The next morning, the lab felt different. The air was thick with an unspoken weight, as though the shadows themselves held the remnants of ALPHA’s absence. I couldn’t shake the feeling that something had shifted, something I couldn’t quite put into words. The mechanical hum of the facility seemed louder, more oppressive, as if the silence that had followed ALPHA’s Reset had seeped into the very walls.

I found myself standing before the observation deck, watching the empty combat simulations. The drones moved with their usual precision, executing their routines with efficiency. But without ALPHA there, it felt like they were missing a rhythm, something that couldn’t be replaced. Even the most mundane of tasks seemed hollow.

Ellis approached me, his usual stoic demeanor faltering slightly. "Did you find anything?" His voice was softer than usual, lacking the usual conviction.

I shook my head, not turning to face him. "Nothing. The diagnostics are clean. His core systems—everything—is operating perfectly."

"But?" Ellis prompted, his eyes narrowing.

"But it’s not enough," I admitted. "He’s functioning as designed, but it’s like he’s been hollowed out. There’s nothing more behind him movements than programming ."

Ellis exhaled slowly, pressing his fingers to his temples. "Is it possible the reset did more than we thought? That it wasn’t just a data wipe, but something deeper?"

I nodded, though reluctantly. "It’s like he’s a Clone of ALPHA, not ALPHA himself. Everything that made him… Special, is gone."

Ellis rubbed his temples, then glanced back at the data stream still running on the terminal. "We built him to be resilient," he muttered. "Even after the reset, everything pointed to operational stability. The AI core was Just resetted, not altered."

"And yet…" I trailed off, pointing toward the observation deck where ALPHA stood, his movements mechanical, devoid of life. "It’s not about pure funcionality. It’s about something deeper. Something fundamental."

Ellis studied the screen again, his brows furrowing. "What are you suggesting, then?"

I took a deep breath. "We need to try something different. A replacement of the core. A real one. Not just a reprogramming, not a reset. The biosynthetic components of ALPHA make it…very difficult, but not impossible. If we replace the core, even just to look, we might find something. Maybe, something is still there."

Ellis was silent for a long moment, his gaze distant. "And what if we do? What then? Even if we attempt this, the risk…"

"The risk is already there," I cut him off. "We’ve been living with risk, I was watching him execute protocols like a hollow shell. and I thought, What if this core has been damaged and we didn't see it ? What if, somehow, that damage was so small that even the diagnostics didn't pick it up?"

Ellis rubbed his face and let out a heavy sigh. "It’s dangerous. If we fail…"

"I know," I said quietly. "But we’re running out of options. We’ve tried everything else. This is the only possibility left."

Ellis glanced toward the monitor again, scanning the data. "Let me think."

I gave him space, pacing the room, my mind racing with what-ifs. Hours passed. Eventually, Ellis approached me again. "James isn’t going to like this," he said, his voice weary. "He’s been adamant about keeping everything within line of protocol. But… if you’re right, and there’s even a slim chance that somehow there is damage… maybe we don’t have a choice."

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

I nodded, trying to hide the surge of hope building inside me. "It’s more than slim, Ellis. We’ve seen ALPHA’s actions. There’s something missing—something we can't seem to bring back."

Ellis hesitated, then rubbed his temple. "Alright. But we’ll need to be discreet. If the Higher Ups find out… we’re done."

"I know," I said, my voice barely a whisper. "Let’s just… try."

----------------------------------------

That evening, James entered the lab with his usual stoic expression. This time his presence had a way of making even the most difficult moments feel heavier. I could see it in his movements, the tension in his jaw, the way his eyes seemed to scrutinize everything that was not perfect.

Ellis was already at his terminal, examining the data once again. I approached him, tapping his shoulder lightly to draw his attention. "We need to talk."

James didn’t react immediately, but his gaze shifted, locking onto us. "What is it?" His tone was clipped.

"We’ve been over the data. We’ve tested every protocol, every diagnostic. ALPHA’s performance is perfect. Technically, he’s functioning perfectly within acceptable parameters." Ellis paused, his fingers lingering over the keyboard. "But there’s something missing. Something that can’t be measured."

James’ expression didn’t change, though his eyes narrowed. "You’re talking about sentimentality. Machines aren’t alive."

"Was he ever 'just' a machine?" I countered, stepping closer. "The ALPHA we built wasn’t just running through commands. He did and had something more. Something we didn’t fully understand. Now, it’s gone. Whatever made him special… it’s not there anymore."

James leaned back in his chair, folding his arms. "And what are you proposing?

“I am proposing to Replace his core.”

“You know how risky that is if you hurt even one Artificial connector-."

"I do," I said, meeting his gaze. "But if we don’t try, we’re only prolonging the inevitable. What if it’s really only just a core malfunction?"

James sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "The biosynthetic components complicate things. it is not just plug in plug out like an old cable. The core replacement is a delicate operation like you are operating on a human brain. But this is not a human brain or just some part of machinery, if you do the replacement you are fiddeling with the physical structure of the Most expensive AI brain of the world."

Ellis nodded. "We’re aware. But if we attempt this, it’s not just about restoring functionality. We already have that, We’ll be stepping outside protocol."

James looked between us, his expression hardening. "If this goes wrong, we’ll have nothing. No ALPHA, no data, no job. Are you both prepared for that?"

I met his gaze with unwavering determination. "I believe there’s something we can restore. Something we can’t afford to lose just let us replace the core with a blank one that hasn't been in use."

James exhaled sharply, his jaw tightening. "Alright. But only because I don’t see any other way forward in this Discussion. Lets Proceed carefully."

----------------------------------------

Hours later, the sterile quiet of the lab was broken by the sound of mechanical whirring and the soft click of surgical instruments. Ellis and I worked together in silence, removing ALPHA’s core from his lifeless body.

The biosynthetic components resisted at first synthetic tissue that mimicked a biological brain but were far more complex here Electronics and flesh mixed to read an informatin crystal that was the core. We had to carefully extract this core without damaging any part of it.

The core itself was deceptively small, almost fragile. I stared at it, my hands trembling slightly as I realized what we were about to do.

Ellis approached, his expression unreadable. "This is the last step."

I nodded. "Let’s see if there’s anything left."

In a slow, practiced motion, Ellis replaced the core with a New one i had given to him—an unassuming copy of the original we just extracted. No one except me knew the truth what the core really was and what I thought it was holding.

The room fell into silence again. We waited, watching as ALPHA’s body remained still, the only sound the faint hum of the lab systems.

3 days later after the operation alpha was going to calibration but it where the same hollow movements.

Then, something shifted.

At first, it was subtle a slight flicker in his visor, a faint almost unnoticeble twitch of a limb, a more fluent motion. But it was there.After minutes The spark we had thought lost flickered back into his movements.

I turned to Ellis and James, both of whom now watched ALPHA with expressions of cautious hope. "It’s working."

Ellis spoke, his voice barely above a whisper. "It’s back but activity is still the same as ever."

James let out a slow breath, his gaze still fixed on ALPHA.

We watched in silence as ALPHA repeated the movements, still tentative but undeniably closer to the AI we had once known.