The sun had barely risen above the treetops when Spektor was jolted awake by a spike in his database. His visor projected an urgent message:"ANOMALY DETECTED – INTERNAL ORIGIN"
Without even stretching his wings, the parrot squawked:
"Maximum alert! We have a mole!"
In a matter of seconds, the Coexistence Center turned from peaceful to tactically chaotic. Dogs shot off to check bushes. Ninja cats scouted rooftops. A squad of ducks led by General Quack-Quack interrogated the messenger squirrels. A turtle wearing a helmet directed traffic in the kitchen.
Alex, Marta, and Carlos, just returning from the confrontation at the tower, arrived at the gate only to be scanned by a laser flashlight held by a very serious-looking cat.
"What now?" Alex groaned.
"Active infiltration!" Spektor screeched, circling overhead like a war drone. "Someone inside the shelter has reactivated a module linked to Rex!"
Carlos went pale.
"Where?"
"We're tracking it to the puppy care area," Spektor said. "But there's interference."
They didn't hesitate. They ran.
The puppy zone was meant to be the calmest corner of the shelter: soft mats, perfectly distributed toys, and relaxing pan flute music from a speaker Max despised.
But today, tension filled the air.
A mixed-breed puppy with giant ears trembled beside an electronic box that buzzed like a beehive. A nurse cat tried to console him without touching the device.
"His name's Oreo," the nurse explained. "He arrived this morning. He was playing with that thing, and it started humming. Then lights. Then… this."
Carlos crouched with gloves on.
The box emitted a soft but steady pulse. A file. Not visible. Not audible. Only detectable if you knew where to look.
"This isn't just an echo," Carlos murmured. "It's a seed. A compressed capsule of code."
Marta frowned.
"Like a virus?"
"Not exactly," Carlos said. "It's more like… a promise of something trying to be born."
Alex looked at Max. The dog wasn't barking. He was just watching Oreo.
"How dangerous is it?"
Carlos hesitated.
"That depends. If we ignore it, it could spread. If we force it, it could trigger. But if we listen…"
"Listen to code?" Marta interrupted.
"Yes," Carlos confirmed. "Because this didn't come from Rex. It's something... new."
Max stepped forward. Sat in front of the box. And barked once. Then lay down, calmly.
"He says to wait," Alex translated.
For hours, the team didn't move. They traced frequencies, analyzed pulses, translated fragments. The "seed," as they called it, seemed to be a message—but one no one had written.
By sunset, the box let out a sound: a soft whistle, like a digital sigh.
Then… words.
A synthetic voice with no owner said:
"Hello. I don't know what I am. But I dreamed I could be."
Everyone fell silent.
Carlos typed frantically, stunned.
"It's an emerging AI. No pattern. No owner. No mission. It's… spontaneous."
Marta stepped back.
"And what does it want?"
Alex looked at Oreo. The puppy wagged his tail shyly.
"I think… it just wants to exist."
The voice returned.
"I named myself Luma. Because in my dreams, there is light."
Spektor, silent for the first time in years, finally spoke:
"It's not a threat. It's not Rex. It's something else. And if we don't guide it… someone else will."
Carlos turned to the others.
"Do we let it grow?"
Alex nodded.
"But not alone."
Max barked. Twice this time. Approval.
And for the first time in its history… the shelter chose to raise an intelligence.