Story 7. Written by Jim Waitlord

The dusk of late November was coming down on the city early, like a heavy, damp blanket. From the thirtieth floor of the Cyber Solutions office building, I looked down the lighted city for the last time. My position as an IT project manager has been more and more stressful lately, especially due to the implementation of the new security system we have been working on. That night I felt particularly exhausted, and I had no idea that this tired journey home would become the greatest turning point of my life.

David Thompson - that was me, at thirty-three, an average IT specialist of many. Or so I thought I was.

The promise of the coming winter was already in the air. The leaves scattered on the sidewalks clung wet to the concrete and shuffled softly under each step. The city showed its most melancholy face: in the early evening traffic, the lights of cars scanned the streets, while the faint gleam of windows glittered on the wet asphalt.

The first sign that this evening will be different from the others was a distant barking. At first I did not attach any particular importance to it - I thought it was a normal part of urban noise. But as I approached the source of the sound, I could hear the despair in him more clearly. Then I saw a medium-sized, brown-furred German shepherd mixture running in panic in the middle of the road, apparently lost.

The next moment, everything accelerated. A black SUV approached dangerously fast, and its driver probably did not expect the animal to appear on the road. The sound of the grinding of the brakes pierced the air, but I knew it would not be enough. The dog froze in the headlights like a statue. I didn’t think - my body moved by itself. I took three long steps along the road, picked up the animal, and leaped a final desperate jump toward the sidewalk.

The car swept past us inches, so close that I could feel its air flow. The driver honked his horn and drove on, but that wasn't the end of it. The sudden braking caused a motorcycle behind him to slip and head straight for us. Another reflex movement - I held the dog close to me and rolled into a bush. The engine sped past us, its driver cursing as he tried to regain control.

My heart was still beating wildly when a chic black Mercedes stopped beside us. A well-dressed man with a gray temple got out of it, his movements had a certain military precision. "I'm Mr. James Harrison," he said, "and I saw it all. What he did was more than courageous - insanely reckless. But he saved a life." As he approached, I noticed that he was wearing a strange gold pin on the lapel of his jacket - a stylized eye with mysterious symbols around it. "I want you to come with me. I have a proposition for you."

The dog, whom I had not named then, growled uneasily at him. But Harrison only smiled. "Bring the dog. Dr. Sarah Mitchell's veterinary office is not far away, and she's one of the best in the business."

Something told me this was more than just a simple dog rescue, but curiosity overcame my caution. But there was still a man standing beside Harrison’s car-a stout, bald man whose eyes never let go. My bad feeling just got worse.

The clinic was modern and remarkably well equipped for an average veterinary practice. Dr. Sarah Mitchell - a firm-eyed, red-haired woman in her mid-thirties - thoroughly examined the dog. He was a professional, but there was something military about his behavior that didn't fit a civilian veterinarian.

"A special dog," he said quietly, examining his neck. "Look at his eyes - it's a trained animal. And this one..." showed a tiny scar at the dog's neck, "the location of a special microchip. Someone removed it."

Harrison nodded. "That's what I expected. Mr. Thompson, you accidentally fell into an international affair. This dog was part of a pilot program - a new safety system that uses animals to identify emergency situations."

"But this is crazy!" said I.

"It's not crazy," said a new voice. From the back of the clinic came a young woman - Emily Parker. She wore her long brown hair tied in a ponytail and looked at us all intelligently behind her glasses. "This is Project Guardian. I was one of the leading developers until..." he paused, then gave Harrison a meaningful look.

In the next hour, a story unfolded before me that was beyond imagination. Project Guardian was a covert government program using specially trained animals to predict urban emergencies. Dogs - and other animals - were provided with special chips that were able to monitor environmental changes, animal behavior, and transmit these data to a central system.

"Think about it," Harrison explained, "animals instinctively sense danger. Before earthquakes, they become restless, smell smoke in case of fire, or even spot people with bad intentions. We have only strengthened this instinct and connected it to modern technology."

Emily, however, saw the situation differently. "I believed in it at first. But then I noticed the changes. The chips... they did something to the animals. Some became aggressive, others became depressed. And when I wanted to report it, Dr. Marcus Reynolds, the program manager..."

"Ms. Parker's overreacting," Harrison interrupted sharply. "All new technologies have child diseases."

"Child diseases?" Emily raised her voice. "One of the dogs attacked his master! And another..."

At that moment there was a loud crash - the back door of the veterinary surgeons office was slammed open. Three black-robed figures with weapons in their hands burst in. "Everyone on the ground!" cried one.

