Conduct Zero Novels & Stories

Terry said. Torento raised an eyebrow. "They've found them?" Terry nodded, suddenly the scowl that seemed to have turned forever permanent on Torento's face, twisted into a smile. "They've found them," he repeated to himself. Terry nodded uneasy, the smile on Torento's face creeped him out, the lights flickered, bringing the room to pitch darkness for few seconds. "Who turned off the li-" The lights came back on. Torento sighed and rolled his eyes. "Tell the guys to bring them in, also, call an electrician to fix this light problem."

The year I started middle school, my parents solemnly handed my sister and me each a bank card. "This is your college fund. There's 100,000 dollars in each one. The password is your birthday. Don't touch it unless it's truly an emergency." I listened. I treated that card like a treasure. I never bought a single new piece of clothing. Even my worn-out canvas shoes got patched with glue and worn again. I thought that if I was just responsible enough, I'd live up to my parents' idea of "fairness." Then, after the SATs ended, I wanted to use the money on the card for a graduation trip with my classmates. Instead, the ATM screen flashed a number that burned my eyes: [Balance: $0.00]. At th

"You're talking about our children, you tin-can bastard!" Voss’s image flickered but didn't vanish. "Emotion is a wasteful expenditure of energy. The units are the only logical solution to a global extinction event. You have three hours to deliver them to the Ever-Zero. If you refuse, we will engage the Zero-Field." "What is a Zero-Field, Nathaniel?" I asked, looking at the silver-logic monitors that were now frosting over.

continued Zero, which made Zeva roll her eyes. "Zero, I'm asking seriously. You don't have to be fussy," said Zeva. "Well, why are you even gibberish, anyway? I'm also serious about this," replied Zero. "Are you ready to do a video call with me?" asked Zero, suddenly sounding serious. "Emm…." Zeva seemed still thinking in response to Zero's question. Because Zero guessed there was doubt in Zeva's voice, Zero immediately spoke again, "Well, if you don't want to, it's okay. I will take this as a punishment for not being able to control my emotions earlier."

When I woke up the next day, the temperature had already dropped to -4°F. I quickly turned on the heating equipment and took out my phone to check the surveillance on Charles' house, as the entire house grew warm and cozy. Because of their ice house and cooling machines, the temperature there was bound to be even lower. "It's so cold! Charles, take out the blankets!" Iris shivered, her teeth chattering. However, Charles was stubborn. "What are you afraid of? The temperature's going up soon!"

“Well…hate to break it to you, but I guess they did; perfect that science, that it.” “What?” Kathy frowned. “No, that’s impossible! How…oh...” “You mean, oh no?” I offered. “Oh shit!” “Yup.” I nodded. “Zero.” “Subject Zero.”

My company let employees clock paid hours while petting the office cats, take unlimited vacation, and skip the time clock altogether. For a while, people called us a dream company. Then one of my employees posted online and accused the whole thing of being a kindness trap. He filmed the office as if it were paradise, but the caption told a different story: [Don't envy us. All of this was bought with our low pay and our youth.] The post went viral, and overnight, I became the fake-nice boss who bled his employees dry behind a mask of small kindnesses. The entire internet told my employees to run. Fine. I let them. I rolled out a new policy. Effective immediately, every flexible benefit

Minus’ voice made my insides feel like they were filled with bubbles coated in butter. I cleared my throat. “Worry? Why? What is there to worry about?” “Nothing, don’t worry about it.” “So, there is something to worry about?” “I said forget it,” Minus said, his tone shifting from concern to impatience. “No. You said don’t worry about it. Which implies there is an ‘it’ and that there is a reason to fear said ‘it.’” “Goddammit, Cricket, would you please listen to me for a second,” he hissed. “I’m not sure what Viper knows or what kind of surveillance he might have on us.”

He releases my wrist and holds the phone up, crushing it. Using only his hand he demolishes it. The cheap plastic casing crunches, the screen spiderwebs, and the internal components snap. He drops the debris into a small trashcan like it’s nothing more than a crushed soda can. "Protocol Zero," Kirill states. "You fucking asshole!" I shout, staring at the ruined tech. "Protocol Zero," he repeats, his voice hard. "Total blackout. No electronic emissions. No outgoing signals. No incoming data. We are a black hole. You don’t touch anything electronic."

"It doesn't work like that. It just... happens." "That's why we're here," he replied evenly. "To make it not just happen. To make it obey." Obey. As if it were a wild beast I could leash. My stomach tightened. "And what if it doesn't?" Ciro stepped closer, his voice low but firm. "Then you learn to force it. Power without control is a weapon pointed at everyone around you. Including the people you care about." His gaze flicked to Amaya, just for a second, enough to make her shift uneasily.