Directive Interference
The testing lab hummed. Patrick's assistant approached, not with a greeting, but with a piece of shimmering blue fabric. "Experimental nanobot fiber-optic material," she said, cutting straight to the point. "It draws energy from your cybernetics to amplify your human strength. It's for balance. Wear it."
Jackie didn't hesitate. The nanobot suit slid onto her skin like liquid metal, clinging to her flesh and fusing seamlessly with her Blue Diamond alloy. Her human muscles immediately tightened, vibrating with amplified, unfamiliar strength.
Patrick strode to the control podium. "Let's begin. Today, we test the human-cybernetic synchronization against live drone threats."
The lab shifted. Panels beneath her feet slid, rising and lowering in violent, irregular patterns. Above, massive segmented platforms descended, pressing down like steel weights. Drones whirred in from all sides, locking onto her. Jackie was ready—her cybernetic side steady, her human side now able to keep pace.
Then came the intentional sabotage.
The upper panels slammed down with impossible force. Before Jackie could react, two drones darted in, clamping down on her arms.
Override Failure.
Her flesh-and-bone arm snapped instantly under the crushing pressure. Pain flared along every nerve, but it was the BDJ System that screamed, not Jackie. A torrent of red and green data scrolled across her ocular implant, overriding all conscious thought.
"High-Level Directive Override Detected. External Interference at 98%. Neural shutdown imminent."
Jackie's head jerked, an involuntary mechanical tick. Her eye focused on her broken human arm, and an azure laser discharged from her ocular system—not a conscious shot, but an Evolutionary Protocol defense reflex.
The laser seared through the drone on her right arm. But the energy didn't stop; it continued upward, slicing through the descending platform, shredding cables, sending sparks and metal shards clanging onto the floor. Jackie gasped, her body twisting in a silent, agonizing ballet of technological protection. The nanobot suit strained, knitting torn skin and broken bone even as the pressure continued.
Then the system failed completely.
Another snap, this time her leg fracturing beneath a drone's grip. Her cybernetic arm tore loose at the shoulder, wires dangling, sparks arcing, and she slumped to the floor, her suit shimmering wildly as nanobots fought a losing battle.
BDJ whispered: "Multiple System Failures. High-Level Directive Override confirmed. Conscious mind disengaging."
Alarms blared. Technicians scrambled. Patrick barked into his comms: "Stop the test! All systems halt—now!"
As darkness swallowed her, Jackie's awareness dipped below the surface, yet her BDJ System continued to operate. The last thing she registered was her cybernetic shoulder sparking, a scream of raw technology fighting for survival, and the image of the fractured ceiling.
When she woke on the biobed, tubes connected to her veins, Patrick hovered above, his face unreadable. "That was not a controlled failure, Jackie. But… impressive."
Deep inside, BDJ pulsed: "Evolution occurring. Ocular and neural integration at 12.7% efficiency. Adaptation triggered by high-level external interference. Combat logs saved."
Patrick would see only a lab malfunction. Jackie would only see the pain. But somewhere, in the silent code of her ocular systems, the hidden observer was still there, processing the autonomous defense.
BDJ: "Alias Kieran. Observer Status: Autonomous. Tracking Patterns: Non-Hostile."