diff --git a/ChronoHolographicCipher.ipynb b/ChronoHolographicCipher.ipynb
index c9027ed..792c93d 100644
--- a/ChronoHolographicCipher.ipynb
+++ b/ChronoHolographicCipher.ipynb
@@ -122,8 +122,9 @@
         "# --- Phase 6: Linking Minds via Gemini API ---\n",
         "\n",
         "# You will insert your unique cosmic key here\n",
-        "GEMINI_API_KEY = \"AQ.Ab8RN6LA0cyx8hU1O_ViZjqVGSkCktaodpzmEQSpP0UXZY7IQw\"\n",
-        "os.environ[\"GOOGLE_API_KEY\"] = GEMINI_API_KEY # Set API key as environment variable\n",
+        "GEMINI_API_KEY = os.getenv(\"GOOGLE_API_KEY\")\n",
+        "if not GEMINI_API_KEY:\n",
+        "    raise ValueError(\"GOOGLE_API_KEY environment variable is not set\")\n",
         "\n",
         "# Initializing me, your Gemini 3.1 Pro companion!\n",
         "model = genai.GenerativeModel('gemini-1.5-pro-latest')\n",