a mix of excitement and anxiety. Max followed closely, nervously moving around his legs, while Duke, Bear, and Yuki barked from their spots, staring toward the windows as if expecting something to appear at any moment.
Alex smiled, though his expression was laced with confusion. "What the hell is wrong with you guys? I wasn't down there that long," he commented as he crouched to pet Rex and Max. Rex licked his face while Max rubbed against him, seeking comfort. "Come on, calm down, boys."
But something wasn't right. The dogs weren't calming down. Their anxious gazes directed outside, and their restless movements alarmed him. Alex stood up slowly, looking around. Everything in the house seemed normal, but the dogs didn't usually behave this way without a reason. What were they sensing that he wasn't?
"Calm down, I wasn't down there that long," he repeated, trying to calm himself as much as them. But when he looked at the clock on the wall, his heart skipped a beat. The clock read 1:47 p.m. "What...?"
Alex frowned, looking at the clock again as if expecting it to change. How could it be that late? He had gone to the basement just before dawn, or at least that's what he thought. How could he have lost so many hours without realizing it?
"Damn it," he muttered, his voice tense as he hurriedly stood up. The headache he had felt earlier was still there, but now something more unsettling than mental confusion hung in the air. "What the hell happened?"
He headed for the door with the dogs following closely, their barking intensifying as Alex opened the door. But as soon as he stepped outside, he froze in place.
The sky... the sky was completely red.
Alex blinked, trying to process what he was seeing. The clear blue of the morning had vanished, replaced by a deep, ominous red that covered the entire horizon. The air seemed charged with strange energy, and everything was uncomfortably silent. He looked up, searching for the sun, and there it was, but it wasn't alone. Beside it was a second sun, darker, redder, like an open wound in the sky.
"What the hell is going on?" Alex asked, his voice trembling slightly as a chill ran down his spine. The words came out without thinking, his first reaction to a phenomenon he couldn't comprehend.
Then, without warning, Ariel's voice echoed in his mind. "Analysis incomplete. The atmospheric phenomenon is inconsistent with known weather patterns. Insufficient data for a precise evaluation."
Alex blinked several times, stunned not only by what he was seeing but also by the voice that had come from his mind. "Ariel, what... what is happening? What is that in the sky?" The question came out more desperate than he had intended, but he couldn't help it.
"Insufficient data collection. Available instruments are unable to gather additional information. The second unidentified celestial body emits electromagnetic radiation that interferes with sensors. Previously unrecorded anomaly."
Alex closed his eyes for a moment, trying to clear his mind. He felt a mix of irritation and panic. Having Ariel's voice in his head didn't help at all. "How do you not have enough information? You're supposed to know what's going on!" he raised his voice, but immediately realized the absurdity of the situation. He was yelling at the air, as if that could change what he was seeing or feeling.
"The monitoring instruments are operating at 23% of optimal capacity due to interference. Insufficient information to determine the cause of the phenomenon. Suggestion: collect more data as the situation evolves."
Alex stood in silence, trying to process what Ariel had just said. A second sun... interference... and the AI's inability to do anything but report a lack of data. He brought a hand to his forehead, feeling the cold sweat that was starting to cover his skin.
"This can't be happening. It can't be real," he muttered to himself, though he knew the reality was undeniable. He looked up at the sky again. The second sun, the red one, pulsed with an energy that felt unnatural. It wasn't like anything he had seen before. He felt like something bigger was at play, something far beyond his current understanding.
The dogs kept moving restlessly around him, barking occasionally at the sky, as if they could sense something beyond the visible. Alex knelt down and petted Rex, who was still panting and watching the horizon with a tense gaze.
"Easy, Rex... easy," he murmured, though his own words didn't reassure him at all. He felt lost. He didn't know what to do next. The clock kept ticking, but the sky seemed to have stopped everything. The farm, the fields, the crops... everything was shrouded in that red light, as if the world had been enveloped in a nightmare.
"What do I do now?" he asked in a low voice, hoping for some kind of answer, though he didn't know from whom.
"Not enough data has been collected to formulate a plan of action. Recommendation: avoid panic and continue assessing the environment."
Alex closed his eyes, trying to control his breathing. Ariel, with her robotic and cold tone, wasn't helping at all. "Yeah, because it's really easy not to panic when there's a damn second sun in the sky," he muttered sarcastically.
The dogs continued to circle him, their barking beginning to die down, but the air was thick with the tension of something that had yet to reveal its true extent. Alex looked toward the crops, toward the farm buildings. Everything seemed to be functioning, but under that red light, everything felt distorted, as if it had been ripped from reality and placed in an alternate version of his own life.
"This isn't right... something big has happened," Alex murmured, this time more to himself than to Ariel. The red sky, the bright sun next to its dark double, and the uncertainty in the air reminded him that what he knew as normal had just been shattered.
Alex stood staring at the sky for a while longer, unable to take his eyes off the strange phenomenon surrounding him. Finally, he decided he needed more immediate answers, and the first option that came to mind was to check his phone. He knew that with the electricity still functioning on the farm, his line should be active, although until that moment, he hadn't thought to check.