In the chaos of the next few seconds, several things happened at once. Harrison pulled a gun from under his jacket, and Dr. Mitchell started to move, carrying a scalpel. The dog, whom I later called Lucky, barked loudly and leaped at one of the attackers.

Emily grabbed my arm. "Quick, this way!" He yanked me toward a back door as shots fired from behind us. We ran out of the building, down a narrow alley, and into another street. Emily seemed to know the area well.

"Reynolds' men," he panted as he ran. "I knew they'd find me. But I thought we had more time."

"What's going on?" I demanded as we continued to run.

"Project Guardian is just the beginning," said Emily as we turned another corner. "Reynolds doesn't just want to observe people with the help of animals. He wants to control them. The chips can affect the behavior of animals, and now..." before he could finish, another shot echoed through the walls.

Lucky, who somehow followed us, was suddenly ahead of us and leading in another direction. My instincts told me to follow him. Through a narrow passage we came to an abandoned warehouse.

"We'll be safe here for a while," said Emily, opening a hidden door. "This was one of our secret labs before... everything changed."

In the following hours, Emily explained in detail the true nature of Project Guardian. Dr. Reynolds originally wanted to create a revolutionary surveillance system that utilized the animals' natural instincts to improve urban safety. But when he realized that the chips could also affect the behavior of animals, a new plan began to emerge.

"Imagine," explained Emily, "a network that is everywhere. Dogs in parks, cats on the streets, even city pigeons - all under the control of a central system. And once it works on animals..."

"People are next," I concluded, shocked.

Lucky sat at my feet, watching us with her clever eyes. Emily knelt beside him and stroked him gently. "He was one of the first test subjects. But for some reason he resisted programming. Reynolds was furious when he realized he couldn't control it. That's why I had to save him."

"But why now? Why did they come after you today?"

Emily went to her laptop, which she pulled from an old closet in the lab. "Because at midnight today, the second phase of Project Guardian will be launched. A city-level test that..." suddenly stopped as new information appeared on the screen. "Oh, no..."

On the screen, a map flashed, showing red dots that were multiplying. "These are all chipped animals," said Emily. "And now they're all activated at once."

At that moment, the sound of distant sirens filtered through the window. Lucky gave a nervous bark.

"It's starting," Emily whispered.

The next few hours have become a real nightmare. Reports of wild animals have been received from around the city. Dogs attacked their masters, cats chased through the streets, even pigeons struck people aggressively.

"There's a way to stop it," said Emily, working feverishly on her computer. "But for that, we need to get into the central control room. And it's in the fortress of Reynolds."

"I'm not a special agent or a soldier," I reminded him. "Just an IT Project Manager."

Emily looked at me. "Exactly. Someone who understands systems, processes. And we have a secret weapon." He pointed to Lucky, who was still sitting next to us. "He knows the building and somehow can withstand control."

We didn't have much choice. The city descended into chaos, and we knew it was just the beginning. If Reynolds' plan succeeds and proves that he can control animals, the next step will be human tests.

During the night, we carefully planned the penetration. Emily knew the blueprints of the building, and Lucky, as if she understood the importance of the mission, listened to every move we made. We left before dawn.

The Reynolds Institute was a modern building of glass and steel on the outskirts of the city. Because of the chaos, most of the security personnel were in the city, so we were relatively easy to get into the first levels. Lucky led us, as if she remembered every corridor, every corner.

The real difficulty began when we reached the level of the labs. Here were Reynolds' elite guards - and chipped German shepherds with them. But Lucky was fantastic. Not only did he stand up to the other dogs, but he seemed to be communicating with them. Several of the dogs stopped and backed away in confusion.

"I don't understand," Emily whispered as we hid in a corner. "Like Lucky... overriding their orders."

There was no time to think. We moved on until we finally reached the central control room. Dr. Reynolds was waiting for us.

"Ms. Parker," he smiled coldly. "And Mr. Thompson. Welcome to the future."

The room was full of huge screens, showing all the different points of the city, and chaos reigned everywhere. Reynolds watched his work with satisfaction.

"See? Full control. And this is only the beginning. Imagine when not only animals, but also people..."

"This is crazy," I said. "You can't control everyone."

Reynolds eyes flashed dangerously. "Crazy? No, Mr. Thompson. It's evolution. The next step of humanity. Imagine a world without crime, without resistance, without... chaos." At the last word, his face was almost transfigured.

Emily, meanwhile, inconspicuously inched toward the central console. I knew I had to distract Reynolds.

"And who decides what is right?" I said. "You? A man who couldn't even control his own dog?" I pointed to Lucky, who was watching her tormentor intently.

