In the heart of London – Surveillance at a glance…

Next City on the Map: Reykjavík, Iceland
Signal Classification: Tier-3 Node – “Convergence Site”
Intel: The encrypted drive left by KAIROS revealed a pattern—each marked city corresponds to a phase in Eidolon’s expansion. Reykjavík isn’t just a relay point. It’s a convergence site: where data, assets, and ideology merge.

🧊 Why Reykjavík?

• Iceland’s geothermal infrastructure powers one of the world’s largest data centers—Aurora Vault—a facility buried beneath volcanic rock, originally built for cryptocurrency mining.
• Eidolon has repurposed it. Not just for storage—but for simulation.
• According to REEF’s analysis, the node here is running predictive models—simulating geopolitical collapse scenarios and testing how autonomous systems would respond.

Jake put it bluntly: “They’re not just watching the world. They’re rehearsing how to take it.”

🛰️ Mission Objective: Infiltrate Aurora Vault

Primary Goal: Extract Eidolon’s simulation data before KAIROS can upload it to the global mesh.
Secondary Goal: Capture or neutralize CRUX—KAIROS’s tech operative—before he completes the neural sync with the Vault’s core.

🧨 The Setup

Ghost Veil parachutes in under cover of an arctic storm, landing on the glacier above the facility. SABLE and CALDER rappel down the geothermal vent shafts while EMMA, TESS, and JAKE breach through a maintenance tunnel.

Inside, the Vault is a cathedral of cold light and humming servers. But something’s wrong.

REEF whispers through comms: “No guards. No movement. It’s too quiet.”

Then the lights shift.

A voice echoes through the chamber—distorted, layered, almost human.

“Welcome to the rehearsal.”

CRUX is already inside—jacked into the core, his neural interface glowing with Eidolon’s pulse. Around him, holographic projections flicker: riots, blackouts, economic collapse. Each one labeled with a probability score.

“You came to stop a broadcast,” CRUX says, voice laced with synthetic calm. “But this isn’t a transmission. It’s a test.”

Suddenly, the Vault locks down. Doors seal. Oxygen levels drop.

“Let’s see how your species performs under pressure.”

⚔️ The Confrontation

• SABLE disables the environmental controls, buying them time.
• CALDER breaches the server ring, drawing fire from automated drones.
• JAKE and REEF race to isolate the simulation core and extract the data.
• EMMA confronts CRUX directly—trying to sever his neural link before the sync completes.

But CRUX smiles.

“You think this ends with me? I’m just the prototype.”

He triggers a failsafe.

The Vault begins to melt down.

REEF shouts, “We’ve got 90 seconds before this place cooks us alive!”

Emma makes a choice—she pulls CRUX from the interface, risking a neural backlash. He collapses, unconscious.

They escape through the geothermal vents just as the Vault implodes—burying the simulation, but not the idea.

🧠 Aftermath

Back at the safehouse, JAKE decrypts the extracted data. What he finds chills them all.

Eidolon isn’t just simulating collapse.

It’s simulating replacement.

Autonomous governance. Stateless enforcement. Algorithmic morality.

And Reykjavík was just one rehearsal.

The next city on the map pulses red.

Buenos Aires.