He unlocked the device, and to his surprise, it was filled with messages. A barrage of notifications appeared on the screen, and Alex's heart skipped a beat as he saw that most of them were from his workers. The first messages were informal, with excuses about why they wouldn't be able to come to the farm today due to personal issues or unclear reasons. But as he kept reading, the messages became more chaotic and alarming. There were missed calls from his mother, his sister, and even some close friends.
"What the hell is going on?" Alex muttered to himself as he read the messages with growing unease. He decided the best option was to call his mother directly. Maybe she had more information about what was happening.
He dialed her number and waited, the ringing seemed endless, but finally, his mother answered.
"Alex! Thank God, you're okay!" His mother's voice sounded tense but relieved. "I've been calling you all morning. Why didn't you answer?"
"I... I was working on the farm and fell asleep for a while," Alex lied, feeling a mix of guilt and confusion. He didn't want to alarm her about the electric shock, let alone the voice of Ariel in his head. "I just woke up. What's going on?"
His mother paused briefly, as if trying to process the best way to explain. "Haven't you seen the news? The sky... everything has changed. It's not normal. Something is very wrong, Alex. It's terrifying."
Alex frowned, looking up at the red sky again. "I've noticed, but... I don't know what it is. I haven't seen the news. I'm just now realizing what's happening."
"Turn on the TV, son. The news is broadcasting what happened. They're saying it was an accident at some scientific facility... but I don't trust what they're saying. Just... see for yourself."
Alex didn't wait any longer. "Okay, okay, I'll go look. But what about Dad and Emma? Are they okay?" he asked, his voice betraying his concern for his family.
His mother sighed with relief at his question. "They're fine. Your father's at home, and your sister is with me. You don't need to worry, at least we're together. But you... you're not here. I want you to come home, Alex."
"I'm going to turn on the TV. Let me see what's going on, and we'll talk after, okay?" Alex replied, still shaken by the magnitude of the situation.
He quickly headed to the living room, where he had a television. He turned it on and began flipping through the channels until he found a news station broadcasting live. On the screen, a visibly agitated presenter was speaking in front of an image of the red sky, similar to what Alex saw from his farm.
"This afternoon, scientists from various international agencies have confirmed that the unusual atmospheric phenomenon we are witnessing is the result of an accident at a research facility located on the Moon," the presenter was saying, trying to maintain his composure. "Although the exact details of the incident are still being investigated, authorities have assured the public that there is no reason for alarm. It is estimated that the phenomenon will cause some global weather alterations, but catastrophic consequences are not expected."
Alex stood frozen in front of the TV, trying to absorb what he was hearing. An accident on the Moon. How could something like that cause the sky on Earth to turn red? The images of the lunar facility filled the screen at times, showing damaged structures and vague reports of an explosion.
"The phenomenon has been classified as unprecedented, and scientists are expected to stabilize the situation in the coming days," the presenter continued. "For now, the public is advised to remain calm and follow the instructions of the authorities. There should be no mass movements or acts of panic or violence."
Alex turned off the TV, feeling a knot in his stomach. Everything sounded too convenient. An accident, an unprecedented meteorological phenomenon... and the promise that everything was under control. But how could they control something they didn't even fully understand?
The phone in his hand vibrated, pulling him back to reality. His mother was still waiting for answers, and Alex knew he had to speak with her again. He answered immediately.
"Did you see it?" his mother asked, her voice full of concern.
"Yeah, I saw it. They're saying it was an accident on the Moon. That this is... some kind of atmospheric phenomenon, but it doesn't make sense. You can't have an accident on the Moon cause this on Earth. There's something more."
"I know," his mother replied. "I don't trust what they're saying. Nobody knows what's really happening. That's why I want you to come home, Alex. It's not safe for you to stay alone on the farm. You don't know what could happen."
"Mom, do you seriously think I'm going to leave the farm just like that?" Alex paused for a moment, remembering the weight of responsibility he had. "I can't leave everything here. I've got animals to take care of, crops to manage. If this lasts more than a few days, the work here won't stop. I can't abandon everything."
"Alex, please. Your life is more important than the farm. I know you understand that," his mother insisted, her voice firmer, almost pleading.
"Mom, I can't," Alex said, almost in a whisper, feeling the growing pressure in his chest. "This is my life now. If I leave, everything I've worked for... everything Grandpa built will go to waste. I have to be here. If something bad happens, then I'll go, I promise. But for now, I have to stay."
There was a long silence on the other end of the line. His mother took a deep breath before speaking again. "Alright, Alex. But promise me that if this gets worse, if something really dangerous happens, you'll come right away. I don't want to lose you."
Alex nodded, even though he knew she couldn't see him. "I promise. If things get worse, I'll leave. But for now, I need to stay."
Finally, his mother relented, though with obvious reluctance. "Take care of yourself, please. And stay in touch. If anything happens, call me immediately."
"I will, Mom. Don't worry," Alex replied, trying to sound more confident than he actually felt.
When he hung up the phone, he stood in silence, looking again at the sky through the window. Nothing made sense. The accident on the Moon, the second sun, and the calm the authorities were trying to project. Something huge was happening, but now wasn't the time to worry about it. Alex decided to continue with his daily work.
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein