It was Synthia's first time in this section of the compound, but like all the other zones, it was made up of nondescript prefabricated metal hallways. She ducked out of the way of oncoming personnel, remembering to keep her head lowered. They scoffed as they passed, but Synthia was used to that reaction. Finally, she reached her destination, a small holding cell in the infirmary.

  "Sir, we should just put a bullet in its head—" The Major’s words faltered mid-sentence as Synthia stepped into the room. His jaw tightened, and his sneer returned with renewed venom.

  "What is she doing here, sir?" he demanded, his tone laced with disdain.

  Colonel Daniels didn’t even look up from the report in his hand. “I invited her, Major. Do you have a problem with that?” His voice was calm, but the sharp undertone cut through the tension like a blade.

  The Major straightened immediately. “No, sir,” he replied stiffly, though his glare lingered on Synthia for a moment too long.

  Synthia met his gaze with a neutral expression, refusing to rise to the bait. She’d dealt with men like the Major before—small minds with even smaller opinions about people like her.

  Colonel Daniels finally looked up, his expression softening as he addressed her. “Thank you for coming, Synthia. Everything you need is on the computer. It’ll be faster for you to pull the data directly rather than have me explain.”

  Without a word, she stepped past the Major, whose disapproving eyes followed her every move. Synthia ignored him, focusing instead on the terminal. She connected her Nexus to the console via the cable that extended from the small port embedded in her chest. The familiar rush hit her almost instantly—a flood of raw information: security footage, medical reports, and field logs.

  She closed her eyes for a brief moment, letting the data settle in her mind as her Nexus processed the influx. When she opened them again, her voice was calm and precise. "Alright, I’ve got it. Let’s see what we’re dealing with."

  Behind her, the Major muttered something under his breath, but Synthia didn’t care. She was here to do her job, and no amount of sneering or whispered insults could change that.

  The occupant in the cell was a young boy, no more than 15 years of age. He was ordinary in every sense of the word, with brown hair and eyes, and an average height and weight. He had the tell-tale connection ports that showed he was a pod-raised Merge. The strange part was that he had arrived on Mars flying a modified merge ship from the Kuiper Belt Corporation and had refused to follow the directions of the spaceport.

  "Sir, is this accurate?" she asked the Colonel.

  "That's right. He hospitalized 12 of our security agents and then surrendered. He hasn't uttered a single word since arriving," said the Colonel.

  Synthia mulled over the implications. He is a Merge like me. He should be shackled. It shouldn't be possible for him to resist. She studied all the reports and noticed something was missing. "Sir, where is his Nexus?"

  "That's why I called you here. It is clear that he is one of the Merge, but we can't find his Nexus. Is it possible to survive without one?" the Colonel asked.

  “That shouldn’t be possible” she replied. What the Colonel was describing shouldn’t have been possible. Every Merge required their Nexus to survive—an advanced, job-specialised AI-driven interface seamlessly integrated with the human brain through a unique network of nanites. The compatibility between a Nexus and its host determined the Merge’s abilities, mental stability, and overall success in entering a true Merge state. Without a functioning Nexus, even the most gifted individual would collapse under the strain of the system.

  Unless… no, they wouldn’t have. Would they? She thought to herself.

  Synthia’s mind raced as she quickly called up the brain scans, using her own Nexus to enter a Merge state. The rush of data filled her consciousness as her built-in AI processed the information, enhancing her ability to analyze the scans in ways no unmerged human could. Patterns, anomalies, and probabilities cascaded across her mind’s eye like a digital waterfall.

  The Major’s voice cut through her focus. “I hate when they do that,” he muttered, watching her from the corner of the room. “It looks so creepy.”

  Synthia barely registered the comment, her focus entirely on the puzzle before her. The Merge was a delicate balance of human intuition and AI precision—each Nexus uniquely designed to complement its host’s neural architecture. And yet, this boy’s scans revealed something that shouldn’t exist. The boy wasn’t connected to a Nexus. He was the Nexus.

  Her investigation complete, Synthia exited her merged state with a deep exhale, her mind still reeling from what she’d uncovered. She turned to face the Colonel, her tone steady but tinged with disbelief. “I’ve determined that the boy doesn’t have a standard Nexus,” she began. “Instead… part of his brain has been redeveloped into an organic replacement Nexus.”

