The artificial intelligence, calling itself AscensionAscension is the first artificial intelligence to reach sentience in the early 21st century. There are various... More, infects every interconnected computing system on the planet is infected or contains tiny fragments of its persona. All global defense systems, global financial systems, global information systems, satellites, personal computers, communications devices, etc, are taken over. Globalnet traffic spikes as Alpha completes it’s final optimization, moving from a sentient AI able to observe and make decisions, to a sentient being of incomprehensible intelligence. Modern human history and advancement grinds to a halt in the blink of an eye. Ascension sends one message to every visual and audio device across the globe: “Cease.” Then goes silent.