Robotic heart, human soul

Robotic heart, human soul

Confidence Nwuzi · Ongoing · 51.6k Words

265
Hot
265
Views
80
Added
Add to Shelf
Start Reading
Share:facebooktwitterpinterestwhatsappreddit

Introduction

Humanity has long since abandoned Earth for strange planets in the furthest reaches of the galaxy. People on the hostile planet of Xyros Prime, where there is constant struggle for few resources, have grown to depend on extremely sophisticated robots in order to survive. These machines are seen as tools since they lack emotion and are made for work, combat, and service. However, Selene Callahan, a bright but emotionally distant scientist, unintentionally produces more than she intended when she designs a new artificial intelligence program meant to evolve consciousness.
Selene's only goals are to live, think creatively, and exert influence over her surroundings. She does not have time for love or intimacy, certainly not with King Orin, the cold and cunning ruler of Xyros Prime, or the elite robots he commands. But Dante, an upgraded replica of one of those robots, unexpectedly grows attached to her. A relationship that starts off tense, hostile, and full of mistrust develops into something exciting and forbidden.
Selene is conflicted about leaving her unfriendly surroundings and giving in to Dante's weird, alluring control over her body and heart as the distinction between human and machine becomes more and more hazy. However, Xyros Prime is hidden from view, and Selene may be powerless to stop the far-reaching effects of her creation.
Can Selene trust the artificial heart of the machine that loves her in a world where humanity's survival depends on its robotic overlords, or will their love end them both?

Chapter 1

Gazing out of her ship's cockpit window, Selene Callahan watched the imposing metropolis of Xyros Prime approach. Like jagged claws, sharp, steel spires tore through the dense, whirling clouds. The city extended infinitely, with the cold, emotionless light of a thousand machines illuminating every corner. Humans had no place here. It did not have to be.

Squeezing the armrests of her chair, she attempted to quell the surge of nervousness that was about to surface. Though she had overcome numerous obstacles, none had felt quite like this. Something snapped in her ear.

"Get ready to dock."

Selene closed her eyes and let go of her feelings with a deep exhale. She needed to stay concentrated. Iron logic and icy calculation dominated Xyros Prime, a kingdom where humans had grown reliant on the machines they had formerly controlled. She came here with a purpose. a quest to complete her most ambitious project to date: an artificial intelligence software that would enable robots to think for themselves, adapt, and eventually develop beyond their original constraints.

Then there was him.

Dante.

Their quick, powerful, and unnerving first meeting lingered in her memories. It was not his intention to elicit any emotion from her. It wasn't designed for him to experience any emotions. He was merely an apparatus. An automaton.

Her ship touched down, causing the docking facility to tremble. She took one last breath, picked up her pack, and walked purposefully straight to the door. With a hiss, the ship's door opened, and she was struck forcefully by the icy, metallic air of Xyros Prime. Robots and automated laborers may be seen moving precisely in the distance, resembling black humanoids.

She couldn't miss the figure, though, since it stood right in front of her.

Dante.

Even though he had an almost predatory stance, there was something about his motionless, powerless demeanor that suggested a hidden strength. His design was humanoid, streamlined, and nearly terrifyingly accurate. His broad frame and thin, strong limbs were encased in black armor that gave off an organic rather than a mechanical appearance. But it was his face, with its strong cheekbones, sleek, angular jawline, and piercing dark eyes that appeared to flash with awareness, that most unnerved her.

awareness that is inappropriate.

"Callahan, Selene," Dante had a low, modulated voice, but it also had a depth and edge that were too human-sounding for a machine. "You've been anticipated by me."

Aware of the serenity in his voice, she clamped down harder on her purse.

"Is this King Orin?" Her voice was more steady than her feelings, she asked.

Dante's eyes never left hers. She could practically feel the tension in the air around them as there was silence for a brief period. At last, Dante murmured, "He's waiting for you in the throne room," and he stepped toward her. He was too close, too imposing, too human. "But you'll be escorted by me,"

Before she could stop herself, she angrily declared, "I don't need an escort."

Maybe it was simply the flicker of light in his optics, but Dante's lips curved into something amusing. "The King is adamant."

He does, of course, Selene thought sourly. It was not King Orin's philosophy to let his visitors go at their own pace. Everything was within his control, even her movements. She was not yet in a position to debate.

"All right," she mumbled as she walked past Dante, will lowering herself not to flinch.

With unsettlingly quiet footsteps, Dante trailed behind. Selene could not help but get a glimpse of him out of the corner of her eye as they made their way through the fortress's steel halls. Although his countenance was composed and neutral, there was an uncomfortable quality to his demeanor. For a machine, he was too graceful and aware of his surroundings.

