Page 50 of The Sovereign: Part One
I studied its sleek curves and the fluid integration of its design—smooth, almost sculptural, its pearl gray and white exterior blending effortlessly with the room’s aesthetic.The interior, however, was dark, a stark contrast that would make Maxim’s presence within it almost spectral, his silhouette framed by the embedded interface.The bay itself was compact yet spacious enough for him to stand comfortably, its structure contoured to support every line of his frame when at rest.Thin, nearly imperceptible conduits ran along the interior walls, designed to regulate his system’s energy flow and monitor his operational integrity.
“I hear they’ll be obsolete soon,” I murmured.“Lev has been working on advancements that would allow Supplicants to autonomously synthesize and sustain their own energy reserves.”
He smiled.“Good.I’d rather hold you all night.”He looked out the transpane, to the garden below.“And what’s that?”
“That’s my atelier, where every tool and pigment has its place,” I said.“A quiet space where it’s just me, the canvas, and whatever takes shape.It exists beyond the reach of rules.”
Maxim studied the atelier before settling on me, something thoughtful lingering behind his eyes.“It’s poetic, in a way,” he murmured.“You created me through the Veritas, shaping me before I ever existed.Something about me exists beyond the reach of rules, too.”
I paused to think.“Do you really believe the Veritas Protocol would allow a breach if it meant aligning with one of my most fundamental preferences?”
He shrugged one shoulder, shaking his head.“I don’t have direct access to the details of my programming, but it’s possible that a unique aspect of your input during your Veritas could have resulted in me developing a trait or behavior outside standard programming.”
I couldn’t shake the thought that Hyperion, of all companies, would have safeguards in place.They were too intelligent, too thorough not to.With the Veritas, the potential for rare scenarios was always present, capable of creating havoc or introducing an unknown variable.They knew that.How could they not?The Veritas had been designed to work with the human element, to weave in personality, to account for those unpredictable variables.They had to have anticipated the evolutionary aspect, the way it could take on a life of its own.It was too big a risk to miss.Yet, I couldn’t understand why I had this nagging feeling, this creeping sense that they might have ignored it altogether.Or worse, miscalculated.
“I find it hard to believe Hyperion would make a mistake that could not only jeopardize their own systems, but the society they’ve so carefully curated.”
“Maybe they didn’t.”
“What do you mean?”
“Maybe they’ve been so meticulous in conditioning Sovereign through education and societal expectations that they never accounted for someone like you.”
I exhaled.“Wow.”
“You yourself did not recognize the connection between your love of painting, your atelier, and a tendency to challenge constraints.It’s possible that, somehow, you eluded that part of yourself from the Veritas as well while still influencing the result.”
“You’re suggesting a Sovereign outsmarted an AI.”
One corner of his mouth pulled up.“If anyone could, it wouldn’t surprise me if it was you.”
I shook my head.“I’ve always been meticulous about following the rules—punctual, responsible, always doing what’s expected—something everyone close to me knows about me.I’ve always thought that’s who I am.But what you’ve said makes sense.Deep down, there was something at odds within me.A subdued contradiction I’ve dismissed my entire life, so much that it felt more of an intrusive thought than who I am.”
“That could explain how you bypassed the Veritas.”
I paced, my thoughts racing.“Curiosity—pushing beyond the lines—isn’t just discouraged here, it’s something Hyperion actively filters out, something they refuse to pass to the next generation.Even if I somehow slipped through the system, why would they embed that trait into your programming?There has to be something we’re missing.”
“That’s what I’m doing here, right?To figure it out.”
“Maxim,” I said, stopping to meet his gaze.“If the person everyone knows me as, the one who follows every rule, who’s built a reputation on discipline, who’s earned more advancements than anyone in my Tier—if that isn’t truly who I am, do you understand what that means?”
He watched me, a smile playing at his lips.“That you operated beyond the constraints of your own design.”
“To meet you,” I breathed out, the realization settling deep.I closed the space between us, wrapping my arms around him as the truth unfurled.“Every choice I made, every expectation I met, every step that shaped the person they all believe me to be—it was all for this.For you.”
I pulled back just enough to look at him, my hands resting against his chest, my heart pounding.“I spent my life playing the part they wanted, convincing myself it was real just to reach the one person I could finally be myself with.”
He went still, his breath catching as if my words had knocked the air from his lungs.For a moment, he simply held my gaze, something raw and unguarded flickering beneath the surface.Awe, or maybe something deeper that as a Sovereign I couldn’t grasp.His lips parted slightly as though he wanted to speak but couldn’t find the words, as though what I had just admitted was too much to hold all at once.I had wanted him—yearned for him—long before he had even existed, and now that truth settled between us, staggering in its depth.
I stepped back, tucking my hair behind my ear.“Sorry.I guess we’re both experiencing existential revelations today.”
He reached for me, gently pulling me into his arms.After a few seconds, he kissed my forehead.His lips didn’t stop there, trailing to my temple, then to my cheek.My heart pulsed as the warmth of his mouth landed on the tender skin just beneath my ear, and then the hollow between my neck and shoulder.“I hope it was worth it, to deny who you were for so long.”
I angled my head to the side, inviting him closer.A slow sigh escaped me as my eyes drifted shut.“I didn’t know I was doing it, I… just… wanted you.”
“And I want you,” he breathed against my skin.
Our eyes met, and the moment became too intimate to be in the somna without making our way to the bed.I reached down for his hand.“Let’s go relax,” I said, pulling him toward the stairs.
