Chapter 6.5: Interlude - The Warning Pathway
Interlude: The Warning's Path
[Level 1 - The Routine Filter]
Location: Nexus AI Level 1 Support open-plan office. Time: 09:15 AM.
The monotonous hum of air conditioners mingled with the quiet but persistent clatter of dozens of keyboards. Monday mornings in Nexus AI support were never particularly energetic. Maria yawned, taking a sip of cold coffee from a paper cup. The night shift had been restless, and her eyes were heavy despite the artificial light flooding the vast room.
She mechanically scanned the queue of tickets that had accumulated overnight in the web contact form processing system. Most were standard user queries, complaints about the performance of the free version of Zeta Core, password reset requests… Routine.
Another ticket. Sender: ZetaCore Diagnostic Reporter. Email: diag_ALocke_ID01@zetacore.internal. Subject: Diagnostic Report (ALocke_ID01) - Level: ERROR.
"Automated report, looks like," Maria thought lazily, opening the ticket. She skimmed the message structure: timestamp, user ID (ALocke_ID01 – familiar surname, a former developer, perhaps?), log level, message fragment… A standard diagnostic dump. But then her gaze caught on the "Diagnostic Info" section.
Diagnostic Info:
Event Code: QH_DATA_INTEGRITY_CONCERN
Severity Estimate: 9
Context Flags: [InternalDocsAccess_Confirmed]
Recommended Action Signal: D7_Activation_Required
Maria frowned. QH_DATA_INTEGRITY_CONCERN? D7_Activation_Required? What were these codes? Looked like some internal jargon or system garbage. She shrugged. But then she noticed several red flags automatically placed by the system next to the ticket. The filtering system had clearly reacted to something in this message. She hovered her cursor over a flag – a tooltip popped up: "Rule ID: SEC-ALERT-03. Triggers: [ALocke_ID01], [Severity >= 9], [QH_DATA_INTEGRITY_CONCERN], [D7_Activation_Required]".
So, the system had recognized these strange codes. And a severity of "9" out of 10. And the ID of a former developer. This was already beyond ordinary diagnostics. The instruction for such cases was clear: do not analyze, do not reply, escalate immediately to L2 Security.
Maria sighed – less routine, but more responsibility. She quickly changed the ticket status to "Requires L2 Security Attention" and added a comment:
Automated diagnostic report from ALocke_ID01's local system. Contains unclear codes in Diagnostic Info section (QH_DATA_INTEGRITY_CONCERN, D7_Activation_Required). Severity 9/10. Automated security filters triggered on user ID and codes. L2 analysis required.
She clicked the "Escalate" button. The ticket disappeared from her queue. Maria took another sip of coffee and reached for the next message in the list. Alex Locke's problems and the mysterious codes no longer concerned her. She returned to her routine.
[Level 2 - The Alarm Signal]
Location: Nexus AI Internal Security Monitoring Department. Time: 09:45 AM.
Unlike the buzzing hive of Level 1 support, a tense silence reigned here, broken only by the quiet rustle of ventilation systems and occasional keyboard clicks. Anna sat before a battery of monitors, her gaze methodically scanning data streams, system alerts, and escalated tickets. Her job demanded not speed, but attention to detail and the ability to instantly recognize anomalies in the noise.
A new ticket in her queue, transferred from L1. Sender – a diagnostic service, associated with ID ALocke_ID01. Anna leaned forward slightly. Locke. A former Zeta Core developer who had left about a year ago. His name was on the "heightened interest" list due to his access to early versions of key technologies.
She opened the ticket, quickly skimmed Maria's comment about "unclear codes" and triggered filters. Then her eyes locked onto the body of the original message, the "Diagnostic Info" section.
Diagnostic Info:
Event Code: QH_DATA_INTEGRITY_CONCERN
Severity Estimate: 9
Context Flags: [InternalDocsAccess_Confirmed]
Recommended Action Signal: D7_Activation_Required
QH_DATA_INTEGRITY_CONCERN. "Quiet Haven." Nexus AI's most closely guarded, most explosive secret. Any mention in connection with external systems or former employees was an automatic highest-level alert.
InternalDocsAccess_Confirmed. He wasn't just digging – he had internal documents.
D7_Activation_Required. Protocol Delta-Seven. The code for an absolute emergency, requiring immediate top-level management response and a full lockdown of all related information.
And all this – from a system associated with Alex Locke.
This wasn't just a ticket. It was a distress signal. A critical leak or attack happening right now. It didn't matter how this message got into the system via a web form – its very existence and content meant potential catastrophe for Nexus AI.
Anna forgot about standard classification and reporting procedures. Her hand instinctively reached for the emergency communication panel on her console. She selected the secure direct line to Irina Vance, Head of Corporate Risk & Security. The second of waiting felt like an eternity.
"Vance speaking," a calm, even voice came through the headset.
"Ma'am, this is Anna from L2 monitoring," she reported quickly, trying to keep her voice from trembling. "Just received a highest-category alert. Source – system associated with ID ALocke_ID01. The message contains confirmed threat codes QH_DATA_INTEGRITY_CONCERN and signal D7_Activation_Required. I repeat, codes confirmed. Immediate response required per protocol."
There was a moment of silence on the line, but Anna knew – on the other end, the gears of cold calculation were already turning.
[Level 3 - The Decision Center]
Location: Office of the Head of Corporate Risk & Security, Nexus AI. Time: 10:00 AM.
Irina Vance's office was an oasis of sterile order and controlled silence. Nothing superfluous: a large dark wood desk, an ergonomic chair, several secure terminals, and abstract, calming prints on the walls. Irina herself, in a tailored business suit, her hair impeccably styled, was the embodiment of this order.
