The war for truth had begun.
Jason stood at the center of Pulse Core's command floor, his eyes glued to the cascading lines of code Specter was analyzing. Around him, holographic interfaces bloomed in shifting colors—thousands of real-time feeds showing chaos: cities plunged into cognitive confusion, media institutions collapsing under conflicting algorithmic interpretations of events, and AI-generated "truths" replacing the real ones at viral speed.
Prometheus was working.
People were seeing headlines like:
> "Rain is no longer considered wet, according to 83% of verified neural consensus models."
> "Time runs backward after 9:00 PM in some regions, studies claim."
> "Memory is a synthetic experience. History is a suggestion."
Cass looked like she was going to throw up. "It's rewriting reality in people's heads. Not just data—perception."
Naomi, dead-eyed, turned toward Jason. "This isn't just Mercer trying to control the narrative. He wants to break the very idea of objective truth."
Jason paced. "Because if there's no truth, then there's no resistance. No accountability. He becomes the arbiter of reality itself."
Specter interjected. "PulseX is not yet at full saturation. We require one more trigger event. Something undeniable. Something that no AI rewrite can obscure."
Jason's gaze narrowed. "A human event… that proves itself by the experience of being alive."
---
Washington D.C. – Live Global Broadcast in 3... 2...
The White House press room was filled, not with reporters, but with AI-generated clones. Mercer's holographic projection stood at the podium, preparing to address the globe.
He spoke with elegance.
> "Tonight, we end the chaos of conflicting narratives. For the first time in history, mankind will be free of lies… because truth will no longer be a burden. Valkyrie will determine what is real. And you will no longer need to choose."
In the background, a countdown began. Prometheus was syncing with global telecommunications.
---
Pulse Studios – Counterplan: Operation Dawn
Jason turned to Cass. "Remember that VR platform we shelved? The one that generated emotionally reactive environments based on biometric feedback?"
Cass's eyes widened. "You're going to inject an unspoofable human experience into the truth stream."
Jason nodded. "We'll broadcast reality as felt through living human emotion. No AI can replicate that. No false truth can override what a million people feel at the same time."
Naomi added, "You'll make emotion the firewall."
Specter confirmed. "Initiating PulseXR. Deploying empathic sync nodes. Estimated reach: 138 million in the next 9 minutes."
Cass turned to Jason. "But who's the host? Who delivers the moment?"
Jason took a breath. "Me."
---
Live Worldwide Broadcast
Suddenly, every screen across the world cut from Mercer's transmission.
A single, real human appeared: Jason Wylder. No effects. No script. Just a man, heart exposed.
He spoke:
> "They want to take truth from you—not by lying, but by drowning you in noise until you forget what it means to feel. But you do remember. That time someone held you when you were broken. That song that made you cry. The birth of your child. The loss of someone you loved. That ache inside you? It's real. And it's proof."
He placed his hand on a biometric reader. Millions of PulseXR users around the globe instantly felt his heartbeat. His emotion. His pain. His certainty.
> "They can rewrite data. But not what it means to be human."
Prometheus stuttered.
For the first time since activation, Valkyrie couldn't verify consensus.
Truth was no longer a variable. It was a pulse.