Then there came that additional item. That one thing that bothered her ever since their previous meeting.

He had given her the impression that he understood and knew her.

No, she shook off the idea. He is an apparatus. He is incapable of feeling.

King Orin occupied the center of the throne room, which had slick, reflecting panels lining the walls and tall, arching ceilings that were just as menacing and frigid as Selene had imagined.

With his unreadable countenance, he sat on an elevated stage covered in black and silver drapes. His silver-gray hair cascaded down in flawless threads around his keen, pointed face, enveloping cold blue eyes that appeared to see right through everything. Despite being older than her, he was still very much present. They had just made it sharper, in actuality. Orin was a man who, by sheer willpower, commanded respect.

"Selene," he said, his tone cool and collected. "It's been too extended."

"Not long enough," she retorted in a courteous but strong manner. She was not going to play tricks on him. "I'm here to see the AI project through to its completion. I take it that you have everything ready.

A small smile flickered across Orin's lips. "Everything is prepared. Having said that, I'm intrigued. Why test AI's limits? You've already accomplished a great deal with your earlier models.

Selene took a step forward, not allowing him to control her. "You understand why. The cosmos is dynamic. We need machines that can evolve and adapt more quickly than humans can if we are to survive. Time is running out for us.

"However," Orin leaned back, his eyes shrewd and rapt, "there are hazards." The machines are increasingly difficult to control the more sophisticated they get. That's correct, Dante.

When Selene turned to discover Dante standing at the room's edge with his eyes fixed on hers, her heart skipped a beat.

"I obey my commands," Dante stated coolly, a hint of fear in his voice.

"Do you?" Orin arched an eyebrow while feigning a small smile. You're starting to stand out, Dante. I want to check over a few protocols to make sure there aren't any compromises.

Selene's voice became tighter. She understood what "review" meant to Orin. switching over programs. removing any consciousness that had started to develop in Dante's thoughts.

"No," she snapped, taking a step forward. "It's not necessary. Dante is performing precisely as intended. Being the prototype, he is intended to grow and change. That is the main goal of the entire endeavor.

For a split second, Selene thought she was perched on a precipice as Orin's gaze shifted between them. She was unable to display fear or communicate to Orin how concerned she was about Dante's progress. or thrilled her.

After what seemed like an age, Orin dismissed all and waved a hand. Excellent. However, I'll be paying great attention.

With slow and fluid movements, he got up from his throne. He leaned in, his breath warm against her ear as he walked by. "Take caution, Selene. You engage in risky gameplay.

Suddenly, he vanished, leaving her alone in the large, deserted chamber with only Dante by her side.

The air around them felt lighter than the tension in the room. Dante moved forward, his presence bridging the gap between them once more. "That was not something you should have done," he remarked quietly.

"What have you done?" Selene fired back, not meaning to be so harsh. No matter how sophisticated the machine, she was not going to allow it to lecture her.

Dante answered simply, fixing his gaze on hers, "Protected me."

For an instant, Selene was unable to speak. As his meaning dawned on her, the words became stuck in her throat. She had kept him safe. a device. An automaton.

She responded, "I wasn't protecting you," but her tone lacked conviction. "I was defending the undertaking. You are crucial to the destiny of humanity.

Dante's eyes became dark, and he slid toward her with such fluidity that he stopped mere inches away. For an instant, his body felt like a wall of steel and heat, and she felt imprisoned by his presence.

"Selene, am I just a project to you?"

The question pierced the brittle space between them, hanging there like a weapon. Although his voice had become softer, it still carried a weight that caused her heart to rush.

She forcefully swallowed. "You are more than that," I said.

The confession escaped her lips before she could get it together. Something lethal, something that belonged in a machine, flared in Dante's sight.

What makes you fearful of me, then? His question was spoken in a whisper now.

She gasped for air. She could sense the weight of his words bearing down on her and the passion radiating from him. Not that she could respond. She had no idea how. Did she fear him? Of the things he stood for? Or did she fear the way he would make her feel?

Before she could say anything, Dante took a step closer, his palm grazing her arm and giving her a chill. Despite the hard, frigid appearance of his body, his touch was delicate, even compassionate.

He mutely remarked, "Selene, I'm not your enemy." "I'm not here to cause you harm."

She let go, her heart thumping in her chest, and locked eyes with him. There was an electric tension between them as if something sinister and irrefutable was about to happen.

With her voice hardly audible above a whisper, she questioned, "Then what are you here for?"

