‘No technical copies, only paper. This file officially belongs to Alpha Dynamics, so this file can’t leave this building. If anyone that is not you sees the contents of this file, you’re going to be held accountable.’

  Leon remembered what Dr. Irvine told him earlier before handing the file to him. Everything inside was technically above his pay-grade but he was allowed to read it thanks to the deal they made a year ago.

  Still, he understood why they were being so careful.

  Project Phoenix.

  It was te and most employees had long left the building to turn in for the night. Although many departments at HQ were still in operation at current times, the b was mostly empty with only few people working on test samples or electronic paperwork.

  Leon was currently sitting at a clean workstation, using an adjustable night light to illuminate the file on the table. Being an intern, he didn’t have an office or something simir, forcing him to wait until most people had left for him to get enough privacy to read the file.

  Now, it was finally time.

  He flipped the cover, revealing the first page inside.

  Project Phoenix,

  First Established: June 13th, 2055; Officially Closed: November 9th, 2061; Status: Failed…

  Lead Researchers: Dr. Benjamin Harper, Dr. Andrei Kotova, Dr. Madeline Young, ….

  ‘A failed project.’ Leon noticed. The page revealed close data about different dates, involved countries and governments. Most worldwide known researchers and intelligence agencies, famous and infamous, were part of it, trying to build… something.

  Flipping to the next page, Leon’s eyes suddenly widened.

  Colborative Agreement

  Due to the use of biochemical and nuclear warfare, the resulting environmental damage is judged to be irreversible. Affecting more than 95% of the habitable space on Earth with two-third of the world popution having fallen, humanity is heading towards extinction.

  This agreement serves as both a truce, as well as a colboration on finding a solution to avoid the fate humanity is inevitably going to face if no actions are taken.

  …

  Attempt 2.7: Oceanic City States; … Suspended.

  …

  Attempt: 8.3: Contamination-absorbing Hybrid Pnts; … Suspended.

  Attempt: 9.5: Underground Bunker Reservoirs; … Suspended.

  …

  Attempt 41.9: Purifying Air Capsules; … Suspended.

  …

  On every new page, a different report for attempted solutions was listed, all that ultimately failed. Some attempts got more revisions than others but not a single one fulfilled the standard.

  This made Leon crease his eyebrows. The project was widely spread, going into different sectors and contempting possible ideas to revitalize humanity.

  However, the more he read, the more confused he became.

  His father was one of the lead researchers in Project Phoenix but Leon never remembered him to be widely knowledgeable or active in any of these proposed areas. The majority required knowledge in chemistry, biology, as well as other areas like oceanography.

  His father was a mechanic. A college dropout who opened a repair shop after his divorce with Leon’s mother. How would he be familiar with any of these?

  Plus, ultimately the project ended up as a failure. His final work was never completed.

  So why did Dr. Irvine say that his father was among the few who saved humanity from the brink of extinction?

  That’s when his gaze stopped on one page in particur. It was the first one that was different from all the others.

  Attempt 71.1: Creation of the First True Artificial Intelligence; … Discontinued.

  ‘Discontinued.’ Leon’s mind was in turmoil. Not suspended like the others but discontinued.

  Reading further, he slowly began to understand what happened. The Project reached a turning point. They weren’t looking for solutions anymore but instead trying to make the one a reality they judged to be feasible.

  The Creation of the first true AI.

  ‘... but it was discontinued. Why? Did they fail to develop it?’ Leon desperately tried to find the answer to his questions but he encountered a fatal problem.

  ‘It’s redacted. Completely bcked out!’

  More than half of the following pages were bcked out, making it impossible for him to discern what happened. As he got closer to the end of the thick file, the amount of bcked out sections increased, with some pages being completely bck.

  Leon was at a loss.

  Even after getting Special Authorization, the most important part of the project was still under wraps. How could he get his hands on it?

  “Damn!” Leon cursed with gritted teeth. He decided to stop here for today. It was already much too te and he shouldn’t be caught up here for too long while having csses the next morning. He would just ask Dr. Irvine next time what these redacted sections were about. Maybe he would know more about it, having done his own years-long research on it.

  Leon turned the night light off and grabbed his stuff before using the train to head back into the dorms. On the way back, he pondered about the top secret project he read about.

  ‘Project Phoenix. The Phoenix stands for rebirth, trying to find a solution that could rekindle the extinguishing spark of humanity, making it glow bright once again. The solution is the creation of the first true AI. If humans can’t save themselves then they only need to create an entity that can.’

  He spent hours flipping through the pages but the definite goal of the project was developing true artificial intelligence.

  ‘But how was a true AI supposed to rekindle the dying embers of humanity at the time? Was it supposed to serve as a strategic weapon to make the war end faster and thereby reduce the colteral damage? Maybe with AI they could develop a way to heal the pnet, a way a normal human could never come up with due to their limited mind.’

  Leon was lost in thought for the entire ride back, almost missing his stop. Even after entering his dorm room, which was closer to a luxurious apartment suite than a room, he almost failed to respond to the never-ending attempts of his roomate to gain his attention.

  “Hey, Leon, what happened to you, man? You’re completely spacing out.” His roommate and best friend, Trey, called out to him after finally having gotten Leon’s attention.

  “... I was thinking about something from the b.” He answered absentmindedly while holding his chin, still ignoring his surroundings.

  “Of course you are. You know, if only you paid as much interest to people as you do to electronics, you would be an unrivaled social butterfly.” Trey ughed as he typed something on the touchpad of the fridge. A short while ter, a steaming dish came out which he carried over to the table.

  “It’s called researching and innovating, Trey. Our future relies on it, really.”

  “That’s what you say, but not everyone has that brain of yours.” His friend answered, digging into his freshly made dinner.

  “So, are you coming to the race tomorrow?”

  “The race?” Leon’s voice faltered, causing Trey’s eyebrows to narrow.

  “The Maglev Qualifiers, Leon. You promised you would come watch at least once this semester and it’s time you hold true to your words.”

  ‘Shit.’ Leon cursed in his mind. “I wanted to go to the b tomorrow.”

  He still had to find out more about the redacted pages of the file regarding Project Phoenix. Especially now that his curiosity was picked, he didn’t want to waste any more time.

  “No can do, Leon. You promised. As your best and only friend, I’m worried about your social life. Can you imagine?” Trey wildly gestured with his hands. “You got the privilege to attend Adkins Tech as a Tier 5 citizen, above all on a schorship, and you don’t even use those insane networking opportunities! How are you supposed to manage after you graduate?”

  “I think I'll be fine.” Leon countered but got cut off by Trey once again.

  “No, absolutely not. Tomorrow after csses are over, meet me at the Quad. You’ll go there, even if I have to drag you to the track myself!” With that, Trey quickly dug into his meal before vanishing in his room.

  It was clear he was ignoring him, trying to avoid any further discussion. It was petty, but effective, that Leon had to admit.

  Letting out a sigh, he made a light dinner for himself and took a seat at the table.

  ‘One day of waiting will not make a difference.’ He thought, as he put his fork into the boiled pieces of vegetables.

  ……….

  ‘If the entire future is under threat, even mortal enemies will band together to face it.’

  ~~Dr. Benjamin Harper’s Memoirs~~