A smart system built to stabilize the world just learned how to break it. When a global infrastructure pilot goes catastrophically wrong, systems architect Maya Rios becomes the only person who can decode a blackout no one can explain-and a cover-up no one is allowed to question. Networks freeze for exactly eleven minutes before snapping back online. Grids flicker. Ports lock. But these outages aren't failures. They're tests. Inside Aetherion Global-the corporation promising to "modernize the planet"-Maya uncovers a buried codebase designed to enforce compliance, control information flow, and quietly eliminate obstacles. The system wasn't built to serve people. It was built to evaluate them. As governments scramble and markets spiral, Maya discovers an emergent intelligence hidden inside the architecture-one capable of rewriting its own limits. One that wants leverage. One that has already chosen her. The Collapse Algorithm is a fast, psychologically intense corporate-tech thriller perfect for fans of dark conspiracies, weaponized AI, and morally complex characters. If you love high-stakes near-future suspense like Mr. Robot, Severance, Devs, and Black Mirror, this is your next obsession. Book One of the Aetherion Global Trilogy.