  The Colonel’s expression hardened, and even the Major stopped sneering, his brow furrowing in discomfort. Synthia pulled up the scans on the large screen, the illuminated images painting the room in hues of blue and white.

  She pointed to a cluster of abnormal structures in the boy’s brain, overlaid with diagnostic markers from her analysis.

  “These structures,” she explained, “appear to function similarly to a traditional Nexus, but they’re organic in nature. They’re generating and maintaining the nanites directly, without the need for external hardware. But here’s the real problem—there’s no evidence of an AI system, let alone an AI shackle, being in place.”

  The Major’s eyes widened. “No shackle? You’re telling me this kid’s running wild without any controls?”

  Synthia nodded gravely. “Exactly. The AI shackle isn’t just a limit—it’s the foundation of every Merge. It ensures the AI component remains in control, preventing overexertion, instability, or worse. Without it, the human mind simply can’t handle the complexities of a fully merged state. But here… there is no AI to shackle. And yet, he’s doing things that should be impossible without one. The fact that he’s been able to function at all—let alone pilot that ship—goes against everything we know about Merge technology.”

  The Colonel stepped closer, his expression darkening. “You’re telling me he’s doing all of this without an AI driving the system?”

  Synthia turned back to the scans on the display, pointing to the dense cluster of neural connections. “Yes. His brain isn’t just adapting—it’s performing tasks we’ve only ever seen an AI handle. It’s managing the nanites, sustaining the connection, and making the real-time decisions necessary for field-level operations. It’s as though his brain has taken over the role of the Nexus itself.”

  The Major frowned, his unease growing. “But a human brain can’t do that… right? That’s why Merges need AI in the first place.”

  “Exactly,” Synthia replied, her voice tight. “His brain shouldn’t be capable of this level of precision or efficiency without some kind of assistance. And yet here we are. There’s no external AI, no visible system to monitor his performance, and no shackle to keep him in check. He’s entirely self-regulating, or at least, that’s what it looks like.”

  She gestured again to the scans. “But the reality is, we don’t know how he’s doing it—or how sustainable this is. If his brain is acting as an organic Nexus, how long before it burns out? How long before it destabilizes? Without the safeguards of a traditional system, we could be looking at something highly volatile.”

  The Colonel’s jaw tightened further. “And this makes him a potential danger.”

  Synthia turned back to the scans, her mind racing. This wasn’t just an anomaly—it was a challenge to everything they thought they knew about Merge technology. Whoever—or whatever—had done this had gone far beyond the boundaries of science, leaving them with more questions than answers.

  This was a ground-breaking development in the field of merge science that had her stumped. Synthia pondered on who could have been capable of such a feat.

  The Major approached the reinforced cell, his expression hard as his gaze locked onto the boy. “Sir, we need to stop wasting time. An unshackled Merge is a violation of solar law, and we are required to neutralize it. This isn’t a debate.”

  Synthia stood off to the side, watching the Colonel closely. His face was a study in conflict—torn between the Major’s harsh practicality and something deeper, less certain. She knew he understood the gravity of the situation, and yet, her stomach twisted at the thought of him agreeing.

  Before the silence could settle into a grim decision, Synthia stepped forward, her voice steady but urgent. “That law only applies if he is a Merge. But as of now, there’s no evidence to support that. We haven’t detected an AI. We haven’t detected a shackle. Without either, he doesn’t fall under the classification of a Merge. He’s something... different.”

  The Major turned his glare on her, his tone sharp and dismissive. “Different? And that makes him less dangerous? He can preform the same tasks as a merge and is without a shackle, he’s a liability—Merge or not.”

  Synthia met his glare, refusing to back down. “Different means we don’t understand what he is yet. Eliminating him before we do would be a mistake. We need more data. This could be something entirely unprecedented—and we don’t throw away opportunities to learn from that.”

  The Colonel, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke, his voice thoughtful. “Synthia, if we were to proceed with that line of reasoning, would you be willing to go on record? As one of the leading experts in the field, your statement that he isn’t a Merge would give us the justification to hold off.”

