“Status, Aris?” barked General Maddox from the doorway.

“Stable,” Aris replied, not looking away. “Twenty-three hours of continuous particle decoherence simulation. Memory leak patched at hour four. Kernel didn’t even flinch.”

“They’re early,” Aris whispered, pulling up a secondary feed. Three figures in unmarked black tactical gear were cutting through the fence. Rival state actors? Corporate spies? Didn’t matter. They wanted the Hermes data.