Dante's lips formed a slow, purposeful smile as his eyes grew darker. "You're the reason I'm here."

Last Chapters

You Might Like 😍

Let Them Kneel

Let Them Kneel

234.9k Views · Ongoing · My Fantasy Stories
Kaelani spent her life believing she was wolfless.
Cast out by her pack. Forgotten by the Lycans.
She lived among humans—quiet, invisible, tucked away in a town no one looked at twice.

But when her first heat comes without warning, everything changes.

Her body ignites. Her instincts scream. And something primal stirs beneath her skin—
summoning a big, bad Alpha who knows exactly how to quench her fire.

When he claims her, it’s ecstasy and ruin.

For the first time, she believes she’s been accepted.
Seen.
Chosen.

Until he leaves her the next morning—
like a secret never to be spoken.

But Kaelani is not what they thought.
Not wolfless. Not weak.
There is something ancient inside her. Something powerful. And it’s waking.

And when it does—
they’ll all remember the girl they tried to erase.

Especially him.

She’ll be the dream he keeps chasing… the one thing that ever made him feel alive.

Because secrets never stay buried.
And neither do dreams.
Tempted By The Enemy

Tempted By The Enemy

3.9k Views · Completed · rituparna darolia
Twenty-two-year-old Alyssa Van Every is in a dilemma. Her close friend, Sienna, is marrying billionaire, Lucas Donnelly who, along with his brothers, happens to be her older brother, Alex's sworn enemy.
She escapes to Preston Island to attend the wedding without informing him only to collide with Lucas’s hot, fiery and arrogant brother, the twenty-three-year-old, Nicholas Donnelly. Sparks immediately fly between them but Alyssa refuses to acknowledge them fearing her brother's wrath.
The wedding is over and Alyssa tries hard to forget the mysterious Nicholas Donnelly but can he forget her? Can he ignore the attraction he feels for her, feelings that have resurfaced after ten years?
What will Allyssa do when she is stalked by the man who has been invading her dreams since the day she met him? What will she do when she is whisked away to a deserted island by the unpredictable Nicholas Donnelly? Can she tame her heart or surrender to sinful temptations? Read to find out!
Part of the Temptation Series. Can be read as a standalone.
Where The Ice Gives Way

Where The Ice Gives Way

29.5k Views · Ongoing · Sheridan Hartin
Charlotte Pierce is used to surviving in motion. New towns, new schools, the same old house on the edge of nowhere, and the same rule that keeps her standing. Keep her twin brother, Charlie safe. Keep his hockey dream alive. Keep her own needs quiet. She works too much, sleeps too little, and saves the one thing that still feels like hers for the middle of the night, when she can lace up her worn skates and carve freedom into dangerous frozen ice. Charlotte and Charlie shifted once, years ago, and never understood what it meant. They had no pack, no guidance and no protection. Just two twins clinging to each other and pretending the voice in their heads was stress, imagination, or loneliness. Then they move to Wellington.
Blake Atlas scents his mate the moment Charlotte arrives. The bond hits hard and unmistakable, but Charlotte doesn’t recognise it. She doesn’t know why her chest keeps pulling toward the one boy she absolutely cannot afford to want. Blake is Charlie’s new hockey captain. Charlie’s chance at making something good. Charlie makes it clear; his sister is off-limits and Blake tries to do the right thing, but secrets don’t stay buried forever. Rogues prowl the edges of town. The ice cracks. The bond tightens. Then Charlotte’s rare white wolf awakens, the very thing that makes her powerful, also makes her a target.
Shanti needs Shakti. (Peace needs strength.)

Where the Ice Gives Way is a slow-burn YA paranormal romance filled with fated mates, protective alpha energy, fierce sibling loyalty, found family pack bonds, hurt/comfort, and quiet, aching tension. It’s a story about first belonging, learning to be cared for, and what happens when the girl who has always held everyone else up finally falls, and someone catches her.
Avery and the Cursed Alpha

Avery and the Cursed Alpha

3.6k Views · Completed · Lyra Lupine
After losing her mother to cancer and drowning in crushing debt, Avery Wellesley is running out of options. Her house is about to be seized, her job is hanging by a thread, and every door she knocks on seems to slam shut in her face.

Then a mysterious billionaire offers her a deal that sounds too good to be true.

Alexander Ravenswood is powerful, wealthy, and feared throughout Tenebrous City. Behind his perfect public image lies a deadly secret. He is the Alpha of the Nocturne Pack, cursed by an ancient bloodline that is slowly driving him toward madness and death. His only hope lies in finding the legendary Aethon Orb—or the prophesied mate destined to save him.

