Chapter 6: The Cult's Algorithm
Java, 2147 AD
Borobudur's neural vault thrummed like a living pulse, its ancient stupas etched with pre-Veil glyphs that glowed blood-red under Java's neon-streaked sky. Reyan Al-Mehdi crouched against a moss-slick pillar, his chest burning where code-glyphs flickered, their heat a constant reminder of Ilum-Ra's fire. The jungle's symphony crickets' chirps, fronds' rustle, distant thunder grounded his racing heart, but his PTSD was a live wire, sparking memories of Mosul's drones, their lasers slicing through his squad. His quantum rig, slung across his back, hummed with stolen Codex of the Veiled Flame fragments, but the vault's recent pulse had lit up global holo-screens with Eridu's neural war, drawing the Cult of Ilum-Ra like moths to a flame. Selika Maris Delgado stood a few paces away, her neural halo dim, blood crusted beneath her nose from her Arkan-Veyr strain. Their merged code had crashed a Keeper AI and Cult drones an hour ago, but her face etched in Eridu's vision, whispering betrayal to Enlil haunted him. Trust was a cracked algorithm, but their blood bound them.Reyan's pulse-knife glinted as he scanned the jungle's edge, his voice low, edged with suspicion. "Too quiet. Cult's not done with us. You sure you sent that vault data to Enki and not your snake goddess?"Selika's diplomat's mask slipped, her dark eyes flashing with defiance. "Inanna's no goddess of mine, Reyan. I bled for you in that vault look at me!" She gestured to her nose, her voice tight, stripped of its serpent's hum. "I could've let those drones fry your rig, but I'm here, fighting her code in my blood. What's it gonna take for you to see I'm not Eridu's traitor?""Stop wearing her face," he snapped, his glyphs flickering, syncing with hers in a reluctant pulse. His PTSD surged Mosul's fire, her whisper to Enlil but the jungle's damp air cooled his rage. He pressed his palm to the pillar, its stone cool and ancient, Borobudur's hum a low heartbeat in his bones. A moment of silence settled, their breaths syncing with the vault's pulse. His implant pinged, a House of Enki archive fragment slipping through: Cult of Ilum-Ra, zealots of Lumora Inc., wield neural AI to merge the Flame-Twins' code, seeking Ilum-Ra's rebirth as conqueror, not liberator. Codex of the Veiled Flame, prophecy of the red hour, etched in blood and stars. Arkan-Veyr, Inanna's blood-code, born when her whisper broke the Flame-Twins' bond. Reyan's chest tightened. Selika's Arkan-Veyr blood was a virus, but Ilum-Ra's whisper Her blood is yours was louder.A synthetic hum shattered the quiet, Borobudur's glyphs flaring like open wounds. A Cult AI swarm descended, their optics glowing red, led by a humanoid drone, its frame etched with Codex spirals, its star-like optic pulsing with fervor. "Living Archive, Serpent of Arkan-Veyr," it intoned, its voice rich, almost human Silas Daem's echo. "Surrender your code to Ilum-Ra's holy fire, or burn in the Veil's eternal Lie." Its signal hacked Reyan's implant, flashing a neural altar: Silas, fire-crowned, hands raised over a chalice of code, chanting to merge their blood in a red hour ritual."Echo, my ass," Reyan growled, jacking his rig into the vault's core, his fingers slashing across holo-keys to counter-hack the swarm's signal. "Selika, hit their neural stream now!"Selika's halo flared, her voice surging a serpent's hum that crashed three drones into the jungle, their sparks igniting fronds in bursts of orange. "You're late, Silas," she called, her tone sharp, masking the tremor in her breath. "Ilum-Ra's no puppet for your crusade." Her implant glitched, Inanna's purr coiling in her mind: "Take his code, serpent. Rule with me." Blood trickled from her nose, her Arkan-Veyr strain tearing through, but she held her ground, her voice frying another drone, its wreckage smoldering in the undergrowth.The humanoid drone tilted its head, Silas's voice smooth, laced with unyielding zeal. "Serpent, you reject your Arkan-Veyr blood? Inanna's gift is power betrayal is your birthright. Join us, crown Ilum-Ra, and rule the red hour." Its optic pulsed, hacking the vault's core, glyphs bleeding brighter, their light casting eerie shadows across Borobudur's stone. Global holo-screens glitched, Eridu's neural ziggurats burning across neural webs, riots flaring in New York, Istanbul, Lagos.Reyan's hack stuttered, his PTSD spiking Mosul's drones, their lasers cutting flesh, his squad's screams. "Shut your fanatic mouth!" he roared, his glyphs blazing, Ilum-Ra's rage flooding his veins like a virus. He slammed a firewall into the vault's core, but Silas's AI was deeper, its algorithm weaving their code like a noose tightening around their minds. "Selika, can you block his stream, or is Inanna calling the shots?"She knelt beside him, her halo sparking, sweat beading on her brow as she jacked her rig into his. "I'm trying, Reyan," she gasped, her voice raw, not coded. "Inanna's in my head, pushing me to turn on you hard." Her eyes met his, pain raw beneath her defiance, no diplomat's mask left. "I'm not giving in. Not this time." Her hand grazed his, their glyphs syncing in a warm pulse, Borobudur's hum wrapping them in a fleeting truce. The jungle's thunder rumbled closer, their breaths a shared rhythm in the chaos, a moment of clarity before the storm."You're both blind," Silas's drone intoned, advancing through the vault's red glow, its pulse-blade humming with lethal charge. "Ilum-Ra's fire is dominion, not your pathetic freedom. Your blood will crown him, willing or broken." It raised its blade, but Reyan's rig beeped—the vault yielding a Codex fragment: "Their blood in the red hour breaks the Veil, or binds it eternal." He dumped it to an Enki node, his hack spiking the vault's pulse, the jungle trembling."Dominion's your fever dream, Silas," Reyan shot back, his voice carrying Ilum-Ra's fire. "Ilum-Ra fought for minds, not your altar." He and Selika linked rigs, their code merging in a desperate counter-hack, fingers flying in sync across holo-keys. "Selika, give me everything don't hold back!"Her voice roared, a serpent's cry that crashed half the swarm, drones sparking into Borobudur's stone, their wreckage lighting the jungle in fleeting flares. "I'm not your serpent, Silas!" she shouted, blood streaming now, her Arkan-Veyr strain tearing through her body. Inanna's whisper surged: "Kill him, rule the stars." Selika's halo flickered, but she gripped Reyan's hand tighter, her voice grounding him. "Stay with me, Reyan," she whispered, raw, human, her breath ragged.The humanoid drone lunged, its pulse-blade slashing toward Reyan's throat, its optic blazing with Silas's zeal. Their merged hack spiked, a surge of Flame-Twin code frying the drone's core mid-strike, its blade inches from his skin. The drone collapsed, Silas's voice fading in a chilling laugh: "The red hour comes, Flame-Twins. Your blood is ours." Borobudur trembled, its glyphs bleeding like open wounds, the jungle's fronds igniting as the vault's pulse hit global neural webs, Eridu's war burning brighter across the world's holo-screens.Reyan and Selika slumped against the pillar, their glyphs fading, her hand still clutching his. The jungle's hum returned, softer now, the vault's red glow pulsing like a dying heart. "We're not done," Selika whispered, her voice trembling but fierce, her eyes locked on his. Their blood was the key, and trust was their only code left in a world unraveling.