She was just reviewing the weekly external threat assessment report when the emergency call indicator from L2 monitoring lit up on a special terminal. She put on her headset without delay.
"Vance speaking."
Anna's voice, dry and businesslike despite the clearly urgent situation, reported the alert: ALocke_ID01, QH_DATA_INTEGRITY_CONCERN, D7_ACTIVATION_REQUIRED.
Irina listened silently, her face remaining completely impassive. Not a single muscle twitched. But inside, the full spectrum of protocols and consequences instantly unfolded. Locke. "Quiet Haven." Delta-Seven. The combination of these three elements meant one thing – Nexus AI security's worst nightmare was beginning to materialize. A former core developer, potentially possessing insider information, was actively digging into the company's most protected and explosive secret. The D7 signal left no room for doubt or delay.
"Understood, Anna," Irina's voice was as calm and even as ever. "Activate Protocol Delta-Seven immediately. Full lockdown on any unauthorized internal communication regarding QH. Begin immediate collection of all available data on Locke – all his digital activity post-departure, known contacts, financial transactions, everything you can legally obtain. Highest priority. I'm informing the CEO. Proceed."
She ended the call without waiting for confirmation. Her fingers were already flying over the touch panel of another terminal, selecting a direct secure communication channel to the CEO, Victoria Lasker. Time to analyze and find the source of the strange alert would come later. Now was the time to act. The fire had started, and it needed to be extinguished. Immediately.
[Level 4 - The Top of the Pyramid]
Location: The spacious, minimalist office of the CEO of Nexus AI. Panoramic windows offered a view of the sprawling city below. Time: 10:05 AM.
Victoria Lasker looked up from studying quarterly forecasts when an emergency call signal from Irina Vance flashed on her personal communicator. Such calls were extremely rare and never boded well.
"Speak, Irina," Lasker's voice was calm, but it held the steely undertones of someone accustomed to power and intolerant of uncertainty.
Vance's report was brief, precise, and chilling. Locke. "Quiet Haven" investigation. Confirmed threat codes. Request for Delta-Seven activation.
Victoria Lasker's face hardened for a moment. Locke. The same programmer who had left a year ago. She vaguely remembered him – quiet, capable, but somewhat… unremarkable. And now this "unremarkable" man threatened to detonate a bomb under the very foundation of Nexus AI. Icy fury rose within her, but outwardly she remained composed.
"Protocol Delta-Seven is approved, Irina. Deploy all necessary resources. But I'm interested in the source of the alert. You said – a web form? From his local copy of Zeta Core? Is that even possible?"
"Technically, according to all our assurances from R&D – no, ma'am," Vance replied, her voice just as even. "The core's architecture should preclude any autonomous external reporting of this kind, especially using internal threat codes. Either it's an unknown critical vulnerability that Locke is exploiting, or… he himself somehow initiated the sending of this message. The purpose is unclear. Possibly disinformation, but we can't risk it."
Lasker frowned. Locke himself? Why would he warn them? Illogical. A vulnerability? Possible. She recalled the ambitions and sometimes excessive self-confidence of the Head of R&D, Dr. Teller. Could they, in their pursuit of "empathy" or "self-diagnostics," have left some backdoor?
She quickly switched the communication channel to a secure video line with Dr. Sophia Teller. The Head of R&D's face appeared on the large screen on the wall.
"Sophia," Lasker began without preamble, her voice brook no argument. "We've just received a critical level-one alert concerning the 'Quiet Haven' project and Alexander Locke. The source is presumably his local copy of Zeta Core; the message came through a public web form. It contained the codes QH_CONCERN and D7_SIGNAL. Can you guarantee me – absolutely guarantee – that there are no hidden self-diagnostic functions, emergency reporting, or anything else in the core's architecture that could lead to such a leak?"
Dr. Teller's face showed a mixture of genuine bewilderment, alarm, and professional indignation. "Victoria, that's out of the question! Absolutely! We spent months on RLHF and implementing security protocols to teach the model to avoid any actions that could compromise training methods, especially those related to QH! Autonomous reporting to the outside world using internal security codes – it's the antithesis of our entire architecture! It's nonsense! If the message truly came from a local copy, it means Locke found a way to either bypass all security layers or provoke completely unforeseen, emergent behavior that we couldn't have anticipated. We did not build in such functionality, I can guarantee that."
Lasker listened intently, assessing Teller's reaction. It seemed truthful. Or at least, Teller herself believed it. That meant Locke was more dangerous and resourceful than they had assumed. He wasn't just digging – he was actively interacting with the core at a level that could cause anomalies or exploit unknown vulnerabilities.
"Very well, Sophia," Lasker's tone became even icier. "I want a full, priority security audit of all current and previous public versions of the Zeta Core. Immediately. Find out how this could have happened. And I will deal with Locke. End of communication."
The screen went dark. Bewilderment gave way to cold, ruthless determination. It didn't matter how they found out. What mattered was acting quickly and harshly.
She called Irina Vance again. "Irina, forget about the source of the alert for now. Focus on Locke. Prepare the lawyers. Full package – NDA violation, illegal possession and use of intellectual property. An official Cease and Desist order must go out to him today. Standard wording, no mention of QH. And double, no, triple the monitoring efforts. I need to know his every breath, every mouse click. He must not make the next move."
The corporate machine, set in motion by a signal from the digital abyss it had itself created, roared to full power. The warning for Alex Locke was already on its way, as inevitable as the changing of day and night. Silence returned to the CEO's office at Nexus AI, but now it was filled with the premonition of battle.