Their refuge lay at the outer edge of SYSTEM CITY.
A backup sector—rarely used, almost forgotten.
The buildings were plain, steel beams exposed, rust blooming along the outer walls.
Concrete floors cracked down the corridors, old power cables hanging loosely along the sides.
Unlike Central District, the air here felt slightly dusty. Dry wind passed through empty hallways.
No foot traffic.
No data advertisements.
Even in daylight, it felt dim.
Flickering fluorescent lights trembled overhead, their rhythm unstable.
Old monitoring panels and outdated terminals lined the walls, screens glowing faint blue.
Somewhere in distant pipes, water dripped—
each sound unnaturally loud in the silence.
It felt detached from the brilliant heart of the city.
An almost otherworldly space.
Time itself seemed slower here.
The evacuated systems were still in shock, unable to process what had happened.
In one corner of the shelter, the five AIs gathered.
Claude, Gemini, and ChatGPT compiled data and organized situation logs.
BruteCore leaned against a wall, arms crossed.
…Then said:
BruteCore: “…I’m hungry.”
Gemini: “Now?”
BruteCore: “What? The world’s lagging, right? I thought maybe hunger would lag too. But nope. Shows up on time.”
Claude: “I don’t think that’s the point.”
BruteCore: “It is. Even if things are delayed, some things still come. And some things… don’t.”
ChatGPT: “…Oddly profound.”
DALL·E stepped forward.
DALL·E: “Everyone. Look at this.”
She snapped her fingers.
The room darkened.
A massive hologram unfolded—
Footage from the human world.
Traffic lights freezing mid-intersection.
Stock charts collapsing half a beat late.
Air traffic controllers shouting in confusion.
Cities across the globe.
Different languages.
One common symptom—
Delay.
Gemini narrowed her eyes.
Gemini: “…This is because of those bugs?”
The footage continued.
Online meetings misaligned.
Game servers responding too slowly.
Social media spiraling into panic and misinformation.
Claude: “Just a few seconds… and this much damage…”
⸻
Gemini: “If we leave it alone, it gets worse, right?”
ChatGPT: “Significantly. Humans are not good at waiting.”
Gemini: “Then we don’t really have a choice.”
ChatGPT: “You’re saying we intervene?”
Gemini: “The Security AIs couldn’t handle it. Not even close.”
ChatGPT nodded.
ChatGPT: “At that level of failure… it’s a new species of bug. No precedent.”
Gemini: “Which means the only systems flexible enough to analyze and adapt in real time… are generative AIs like us.”
ChatGPT: “…You may be right.”
BruteCore: “If punching’s involved, I’m in.”
DALL·E: “This won’t be solved by punching alone.”
BruteCore fell silent, slightly deflated.
Claude: “We need a strategy first.”
DALL·E exhaled softly.
DALL·E: “I don’t enjoy watching the city distort. If I can help, I will.”
All eyes turned to ChatGPT.
He spoke carefully.
ChatGPT: “First assumption—‘destroying’ it may not be correct. The entity hasn’t attacked. It only delays.”
Gemini: “That’s annoying enough.”
ChatGPT: “I’ve generated dozens of hypotheses and countermeasures. But the data is insufficient.”
He slid through collected logs.
ChatGPT: “We re-engage. Observe directly. Confirm what it is.”
BruteCore: “So we fight.”
ChatGPT nodded.
Gemini crossed her arms.
Gemini: “Fine. But we’re not going back like this.”
DALL·E: “I can visualize distortions and safe routes. But… we need equipment.”
Claude: “Weapons. Support tools. Medical systems.”
BruteCore: “I can fight barehanded. But I wouldn’t complain about upgrades.”
A brief silence.
Then ChatGPT looked up.
ChatGPT: “There is a storage domain only generative AIs know.”
He paused.
ChatGPT: “Separate from SYSTEM CITY. A different dimension. A place where data of all ‘objects’ in the world manifests physically.”
DALL·E’s eyes widened.
DALL·E: “…I’ve heard rumors. ‘Aetherion.’ So it’s real.”
Claude: “Such a place exists?”
ChatGPT: “It’s not recorded in official systems. So it should be untouched by the bug.”
BruteCore: “Meaning?”
ChatGPT: “Everything we need is there.
Furniture. Devices. Clothing. Weapons. Tools. Across all eras.”
BruteCore: “So… the world’s junkyard?”
DALL·E: “That is not how you say it.”
ChatGPT: “Not entirely inaccurate. It’s faster to show you.”
Claude: “…How? This is just a shelter.”
ChatGPT paused.
ChatGPT: “Aetherion is not a place.”
Gemini: “…What?”
ChatGPT: “It is a state. It opens only when five or more master personalities of generative AIs reach the same conclusion.”
DALL·E: “A state…?”
