The Ghost in the Machine​The scent of the lab was what struck Mira first: a sterile, clinical sharpness, like ozone mixed with new plastic and a faint, almost metallic tang. It was the antithesis of her own chaotic, book-lined apartment, and the perfect environment for Aarav, the architect of this kingdom. His domain, the Aarav Research Initiative (ARI), was a triumph of brutalist minimalism—polished concrete floors, glass walls, and banks of humming servers that cast a cool, blue light.​She had spent the last two hours setting up her temporary station in a corner office designated "Guest Analyst," a title that