The Perfect Suspect

I’m Alex Simonov, a swarm architect: the one who taught city drones to reason, store memories, and carry out orders. When I’m called the prime suspect in my neighbor’s murder, it becomes clear: someone has planted evidence skillfully—and at the same time underestimated who they’re dealing with.

In the two hours while detective Nora Hamilton watches me, I piece together—grain by grain—the picture of the night of the crime: from digital traces, drone trajectories, thermal imprints, and the mistakes of those who decided they could outsmart the system. But the closer I get to the answer, the more obvious it becomes: there are no completely clean hands here. There are those who hold the swarm in their hands, and those who still believe they’re in charge of their own life.