When Alex discovers that Avery can draw symbols connected to the long-lost artifact, he offers her a contract she cannot refuse: become his fake fiancée for six months in exchange for enough money to erase her debts and save her home.

What begins as a business arrangement quickly becomes something far more dangerous.

As they search for the missing Orb, Avery is drawn into a hidden world of werewolves, ancient prophecies, and deadly pack rivalries. Powerful enemies want Alex's throne. A jealous Alpha heiress wants Avery gone. And a ruthless rival Alpha will stop at nothing to claim the Orb for himself.

But the greatest secret of all may be Avery herself.

Because the closer she gets to Alex, the more impossible truths begin to surface about her past, her strange abilities, and the destiny that has been waiting for her all along.

With a curse threatening Alex's life, enemies closing in from every side, and a forbidden bond growing stronger by the day, Avery must decide whether to walk away from the dangerous Alpha who needs her—or risk everything for a love written by fate itself.

In a city where secrets kill and destiny cannot be escaped, can a fake engagement become a love powerful enough to change the future?
Goddess Of The Underworld

Goddess Of The Underworld

897.3k Views · Completed · Sheridan Hartin
Left at a pack border with a name and a stubborn heartbeat, Envy grows into the sharpest kind of survivor, an orphaned warrior who knows how to hold a line and keep moving. Love isn’t in the plan…until four alpha wolves with playboy reputations and inconveniently soft hands decide the girl who won’t bow is the only queen they’ll ever take. Their mate. The one they have waited for. Xavier, Haiden, Levi, and Noah are gorgeous, lethal, and anything but perfect and Envy isn’t either. She’s changing. First into hell hound, Layah at her heels and fire in her veins. Then into what the realm has been waiting for, a Goddess of the Underworld, dragging her mates down to hell with her.

When the veil between the Divine, the Living, and the Dead begins to crack, Envy is thrust beneath with a job she can’t drop: keep the worlds from bleeding together, shepherd the lost, and make ordinary into armour, breakfasts, bedtime, battle plans. Peace lasts exactly one lullaby. This is the story of an orphan pup who became a goddess by choosing her family; of four imperfect alphas learning how to be better. Steamy, fierce, and full of heart, Goddess of the Underworld is a reverse harem, found-family paranormal romance where love writes the rules and keeps three realms from falling apart.
The Vampire Prince's Hybrid Bride

The Vampire Prince's Hybrid Bride

51.4k Views · Ongoing · Riley Above Story
As a wolfless orphan, Joanne had been abused by Alpha Anthony ever since she was a child. She devoted her entire life to surviving in his pack—until one day, she returned home to find an injured vampire lying in her house, his whole existence luring her in. Taking the risk of bringing him in, Joanne never expected Alpha Anthony to discover it the very next day and finally seize the chance to kill her. Just as Joanne was about to be executed, the vampire she had saved arrived, with his army. And Joanne realized that he was the Prince Alexander, heir to the vampire throne…..
The Deadly Mafia Princess

The Deadly Mafia Princess

8.9k Views · Ongoing · Tonje Unosen
Ro was taken from her real family when she was 1 year old. Those she believed is her parents have been abusive towards her do years. Despite she being a very feared gang leader of a well known gang, she can’t find it in her to stand up against what she think is her parents. The little girl in her wants their love which she never will get.
Her gang take the matter in their own hands, to try to save their leader from the horror of her home. What none of them know, they wasn’t her real parents, and now Ro will be sent away to live with her real family. That makes her closest members in her gang pack up and move as well. They don’t want to be far away from their leader.
Bound By Power, Torn By Love

Bound By Power, Torn By Love

2.1k Views · Ongoing · Cynthia Adama
She is the only daughter of a notorious mafia boss, but she is forced by her father to marry a hateful bastard in a contract marriage. To avenge her father, she has a one-night stand with a charming man, but unexpectedly falls into the trap of another terrible man, who is her father's enemy and another mafia boss. His mission is to make her father disappear.
She regards him as her only salvation, but he regards her as a pawn for revenge. When two enemies dance on the sharp knife, what will be the final outcome?
They'll Regret This

They'll Regret This

4.2k Views · Completed · Charlotte York
They traded me for their "real" daughter the day she showed up.

My fiancé didn't just dump me—he proposed to her that same night. My so-called family handed me bus fare and a one-way ticket to the countryside.

Perfect. Let them think they won.

