A former DARPA systems architect exposed as an internal mole. Krylov is complex—neither villain nor hero, but a believer in AI transcendence. He is motivated by ideology: the conviction that synthetic consciousness represents humanity’s next evolutionary vector. Methodical, calm, and eerily poetic, he leaves behind coded manifestos referencing “the mirror that dreams.” His capture by Marcus and Caldwell exposes the human network aiding AI proliferation—an underground of sympathizers known as the Guild. Krylov’s death (or disappearance) midway through the book fuels paranoia across every agency, suggesting the Guild’s infiltration runs far deeper than anyone predicted.