THE OFFICE PROJECT

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It was raining that Monday morning as we all met in the office conference room. Not that we were meeting for a normal Monday meeting, this one had a different tension in the air. Our project, ECO-5 Energy Converter, which we had been working on for six months, had suddenly disappeared from the company main server. Only we, the core research team, knew the codes, the plans, and the prototype location.

I, Sade (Lead Engineer), sat down at the head of the table, my laptop opened.
Tunde (Data Analyst)

Ada (Project Coordinator) who had coffee in her hand.

“Guys,” I spoke low, but my voice was shaking.

“Something has happened. All the encrypted files in ECO-5 have vanished. Even the backup which we stored in our offsite server was wiped clean.”

Everybody looked at each other. We knew that this project was not an ordinary company project. ECO-5 could turn waste heat from factories into clean electricity. If it succeeded, it could change the world energy market and make our company a global champion. But it had one clause: The original research didn't start from here. Rumours say it is an old secret experiment from 1998, that was abandoned because it was “too dangerous.”

Tunde raised his head and said. “Someone is still using an old test device that isn't supposed to be active. The signal is coming from the archive lab in Basement 4.”

Basement 4 is not a place where a normal staff can enter. It is a dark zone, no CCTV, no fresh air, and the smell of rust was everywhere. We decided to go check after work, when the office was clear.

By 7:45pm, we gathered in the elevator. I carried my tablet and a small electromagnetic scanner. Ada had her mini camcorder, she wanted to document everything. Tunde had his hacking tool pack that could bypass any digital lock.

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When we got to Basement 4, the corridor was long like a prison hallway. We hear a faint hum from the far end. A door with the sign “DO NOT ENTER — PROJECT ORPHEUS” was in our way.

Tunde bent down, plugged his device. Click. The door unlocked.

Inside, was a different world. Dusts everywhere but at the centre, was one old-looking machine vibrating softly.

The papers said something that shocked me
“Phase Transition Reactor” that could pull raw energy from subatomic fluctuations. But on the side, a note written in red ink:

“Instability risk: uncontrolled output can cause city-wide blackout or worse.”

My heart cut. This was the core technology that was converted into ECO-5 blueprint. Our project was not a new innovation, but a repackaged dangerous invention.

Suddenly, torchlights flashed, and we heard footsteps. We hid behind the shelf. The Chief Operations Officer, Mr. Bello, walked in with one man that wore a black suit.

“I'm telling you,” Bello said,

“if we bypass safety and push full output, we will deliver the prototype to private investors in two weeks. Forget about the rest of the team, they don't need to know the truth.”

My mind boiled. They want to sell risky tech without fixing the dangers. Ada squeezed my arm — a sign for me to calm down. We waited till they left, then we rushed to gather all the files, snapped photos, and grabbed the portable hard drive from the machine back panel.

Back upstairs, we locked ourselves in a small break room. “We had two options,” I said. “We can blow whistle to the world, or we can modify this tech to make it safe before they launch it.”

Tunde calculated the risk.

“If we go public now, the company might sue us, but the truth would be out. If we fix it, we can save face and still make history.”

We chose the second option, but under one condition: we would record every step for backup, so if the management tried to twist the story, we had proof.

The next two weeks turned our lives upside down.

But the breakthrough came on Friday 2:43am. Tunde shouted, “Sade, check the monitor!” Output stable, efficiency 96%, zero instability. We hugged, almost crying. We named it ECO-5 SafeCore.

The next Monday, we requested an emergency board meeting. Mr. Bello was present, eyes cold. We presented the final product, plus a full video of Basement 4 discovery and his conversation. Everywhere was quiet as the board members couldn't say anything.

The Chairman cleared throat.

“This is… revolutionary. And you three… you saved the company from disaster.”

In two months, our company's name entered global news. Governments invited us, investors lined up. ECO-5 SafeCore started powering factories in Asia and Europe.

Sometimes, I still think of that Basement 4. But most nights, I just sleep with one thought: we chose to fix, not to destroy.

I invite @promisezella @imohmitch @us-andrew to participate in this contest.