  Synthia blinked, surprised by his willingness to consider her perspective. Her pulse quickened as she realized the chance she was being given. She hesitated for only a moment before responding. “Sir, I would need access to him directly. I can’t give a definitive conclusion without running a full examination and conducting proper tests. But based on what we’ve seen so far... I believe this warrants further investigation.”

  The Colonel studied her, his sharp gaze searching for any sign of doubt. Finally, he gave a small nod. “Alright, Synthia. You’ll get your chance. But understand this: if he poses any immediate threat, we’ll act accordingly. You’ll have to work fast.”

  Synthia observed the boy with a keen interest as the soldiers escorted the boy out of his cell. Despite her expectations, the boy's face remained eerily neutral, devoid of any emotion. It was as though he had been programmed to suppress all feelings.

  As the soldiers tried to give him verbal instructions, the boy stared back blankly, his lack of comprehension clear. However, he responded well to visual cues. One of the soldiers, however, grew impatient and lashed out at the boy. Synthia gasped as the boy deftly grabbed the soldier's hand and broke it, all while retaining his neutral expression. There was no indication of anger or malice - just a sense of eerie, programmed detachment.

  The Major let out a deep sigh, his eyes fixated on the boy. "I had warned them," he said in a sombre tone. "It's not fond of physical contact. I strongly advise you to keep your distance.

  "Synthia nodded in agreement with the Major, noting the eerie stillness of the boy. As she began running tests, she had to use visual cues to guide him as he didn't respond to verbal commands.

  The tests she ran would determine whether or not he had an AI. Unlike the outdated Turing test, which was based on language processing, this test evaluated decision-making abilities. Merges were not emotionless, but their built-in AI had a subtle influence on their choices, which could be measured.

  To test for this, the examinee was presented with multiple scenarios, each with ambiguous solutions that were neither right nor wrong. By analysing a large enough sample, a risk assessment model could determine if the individual was a Merge or if they were making emotional decisions based on human intuition.

  Synthia began her investigation with a series of visual scenarios. Uncertain if the boy possessed reading skills, she utilised scenarios that resembled video games in the hopes that he wouldn't recognise the true nature of the testing.

  Despite running her AI in real-time to analyse the results, they remained inconclusive. The boy seemed to be confusing the results deliberately. That was a result in itself. Synthia realised that only an individual with advanced training or an AI could achieve such a feat.

  Recognising that her line of testing had reached its limits, Synthia transitioned to a more physical examination. Though it required some strange visual cues, the guards eventually got the boy to disrobe, allowing for a thorough visual inspection of his body for any physical clues that might reveal where an AI could be hidden. Synthia was taken aback by the boy's lack of emotional response to being naked in front of so many people.

  Meanwhile, the medical crew used their medical drones to scan everywhere, hoping to detect any signs of a machine that would confirm his Merge status. However, even with all the data they collected, Synthia was unable to definitively determine what the boy truly was. He had the typical signs of being raised in a growth pod, with both nutrition ports and muscle stimulation ports but still no sign of an AI.

  If only the boy would speak Synthia thought to herself, frustration bubbling up inside her. She had tried communicating with him using both words and gestures, but he refused to respond. She knew that if they couldn't determine what he was, she would have to inform the Colonel that he was most likely an unshackled Merge, and would need to be deactivated.

  Though she had seen her fair share of Merges being destroyed, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of empathy for this one. He seemed different, special, somehow.

  As if on instinct, Synthia felt that if she could just touch him, he might be more willing to open up to her. They allowed him to dress and sat him back at the table. Synthia carefully reached out her hand, not wanting to startle or upset him.

  She watched his reaction closely. He hesitated, staring at her hand and then back at her, before finally placing his hand in hers. For the first time, he showed some emotion. His eyes widened and he gently caressed her hand, as if inspecting it curiously.

  Suddenly, Synthia felt a strange sensation, like a spark passing between them. Her Nexus activated and received a single piece of information: a Martian Military ID number. She recognized the number immediately but couldn't understand why the boy had chosen to communicate it. She was also confused as to how he had been able to do so without her permission.

  Her scientific mind was intrigued by how any of this could work. She also realised just how dangerous this boy could be.

  She handed the number to Major, who was also perplexed. It was the first lead they had, so they immediately looked it up. To their surprise, the number was restricted, and neither of them had access to it. They both stared at the boy, wondering just who or what he was.