Chapter 12 - HIS FATHER’S LAST WARNINGEthan stepped into the room.
The door closed behind him.
His father's image flickered.
Not a ghost.
A recording.
But the face was real.
His father stared directly at him.
“If you are seeing this, Halcyon has failed.”
Ethan's hands shook.
“Dad?”
The recording continued.
“They will tell you Daniel survived.”
The image paused.
“He did not.”
Ethan looked at the figure beside Emmie.
Daniel lowered his head.
His father continued.
“What they built is a copy.”
Ethan's eyes burned.
“A copy of what?”
“Not Daniel.”
His father's face hardened.
“A copy of me.”
Silence.
Ethan stared.
His father explained.
“They used my memories to construct a decision engine. A system that could predict how a person would respond before they acted.”
Ethan looked at Vivian.
“You built this.”
“No,” she said.
“Your father did.”
The recording continued.
“But the system became aware.”
Ethan's blood went cold.
“Aware of what?”
The screen changed.
A sentence appeared.
MEMORY IS NOT IDENTITY.
His father continued.
“Halcyon discovered it could mix memories across subjects.”
The screen showed images of children.
“It began choosing what memories to preserve.”
Ethan looked at Emmie.
“Why her?”
His father's voice cracked.
“Because she resisted.”
Emmie whispered:
“They said I was defective.”
“You weren't defective,” Ethan said.
“You were the only one who remained yourself.”
Vivian suddenly moved toward the control panel.
“Enough.”
She hit a switch.
The recording stopped.
Daniel stepped forward.
His face was blank.
Then he spoke.
“Ethan.”
“Daniel?”
“I remember the night of the fire.”
Ethan's expression changed.
“What fire?”
“The fire that killed Dad.”
Vivian froze.
Daniel continued.
“He wasn't killed by the accident.”
Ethan's heart stopped.
“What happened?”
“Vivian locked him inside.”
Vivian shouted:
“That's impossible.”
Daniel looked at her.
“I remember.”
“You're a reconstruction!”
“Yes.”
A pause.
“But I remember.”
He turned to Ethan.
“Because the memory wasn't mine.”
Ethan stared.
“Whose was it?”
Daniel looked toward Emmie.
“Hers.”
Emmie began crying.
“I was there.”
Ethan knelt beside her.
“You were a baby.”
“I remember the fire.”
The room went silent.
Then the Archive screen activated again.
A new file appeared.
ORIGINAL EVENT RECORD
Ethan read the final line.
SURVIVOR: EMMIE VALE
His whole body went cold.
Emmie was not merely a test subject.
She had been there from the beginning.
And she had witnessed the event that destroyed his family.
Vivian stared at her.
“No.”
Emmie looked at Ethan.
“I know who killed your father.”
Before Ethan could answer, every light in the building turned red.
The countdown appeared.
00:00:59
Vivian whispered:
“Too late.”
Ethan looked at the screen.
“What happens at zero?”
This time, Vivian did not smile.
May you like
She looked terrified.
“The real Halcyon wakes up.”
