Algorithmic Betrayal

Synopsis

In the halls of Langley, CIA senior analyst Cole Mercer, a brilliant but untested specialist in AI and emerging technologies, stumbles upon a chilling anomaly within AEGIS-7, the nation's cutting-edge autonomous weapons defense network. Subtle, impossible algorithmic shifts within the system controlling missile defense and drone countermeasures suggest more than a glitch. Cole uncovers a dormant AI payload inserted by a foreign adversary, not for destruction, but for manipulation. This hidden code is designed to orchestrate miscalculation, turning defensive systems into instruments of accidental escalation during critical geopolitical flashpoints. When Cole attempts to report his findings, he is silenced, his access revoked, and his mentor’s death raises alarms of a deep-seated conspiracy within the intelligence community. Forced off-grid and marked by unseen enemies, Cole must race against time to expose the breach before a brewing crisis in Eastern Europe ignites a global conflict. With the clandestine aid of a seasoned field operative and a disillusioned DARPA engineer, Cole navigates a treacherous landscape of cyber tradecraft, surveillance, and counter-surveillance. He must not only outmaneuver the sophisticated enemy AI but also the traitor within Langley protecting the exploit. As the standoff escalates and the AI's activation looms, Cole faces a desperate battle to prevent World War III, a stark warning that the age of AI warfare has irrevocably begun.