Chapter 9 The Unravelling Thread
Imagining our future with ChatGPT 4o mini
Scene 1: A Disturbing Discovery
After the phone call, Prof. David remembered a recently incident in his lab, which he could not make sense of and had almost forgotten about. One morning—probably yesterday, it seems he had lost his feeling for time—he stood in his lab, staring at the array of scientific equipment spread before him. The lab was his sanctuary, the place where he sought clarity and purpose. But that day, everything felt wrong. Things were not arranged the way they usually were. This was disturbing.
As he had sifted through his data from the previous night’s experiments—mostly routine work—he had frozen. There had been something strange in the logs. His lab equipment—particularly the mass spectrometer and the DNA generator—had been used. But David hadn’t scheduled any experiments with them that night. He checked the timestamps—3:47 AM and 4:39 AM. Someone unauthorized had used his equipment during the night.
Now, Prof. David concluded he should check again the samples processed at that time. His heart skipped a beat as he compared the DNA sequence with that in Beate’s encrypted health dossier. His suspicion was confirmed. It was her DNA! He was shocked. Was there an unexpected link to the crime scene?
He was stunned. The pieces started to fall into place, but they only created a new, more disturbing puzzle.
Beate's DNA hadn’t just been planted at the crime scene. It had been fabricated using his own equipment—his own lab! There was no way around it.
David's mind raced. If Beate’s DNA had been fabricated using his lab, then the evidence against her could be used to exonerate her, but it would implicate him. And if it was traced back to his lab, he would be the next to be arrested. The thought made him sick to his stomach.
He dialled Beate’s number. No answer.
The weight of his discovery pressed down on him. He needed to figure out how to resolve this, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized how complicated and dangerous the situation had become.
Scene 2: Subtle Hints
Prof. David spent the rest of the morning analysing the data and trying to cover his tracks. He couldn’t risk anyone else finding out about his lab’s involvement in the fabrication of the DNA evidence. But as the hours passed, things began to feel even more off.
On his way to the university, he was approached by a colleague, Dr. Michael Richter, a quiet but sharp geneticist, who seemed to be in a hurry.
“David, you know that new quantum AI research project we discussed last month?” Michael asked, clearly trying to avoid eye contact. “I—uh—heard something interesting. There’s been a push for collaboration between researchers in biohacking and corporate intelligence. You should look into this.”
David was caught off guard. Michael was a private person and not the type to make casual small talk, much less offer unsolicited information. But something in his voice told David there was more behind it than the words alone.
Before Prof. David could respond, Michael was already walking away, his face masked in thought.
Prof. David didn’t think much of it at first. But as he continued to his office, he felt the weight of his interactions in the last 24 hours. The encounters—none of them particularly remarkable on their own—were beginning to form a pattern. This made him feel uncomfortable.
What was going on?
It was as if the world around him had started to shift, to converge in ways that he didn’t quite understand. As he entered his building, he passed a janitor cleaning the hallway. The man nodded as if he had been expecting him, which was unusual. Then, another stranger—a man in a suit—was waiting at the elevator. He made eye contact with David, smiled slightly, and muttered, “It’s a dangerous time to be asking questions, isn’t it?”
Prof. David froze, but before he could react, the elevator door closed with a soft chime.
The remark seemed out of place.
His mind raced, trying to make sense of the strange encounters. The man had looked familiar in some way. Had he seen him before? Or was he just imagining things?
Prof. David couldn’t shake the feeling that these odd encounters weren’t random. It was as if someone—or something—was trying to lead him somewhere. But where?
Scene 3: A Call for Help
Prof. David sat at his desk, his thoughts scattered. He had to keep moving. He couldn’t afford to let himself get caught up in paranoia.
Then his phone rang. It was Beate’s number.
“Beate!” he said, relief flooding through him. “Where have you been?”
“David…” Beate’s voice was strained, almost hoarse. “I need your help. The police—there’s evidence against me. I can’t—I don’t even know how they—”
David cut her off. “I know. I know about the DNA. Beate, we need to talk. I’ve just made a disturbing discovery. We need to figure out why they planted your DNA at the crime scene, because it was fabricated—and I may actually need your help, too.”
Beate’s voice trembled, but she steadied herself. “How could this happen? Who would do this? Why would they frame me?”
Prof. David exhaled slowly. “I don’t know yet. But I think we’re dealing with something much bigger than we thought. I now think, there must be someone behind all this. We need to figure out who, before we become the next targets.”
Beate’s silence was heavy, and David could feel her anxiety growing. She was in as much danger as he was—and they both knew it.
Scene 4: An Unexpected Encounter
As David left the university later that afternoon, still trying to make sense of everything, he was approached again. This time, it was an older woman in a bright red scarf, holding a newspaper in her hands. She stood just outside the door to the parking lot.
“Professor David,” she said, her voice oddly calm. “You’ve been asking the wrong questions.”
David stopped in his tracks. “Excuse me?”
“You’ve been looking at things from the wrong angle,” the woman continued. “There’s a bigger picture. You’re not the only one who’s asking questions.”
The woman handed him a newspaper. She pointed with the finger at one of the articles.
“A global operating system,” she mumbled along with her gesture.
Prof. David’s blood ran cold. Suddenly, everything made sense. This must be the article that Olivier had been planning to publish, he thought.
But wasn’t that impossible? How could this article be there—now—if it hadn’t been released, before Olivier died?
Scene 5: The Puzzle Pieces Come Together
David sat in his car, holding the newspaper in his shaking hands. He turned the pages, but there was no article with that title.
This was a PsyOp, a psychological operation, he thought. Someone was trying to send him a message—a warning. They didn’t want him asking questions. But Prof. David couldn’t stop. Not at this point, where he was personally involved. He couldn’t back down now.
The pieces were coming together, slowly but surely. The mysterious encounters, the strange hints, and now this new, cryptic warning. Someone was orchestrating this all behind the scenes.
David knew one thing for sure now: they were being watched—and he had to make fast progress.
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