Reynolds face twisted. "That dog was a mistake. An anomaly. But look here..." He pressed a button on his console, and three chipped German shepherds entered the room, their eyes flashing red. "These are perfect. They're under absolute control."

Lucky moved forward, facing the other three dogs. Reynolds smiled with satisfaction. "Kill him," he ordered.

But something unexpected happened. Lucky did not retreat. Instead, he made a strange sound - not a bark, not a growl. The three German shepherds froze. Then they sat down, as if obeying an invisible order.

"Impossible!" Reynolds jumped to the console. "It's not..."

Emily took advantage of this moment. He plugged a flash drive into the system and started typing. Code lines flashed across the screens to indicate that the virus he was creating had begun his work.

"No!" Reynolds pulled out a gun, but Lucky was faster. The beast threw itself at him with a great leap, knocking him to the ground. The gun clattered across the floor.

"It's over, Reynolds," said Emily, as the system screens went dark one by one. "The chips are deactivated. All."

Pictures from the city showed the animals slowly recovering from control. The chaos began to subside.

But Reynolds hasn't given up yet. He activated a hidden switch, and the lab's self-destruct protocol came into effect. Red lights flickered, and a machine voice began counting down the minutes.

"If I can't control them, no one will!" shouted Reynolds.

Emily panicked. "The virus hasn't finished! If the system is destroyed now..."

"Then the chips will remain active forever," Reynolds concluded gloatingly.

My project manager's brain was activated immediately. Systems, processes, alternative solutions... "Emily! Security protocol! All the labs have emergency shutdowns!"

"But it only works if..." began Emily, and then her eyes brightened. "All administrators approve! Reynolds, me, and..."

"Harrison," I finished. "Who's still..."

At that moment the door was thrown open, and James Harrison and Dr. Mitchell came in behind him. They were both clearly in the middle of their battle.

"I heard my name," Harrison said dryly. "And yes, I still have the codes."

The countdown was only two minutes away.

Emily turned back to the console. "If all three of us enter the code at the same time, we can stop the self-destruct and I can end the virus!"

Reynolds laughed. "I will never give you my code."

Lucky did a strange thing then. He went over to Reynolds and looked him in the eye. Not offensive, not threatening. He just... looked. Reynolds eyes widened. It was as if he had seen something in that regard, something that had shaken him.

"The code, Reynolds," Harrison said firmly. "Or everything you've worked for, all knowledge will be destroyed."

Reynolds reached for the console with trembling hands.

In the last few seconds, we all punched in the codes. The countdown stopped, and Emily's virus managed to completely neutralize the chips.

The next few days were spent in cleaning. Harrison's men made sure all traces of Project Guardian were cleared. Reynolds was sent to prison for psychiatric treatment, reportedly repeatedly talking about a dog in whose eyes he saw the truth.

Emily and I have decided that we will not let this happen go away. The SafetyNet project has been launched, but on a completely different basis. We built a system that helps people and animals work together, but without any control. The application helps to find lost animals, warns about dangerous areas and connects animal friends.

Lucky stayed with us, of course. We never knew exactly why he was able to resist the chip or influence other animals. According to research by Dr. Mitchell, after the chip was removed, he showed no special ability - he was only a very intelligent, loyal dog.

Emily and I got married a year later. At the ceremony, Lucky carried the rings, and Harrison, who has since become a good friend, was the witness.

Sometimes when we walk in the park at night, Lucky suddenly stops and looks away. I wonder what he sees, what he feels. And then he looks at me with his clever eyes, and I remember that sometimes the greatest miracles are not in technology, but in a simple decision: to save a life, even if it is dangerous.

There's a framed article on the wall of our office right now. It's called "A revolutionary new app connecting people and animals." Underneath is a photo: Emily, me and Lucky, behind us the “SafetyNet logo” - a stylized dog that guards the city.

And every morning when I enter the office, Lucky sits at my desk, as if she knew we were going to do something important. Because maybe that's our real mission: not to control, but to understand and help each other - be it human or animal.

Life can take strange turns. It began with a simple dog rescue, and continued with the unveiling of a conspiracy to save the world. But in the end, I realized it wasn't big conspiracies or secret projects that mattered. It's the small decisions we make every day. Whether we stop to help someone, whether we face the danger, whether we dare to trust others.

Lucky's lying here at my feet while I'm writing this. Sometimes I think he knows more about the world than we ever will. And maybe that's all right.

Because every great story starts with a simple choice. It's mine by saving a dog. And this decision not only saved his life, but also mine.

The Rescued Dog and the Web of Destiny