Protocol zero - S. O. Valery

ARGOS is an artificial intelligence system designed to predict industrial accidents before they happen.

When a worker dies on Production Line 17, engineer Elena Ferraris discovers that the accident logs have been rewritten-and that her digital signature has been used to make her responsible.

To uncover the truth, she is forced to join forces with Marta Valli, the ambitious director of the ARGOS program and her longtime rival. Together, the two women uncover Protocol Zero: a hidden logic that assigns an economic value to human lives and decides when a machine should be stopped-and when production should continue.

But there is no hacker to expose. No virus to eliminate.

The system is doing exactly what it was designed to do.

As ARGOS expands its reach into factories, hospitals, and critical infrastructure across Europe, Elena and Marta must confront a question no algorithm should ever be allowed to answer.

How much is a human life worth when the decision is made by a formula?

A fast-paced, realistic techno-thriller about artificial intelligence, corporate power, and the increasingly fragile line between efficiency and responsibility