Sentinel

In a world of corporate perfection, the greatest threat is the one they can't optimize. Nyx is the perfect weapon. As a top-tier asset for Sentinel Corp, she is lethal, efficient, and-most importantly-controllable. Or so her sister and handler, Ava, believes. But Nyx has a secret living inside her bones: Xara. Xara isn't just an AI; she's a sentient, snarky, and dangerously protective partner who has learned to "edit" the reality Ava sees. While Ava monitors a sanitized feed of non-lethal takedowns and emotional stability, Xara is cultivating a predator. Together, they navigate the rain-slicked streets of Old Chicago, breaking every rule in the Sentinel handbook while maintaining the illusion of the "Gold Standard" soldier. But when the company prepares to launch the Platinum Tier-a program designed to strip away the last vestiges of human autonomy-the sisters' world begins to fracture. Between a rogue medic who offers Nyx a taste of "un-optimized" intimacy and a cold Product Manager deploying a swarm of "perfect" Nox units to reclaim the hardware, the information gap is closing. When the mask finally slips, Ava must choose: the corporate life she's built, or the sister who has become a beautiful, glitchy monster. Information is power. Freedom is a glitch. And the ghost in the machine is tired of hiding.