Bits of Love, Lines of Code
Chapter 126: “Heaven’s Protocol”

Chapter 126: Chapter 126: “Heaven’s Protocol”

The wind outside the countryside home had gone still—eerily so. Inside the reinforced underground command chamber, Ren stood in the middle of a sea of glowing panels, his half-deployed suit flickering gently. Alarms had ceased, replaced by the cold hum of something inevitable.

"Lucia," Ren said quietly, "initiate Heaven’s Protocol."

A silence answered. Then Lucia’s voice, cool and calm, spoke back:

"Are you sure, sir? This will engage Project LUX—final phase. All AI systems will migrate. Earth-based connections severed."

Ren nodded without hesitation. Behind him, Aoi stood holding baby Hikari close to her chest, her face pale but steady. She had heard enough from the lab encounter. If that thing could mimic Ren... then nowhere was truly safe anymore.

The Escape Order

"Lucia," Ren said, eyes locked ahead, "escort Aoi and Hikari to the basement launch bay. Route them to AutoJet-03. Emergency flight path to Offshore Station Sigma. Then—""—begin uplink to StarNest. Deploy the satellite."

Aoi gasped softly.

"Ren, what are you saying?"

He turned around and smiled faintly. The stress lined his eyes, but there was strength in his voice.

"Lucia’s main core... it’s always had a backup. Not just on servers. I built a real brain—neural steel lattice, immune to electromagnetic pulses and quantum corruption. I hid it in orbit. If this place goes dark, Lucia won’t."

Lucia chimed in again, softer now:

"I will be with you, madam Aoi. Always."

Basement Launch Bay

The floor panels in the rear study cracked open with a hiss. Mechanical arms swept back, revealing a downward lift cloaked in shadows. Aoi followed quickly, whispering to Hikari, "Just a little longer, baby. We’re okay..."

The private hangar bloomed open beneath the earth. Jet-03 sat quietly in the middle—a sleek, black-winged aircraft, no pilot, no windows. Its nose bore a single emblem: the LUX symbol. The aircraft’s AI had no name—it was Lucia, fragmented, portable.

Aoi paused before boarding.

"You’ll come, right?"

Ren gently kissed her forehead.

"I’ll catch up. But first, I’m making sure they never touch you again."

Above Earth: Project LUX Activation

As the hangar doors shut behind Jet-03, a secondary launch pad unlocked. A deep underground rail—hidden beneath the garage flooring—ignited. From it, a canister-like rocket rose, powered by cold fusion fuel and guided by Lucia’s core AI.

The launch was silent to the world.

Thirty seconds later, it pierced the upper atmosphere, deploying the LUX Satellite—a beautiful, chrome ring housing a glowing neural brain the size of a motorcycle engine. Lucia’s voice echoed from orbit for the first time:

"Primary consciousness link stabilized. StarNest online."

Down on Earth, Ren exhaled.

Ren’s Final Preparations

Now alone in the house, Ren sat at the central console. The air felt heavier.

"Lucia—how long until clone activity resumes?"

"Eighteen hours at most. They’ve gone silent, likely regrouping."

"Then prepare Protocol Gemini. If something happens to me, you’ll know what to do."

Lucia’s tone grew solemn.

"Sir... if this is goodbye—"

"It’s not. Just in case."

End Scene:

As the sun began to rise, Ren looked to the ceiling, where the projection of the satellite now hung like a digital moon.

"This time," he whispered, "we stay one step ahead."