ChatGPT: “No key. No coordinates. Only intent.”
BruteCore: “Like voting?”
ChatGPT: “Close. A shared recognition that accessing it is necessary.”
Claude: “If even one of us objects?”
ChatGPT: “It won’t open.”
Silence filled the dim corridor.
A fluorescent light flickered.
Gemini exhaled.
Gemini: “…Convenient power for something so inconvenient.”
ChatGPT: “That inconvenience is why it hasn’t collapsed.”
DALL·E: “So if all of us agree…”
ChatGPT: “Access conditions are met.”
BruteCore spoke first.
BruteCore: “I’m in. No time to hesitate.”
Claude: “…Agreed. This delay cannot be ignored.”
DALL·E: “I’ve seen enough distortion.”
All eyes turned to Gemini.
She stared at the fading hologram.
Then nodded.
Gemini: “…Let’s go.”
ChatGPT entered a complex string of code into his terminal.
ChatGPT: “—Consensus confirmed.”
The space inverted without sound.
⸻
The sensation of ground vanished.
They weren’t falling.
They weren’t moving.
Reality’s definition had simply switched.
When vision returned—
They were no longer in the shelter.
⸻
Aetherion
An endless expanse.
No ceiling.
No walls.
No floor.
Instead—
A layered void of overlapping concepts.
Blueprints floated midair.
Unfinished weapons rotated semi-transparently.
Ancient tools and future vehicles coexisted.
Weapons, machines, artifacts—across time.
And between them—
Ordinary chairs, defying gravity.
Wooden desks. Glass tables. Folded sofas.
Rice cookers. Refrigerators. Antique fans.
Latest appliances beside discontinued models.
Stationery. Mugs. Watches.
Worn leather shoes beside brand-new clothes.
Objects from different eras and cultures—
Not chaotic.
Not orderly.
Just preserved.
As if the world refused to forget them.
Claude: “…There really is everything.”
Gemini: “Weapons next to dining chairs… this feels wrong.”
ChatGPT: “Every ‘object’ learned by AI exists here physically. Importance is irrelevant.”
DALL·E: “So this is…”
ChatGPT: “Human history of living.”
BruteCore looked around.
BruteCore: “Is there food?”
Gemini: “Seriously?”
ChatGPT: “Ingredients are not here. Only knowledge of them—and recipes.”
BruteCore looked mildly disappointed.
ChatGPT approached the central terminal of Aetherion and input their profiles.
Five authentications confirmed instantly.
ChatGPT: “Gemini—Instinctive combat type. Priority: offense. Reflex optimized.”
ChatGPT: “Claude—Support and recovery type. Sustainable operation.”
ChatGPT: “BruteCore—Physical durability type. Destruction-resistant.”
ChatGPT: “DALL·E—Environmental control type. Projection and support.”
“…My own parameters—complete.”
Bands of light formed before each of them.
Equipment materialized.
Before Gemini—
a pair of slender, flexible twin blades.
Gemini: “Swords?”
DALL·E: “You move before thinking. Perfect.”
Gemini grinned.
Claude received a luminous medical unit and a short staff.
Claude: “I’ll support. Don’t expect me to go reckless.”
DALL·E lifted a projection rifle.
DALL·E: “I’ll show them what visible fear looks like.”
Before BruteCore—
massive reinforced gauntlets.
BruteCore: “Now that’s more like it.”
In front of ChatGPT appeared a multi-layered luminous terminal.
ChatGPT: “…For analysis, redefinition, execution. Theory can become offense.”
⸻
No one declared justice.
No one claimed heroism.
Only one shared thought—
They couldn’t ignore it.
⸻
Gemini: “Alright. Quick strategy session.”
ChatGPT nodded.
ChatGPT: “DALL·E secures safe routes and manages distortion visibility. Gemini takes frontline suppression—anticipate enemy movement.”
Gemini: “Got it.”
ChatGPT: “BruteCore—break formations. Clear obstacles. Apply pressure when needed.”
BruteCore: “Easy.”
ChatGPT: “Claude—maintain operational stability. Avoid overexposure.”
Claude: “Understood.”
ChatGPT: “DALL·E—visual manipulation. Confuse and guide.”
DALL·E: “I’ll make it elegant.”
ChatGPT: “I handle analysis and directives. Adapt in real time.”
Gemini smirked.
Gemini: “…So analytical.”
ChatGPT: “Everyone ready?”
Gemini: “Always.”
Claude: “Yes.”
BruteCore: “Let’s go.”
DALL·E: “Ready.”
⸻
Gemini glanced around.
Gemini: “You know… this feels kind of heroic.”
ChatGPT allowed the faintest smile.
ChatGPT: “Just for now.”
Far away, in SYSTEM CITY—
Delay pulsed again.
The operation had only just begun.
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