[351-362] Instant

As she descended deeper, the temperature dropped. In Level 354, she found the first signs of life—not biological, but mechanical. Tiny, spider-like repair bots scurried across the ceiling, their red sensors glowing. They were maintaining something. In 356, she passed a room filled with glass cylinders. Inside weren't specimens, but flickering holographic loops of a city she didn't recognize—one with blue skies and trees that didn't look like twisted metal.

She climbed the final ladder to 362, the observation deck. From here, she could see the control console. A single blinking prompt sat on the screen: RESTORE PROTOCOL [351-362] — INITIATE?

The door to 361 was warm to the touch. When it hissed open, Elara stopped breathing. The entire floor had been gutted to make room for a massive, pulsing sphere of light, suspended by magnetic tethers. It was a "Seed"—a localized artificial intelligence designed to rebuild the atmosphere. It had been running in the dark for two centuries, waiting for someone to authorize the deployment sequence.