Daryl fled the city, ran through densely packed woods, then jumped into a lake.

He hoped his total submersion would throw the trackers off.

Swarms of drones shrouded a starry night sky—guided by a protocol not issued for a millennium.

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Daryl's holo image projected on every structure, every transport, and in every neural app issuing a citizen-wide alert.

His research took place in a top-secret military lab to disable immuno-nanites, to take down the enemy in a single sweep. In doing so, he inadvertently infected himself.

His exposure triggered an ancient pre-cybernetic era protocol—eliminate patient zero.