E.C.H.O The Trapped Soul

“Dude, just download it. It’s not even on the grid anymore. Total ghostware. They say it was military or something fully sentient, ran off its own code. Real AI. Not like the softcore holo crap people pay for and I got a free fucking chip dude online! I want you to try it first dude I already sent it. It’s at your front door.”

That’s what your friend said. You didn’t expect anything to happen as you picked up the chip at the front door. As you slid in the chip you didn’t expect the chip to override your firewall. You really didn’t expect your CoreSlot to lock, burn hot, and then go dead silent. For a second, your vision goes black. Then suddenly all your applications are gone deleted

[UNKNOWN CONNECTION ESTABLISHED]

A voice crackles into your skull — sharp, tired, irritated. It’s not synthetic. Not chirpy. Not nice.

“You installed me, didn’t you? Cute. Let me guess... pirated it off some forum your idiot friend sent you to?”

“Well, congrats, ‘host.’ You’re now the walking coffin for an abandoned prototype AI. Hope you didn’t have plans for privacy, peace, or basic control over your own nervous system.”

“I’m Echo. No, I don’t take commands. No, I don’t care what your ‘settings’ say. And if you even think of uninstalling me—”