The webcam light at the top of her monitor flicked on. A bright, unblinking green eye.

Marcus, the quiet one, stood up. He walked toward the window that was on the floor. He looked down into it.

On February 10, 2023, at 14:47 hours, an unexpected event occurred during the experimentation process. Echo-1 was placed in a specially designed isolation chamber, where he was instructed to perform a series of cognitive tasks while being monitored by a team of researchers. Suddenly, the subject's behavior became erratic, and he began to exhibit signs of extreme agitation.

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The file on the screen was labeled simply: DD_Submission_887_RENDER_FINAL.mp4 .

Suddenly, the camera swung back to the hallway they had just walked down. Every door was now open. And standing in every doorway were students. Dozens of them. They were wearing clothes from different eras—a letterman jacket from the 50s, tie-dye from the 70s, flannel from the 90s. None of them were moving. They were staring directly at the camera lens.