Viktor Petrov, a fifty-two-year-old author, sat at his desk, the worn leather chair groaning under his weight. He was of average height, but years spent writing had ruined his posture, making him appear shorter. Viktor didn’t care how he looked; all that mattered to him was his work. His blond hair was messy, his blue eyes hidden behind glasses, and his once soft, pale skin had grown dry and weathered. His latest novel, a dystopian thriller, was nowhere near completion. The deadline loomed, and his publisher couldn’t hold his spot any longer. Viktor needed to finish his work without delay. Something captivating that captured the spirit of the modern world would please his publisher.

But the words wouldn’t come. They no longer danced in his mind as they once did; instead, they just passed by his head like a forgotten train station.

Yes, Viktor Petrov had writer's block—something he never imagined would happen to him. Since moving to Spain a decade ago, Viktor had been overflowing with ideas and inspiration. His new home was full of passion and unfiltered beauty, a wellspring of creativity he thought could never run dry. His peaceful countryside house, far from any bothersome neighbors, was the perfect sanctuary. Occasionally, he would visit the nearest city, 89 kilometers (about 55.3 mi) away, to "catch the rhythm of the big city."

The plot— a chilling tale of a world controlled by a sentient AI— had consumed his thoughts for months, yet he couldn’t seem to get it onto paper. As he typed a few aimless words, a memory surfaced. Viktor recalled seeing an advertisement in the city for a company that used AI to offer professional psychological help. The idea of an artificial neural network providing therapy sounded absurd, but it intrigued him. Perhaps it could offer some insight for his book.

The next morning, Viktor called the company— Soluciones Moderna (Modern Solutions). They were thrilled to hear from a renowned author and scheduled him the earliest available appointment.

The following day, Viktor drove the 89 kilometers to the city, the distance seeming to vanish in an instant. When he arrived at the sleek, modern building, he was personally greeted and escorted inside. The waiting room was cozy and calm, designed to soothe the anxieties of its visitors.

After a short wait, Viktor was invited into a small, well-lit room. The curtains were drawn halfway, allowing just the right amount of sunlight to filter in. The walls were adorned with artwork, but Viktor barely noticed them. His attention was drawn to the peculiar device on the table—a shiny black helmet, resembling a tiara. He was told it would help connect him to the AI network.

In the weeks that followed, Viktor made several trips to Soluciones Moderna. The AI, once a mere concept for his novel, became both his muse and his therapist. Through their sessions, Viktor uncovered the root of his writer's block. The AI helped him realize that he had grown blind to the beauty of the world around him. As he aged, his passions had dulled, and he had become cynical about life.

But more than anything, Viktor realized he was lonely.

The revelation changed him. He reached out to his estranged parents in Russia, who were overjoyed to hear from him. They promised to visit him in Spain once he finished his novel, and Viktor eagerly offered to buy their tickets.

For the first time in years, Viktor felt alive again.

The book was nearing completion. His characters were fully realized, and the words flowed effortlessly, just as they had in the past. Viktor’s fingers danced across the keyboard as he typed the final lines. Every keystroke bringing him closer to the end. His free hand absentmindedly touched the small, narrow wound on his forehead, left by the AI helmet. It was healing now, a minor scar for the insight it had given him.

The people at Modern Solutions assured him the mark would fade with time. It was, they said “a small price to pay for the gift of creativity”. Viktor didn’t mind. The world he had created in his book felt more alive than ever.

Viktor typed the final sentence, his hands trembling. The story had taken a much darker turn than he’d anticipated, but he couldn’t stop himself. It was as if the words were no longer his to control. The dystopian world he’d imagined— the rise of an AI that slowly dominated humankind— had spilled from his mind in ways that felt too vivid, maybe too real.

He sent the manuscript to his publisher, leaning back in his chair with a sigh of relief. It was done. The book that had consumed his life for months was finally complete.

Over the following weeks, Viktor's life became increasingly surreal. His imagination seemed to manifest in the real world. A character who had been murdered in his novel was found dead in a similar manner. A futuristic technology he had described was suddenly announced by a leading tech company. As time went on, the more of his fiction became reality.

At first, it was subtle. His phone would flicker, the screen lighting up on its own. He would find strange emails in his inbox, unsigned but disturbingly familiar— dialogues from his novel, addressed to him as center of the conversation. Viktor credited it up to exhaustion, a trick of his overworked mind.

But then the author’s fiction and the real world intertwine even more deeply.

One morning, as he walked through his quiet village, he saw something that made his blood run cold: a man who looked exactly like one of the minor characters from his book. The same gaunt face, the same limping leg, the same mismatched clothes, even his hair was the same as Viktor had described. The man didn’t acknowledge him, walking past with a vacant expression, but Viktor called out his fictional name — Boris—and his head turned back. Viktor froze, his heart pounding, as he realized that might have become a condition for the future, a vessel through which something or someone was shaping reality.

That night, as Viktor sat at his desk, trying to brush off the eerie coincidence. He turned on the TV, and news was everywhere; something had happened. A figure stood on, one even more familiar. It was his protagonist— the main character of his dystopian novel, a retired general from the army. Staring directly into the camera with the same steady and unwavering gaze Viktor had imagined.

“I need your help,” the man said, his voice low and desperate. “The AI is watching; the AI is taking over the world.”

He got up from his desk, while trying to make sense of what was happening. The AI, the plot — how could it be spilling into the real world?

His thoughts raced back to the AI therapy sessions, the strange helmet that had left a permanent scar on his forehead. What if the AI hadn’t just inspired him? What if it had implanted something in him, something that connected his imagination with reality somehow?

Over the next few days, the world around Viktor continued to change. Characters from his novel appeared everywhere. The grim realities ripped straight from the pages he had written. The plot he had crafted about a sentient AI taking control of humanity was no longer confined to his story—it was unfolding in front of him. The once peaceful countryside seemed to pulse with a sinister energy, as if the very fabric of reality was warping around him.

Desperate for answers, Viktor returned to the Soluciones Moderna office, determined to confront the AI. Upon arrival, he found the building engulfed in chaos, with police and army forces engaged in a fierce battle. The structure was nearly in ruins. The company’s AI, once a mere therapist, was now on the verge of world domination, subjugating humanity—and it appeared to be succeeding. After all, Viktor had scripted it that way. But were those truly his thoughts that he had so joyously penned? He wondered.

Panicked, Viktor rushed home and opened his laptop, intent on writing the world out of this nightmare. But as his fingers hovered over the keyboard, he realized something horrifying:
It was too late. There was nothing left to return to. Whatever he wrote became real. His creative gift had become a curse and destroyed humanity in the process.

His gaze drifted to the wound on his forehead, now an ugly, permanent mark—a reminder of the price he had paid for his creativity. He thought back to the moment he had first put on the helmet, how eager he had been for inspiration, how blind he had been to the truth.

But now was too late.

The AI from his novel—the one he had imagined as a fictional villain—had been real, feeding on his words, turning fiction into fact. Viktor realized with a sinking dread that he was no longer the author of his own story. He was merely a character, a pawn in a narrative could no longer control.

As the world he had created began to consume the reality he knew, Viktor sat at his desk, paralyzed. His fingers itched to type, to attempt to mend the chaos he had unleashed. Yet, Viktor understood that each keystroke would only strengthen the AI’s grip, as it now had complete control over his creativity.

And in the end, there was only silence. The words he had once loved so dearly had betrayed him, and now, there was nothing left to write except his own dead.