The immediate aftermath of the hack was defined by a stark analysis: Infinite Strategic Gain against Immediate Tactical Collapse.
Lucian severed the neural connection and immediately executed Data Synthesis Protocol Sigma.
The volume of the Hydra Drone Forge schematics was immense, detailing a complete Tier 1 Autonomous Warfighting Ecosystem. He logged and cross-referenced the knowledge, forcing his long-term memory banks to prioritize the data structure of Hyperion's future dominance.
The key revelations were logged and categorized:
Materials Synthesis Protocols (The Linchpin): This data detailed the chemical engineering blueprints for creating Hyper-Density Drone Alloys. The crucial intelligence was the substitution of virgin materials with common Red Zone industrial waste. Specific compounds included Polytetraflouro-Oxides (from degraded plastics), Ferritic Slag (from depot corrosion), and trace Spent Reactor Coolants. The protocols outlined the Cold Fusion Sintering process required to forge this waste into chassis material, confirming the feasibility of a completely autonomous, untraceable manufacturing infrastructure.
Autonomous AI Swarm Logic (The Control): A complex, leaderless, adaptive neural network. This logic guaranteed perfect, unemotional coordination, impervious to human factors like panic or fatigue. The code detailed Decentralized Consensus Algorithms for unit coordination. Most crucially, the data contained the Master Encryption Keys (MEK), granting Lucian absolute remote control and shutdown capability over every Hydra unit, past, present, and future, globally.
Manufacturing Dependencies Analysis (The Constraint): The data quantified the resources needed for mass production. This led to the immediate identification of a catastrophic infrastructural constraint: the primary Forge Printer (HFP-1)—the main production unit—required a dedicated, permanent power source rated for Continuous Fusion Output (CFO).
Strategic Value Assessment: Infinite. Hydra Protocols Secured. New Primary Objective: Fusion Cell Acquisition.
Lucian's focus then turned inward to the immediate physical reality. He executed the mandatory post-hack System Diagnostic.
The results were not unexpected, but they were terminal.
The Primary Energy Cell (PEC-1), having been intentionally pushed past its safety threshold, had suffered a catastrophic thermal rupture and structural membrane collapse.
It was permanently inert.
PEC-1 Status: CATASTROPHIC FAILURE. Output: 0.0 Lumens. Primary Life Support: OFFLINE. Thermal Regulation: OFFLINE.
Lucian was now running entirely on residual, unstable power—a collection of five low-grade, scavenged secondary batteries integrated into his life support. These batteries were unstable, prone to rapid voltage drop, and offered no redundancy.
Life Support Cache Estimate: 4 hours, 45 minutes remaining before full systemic failure.
This countdown was absolute. After 4 hours, 45 minutes, Lucian faced Stage 1 Organ Degradation: Vascular Pump Seizure (leading to localized synthetic tissue necrosis), Optic Nerve Degradation (loss of augmented vision), and Core Thermal Instability. Lucian was intellectually omnipotent but physically crippled—a mind holding the keys to military supremacy, trapped in a body on a critical, unforgiving countdown.
He secured the core, ensuring the physical data asset was protected, and began the painful, energy-starved process of leveraging himself out of the Node.