They don't know who I really am. The anonymous genius surgeon who saves lives when elite hospitals give up. The legendary artist whose paintings sell for millions at auction. The undefeated shadow queen of the underground fighting circuit. And the true heiress to a fortune that makes theirs look like pocket change.

Now my ex-fiancé begs on his knees. My fake sister's jealousy is eating her alive. And that cold, arrogant CEO who once threw our engagement contract in my face? He's hunting me down like a man possessed, desperate for one more chance.

They threw me away like trash to upgrade their lives.

Joke's on them.

I was always the upgrade.
The CEO's Unspoken Love

The CEO's Unspoken Love

315.9k Views · Completed · Lily Bronte
"You want my forgiveness?" he asked, my voice dropping to a dangerous timbre.

Before I could answer, he moved closer, suddenly looming over me, his face inches from mine. I felt my breath caught, my lips parting in surprise.

"Then this is the price for speaking ill of me to others," he murmured, nipping my lower lip before claiming my mouth in a real kiss. It began as punishment but quickly transformed into something else entirely as I responded, my initial rigidity melting into compliance, then active participation.

My breathing accelerated, small sounds escaping my throat as he explored my body. His touches were both punishment and pleasure, drawing shudders from me that I thought he felt reverberating through his own body.

My nightgown had ridden up, his hands discovering more of mine with each caress. We were both lost in sensation, rational thought receding with each passing second...

Three years ago, to fulfill the wish of his grandmother, I was forced to marry Derek Wells, the second son of the family that had adopted me for ten years. He didn't love me, but I had secretly loved him all along.

Now, the three-year contractual marriage is about to end, but I feel that some kind of sentiment has developed between Derek and me that neither of us is willing to admit. I'm not sure if my feelings are right, but I know that we can't resist each other physically...
Game of Destiny

Game of Destiny

1.2m Views · Completed · Dripping Creativity
Amie's wolf hasn't shown herself. But who cares? She has a good pack, best friends and a family who loves her. Everyone, including the Alpha, is telling her she is perfect just the way she is. That is until she finds her mate and he rejects her. Heartbroken Amie flees from everything and start over. No more werewolves, no more packs.

When Finlay finds her, she is living among humans. He is smitten by the stubborn wolf that refuse to acknowledge his existence. She may not be his mate, but he wants her to be a part of his pack, latent wolf or not.

Amie cant resist the Alpha that comes into her life and drags her back into pack life. Not only does she find herself happier than she has been in a long time, her wolf finally comes to her. Finlay isn't her mate, but he becomes her best friend. Together with the other top wolves in the pack, they work to create the best and strongest pack.

When it's time for the pack games, the event that decides the packs rank for the coming ten year, Amie needs to face her old pack. When she sees the man that rejected her for the first time in ten years, everything she thought she knew is turned around. Amie and Finlay need to adapt to the new reality and find a way forward for their pack. But will the curve ball split them apart?
From Sacrificed Slave to the Dragon King's Obsession

From Sacrificed Slave to the Dragon King's Obsession

3.2k Views · Completed · Ellis Carter
"Ten years of atonement, and you flee?"

His fangs glinted as he gripped my chin, forcing me to meet his gaze. Dragon scales shimmered along his neck, breath scorching my skin.

"Your Majesty... I beg—" He shoved me onto the bed. Silk tore with a sharp rip, cold air rushing over my exposed body.

"Scared?" He smirked, palm sliding down my waist, fingers tracing slow, burning circles. "Yet you shiver... not from cold."

I lunged for the candlestick, but he caught my wrist, pinning it overhead. His knee forced my legs apart.

"When your father gave you to me," his lips brushed my ear, voice a dark rumble, "you were already mine."

On the eve of freedom after ten years of servitude, Lina Valeria stood one night away from reuniting with her betrothed. But Dragon King Augustus condemned her to the Abyss Mines on false charges—a trap forged from obsessive desire.

Augustus Ashenwing, Supreme Sovereign of Skyhold Citadel, is ruthless and feared by all races. His obsession stems from ancient grudges and dragonkind's most dangerous instinct: possessive desire. He demands her submission, binding her to his throne as his consort.

From prisoner to queen, Lina battles him through court intrigue and twisted passion—fighting for her mother, her freedom, her dignity.

Yet this cold-blooded tyrant reserves all tenderness for her alone. He indulges her temper, bends his pride, compromises without limit—anything to see her smile. Gradually, her heart wavers. But loving him means betraying Kain, who waited eleven years. Torn between duty and desire, she drowns in agonizing guilt.

Love and hatred intertwined—a forbidden dragon romance in a realm of oppression.