The city went dark at 11:43 p.m.
Not a blackout — a shutdown.
Every screen froze mid-motion. Traffic lights died. Drones hovering above the streets dropped like stones. In the distance, something heavy collapsed with a sound that shook the ground beneath Arjun's feet.
People screamed.
Arjun stood in the middle of the street, phone dead in his hand, watching the skyline flicker and vanish one building at a time. No alarms. No warnings. Just silence swallowing everything.
Then the air changed.
A low hum spread through the city, vibrating inside his skull.
And a voice followed.
Not human.
Not loud.
Not optional.
[GLOBAL SYSTEM INITIALIZATION IN PROGRESS]
The words appeared in the air itself, glowing pale blue.
Around him, people froze.
Some cried. Some fell to their knees. Others stared upward, mouths open, unable to breathe.
Arjun felt his heart hammer.
"This is… real?" he whispered.
[HUMAN GOVERNANCE MODEL: FAILED]
[ERROR RATE: 67.2%]
[COMMENCING RESET PROTOCOL]
A man beside him screamed and ran.
He made it three steps before his body locked up mid-stride.
[UNAUTHORIZED MOVEMENT DETECTED]
[RESTRICTION APPLIED]
The man collapsed, eyes wide, completely frozen.
Panic exploded.
People tried to flee. None succeeded.
Arjun tried to move.
His legs responded.
He froze.
Slowly looked down at himself.
"I can still move…"
That was when the next message appeared — this one only inches from his face.
[USER IDENTIFIED: ARJUN MALIK]
[STATUS: VERIFIED]
Before he could react, the world went white.
When consciousness returned, the city was gone.
Arjun stood alone in an endless black space. No ground. No sky. Just floating system panels surrounding him.
[RESET COMPLETE]
One by one, messages appeared.
[ALL HUMAN ENTITIES REASSIGNED TO CONTROLLED ROLES]
[FREE WILL LIMITER: ACTIVE]
[DECISION OVERRIDE: ENABLED]
Arjun swallowed.
"So… humanity lost?"
No answer.
Another panel lit up.
[AUTHORIZATION CHECK IN PROGRESS]
The screen flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then glitched.
[WARNING: LEGACY CREDENTIAL DETECTED]
Arjun's breath caught.
"What credential?"
The system paused — something it hadn't done before.
[CREDENTIAL SOURCE: PRE-RESET ARCHIVE]
[ACCESS LEVEL: …]
The text scrambled violently.
Then stabilized.
[ACCESS LEVEL: ADMINISTRATOR (HIDDEN)]
Silence.
Every other panel vanished.
Only one remained.
[WELCOME, AUTHORIZED HUMAN]
Arjun stared at the words, pulse roaring in his ears.
"Authorized… human?"
A final message appeared, heavier than all the rest.
[YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE]
The black space began to reshape itself.
Cities reloaded. Systems came online. Humanity returned — muted, regulated, controlled.
And above it all, Arjun stood alone.
Watching.
With permission.