CHAPTER 8 — SUBJECT 000
The room went silent.
My father's smile disappeared.
For the first time since he had entered the laboratory, he looked afraid.
Sofia was pointing directly at him.
“He's Subject 000.”
I stared at the old man in the gray suit.
“No.”
He slowly turned toward Sofia.
“You shouldn't know that name.”
Sofia stepped backward.
“My mother told me.”
His expression hardened.
“Your mother knows nothing.”
“She knows everything.”
He looked at me.
“Daniel, don't listen to her.”
I laughed bitterly.
“Why not?”
“Because she's confused.”
“She's eight years old.”
“And you've already seen what happens when children are exposed to things they don't understand.”
I looked at Isabella.
She was trembling.
Then I looked at the man who claimed to be my father.
“Who are you?”
He didn't answer.
I stepped forward.
“Who are you?”
One of the guards raised his weapon.
Lucas immediately stepped between us.
“Put it down.”
The guard ignored him.
Lucas moved faster.
He grabbed the man's wrist and slammed the weapon against the wall.
A gunshot exploded.
Everyone ducked.
“RUN!”
Lucas grabbed Elena.
I grabbed both girls.
We sprinted toward the disposal chamber.
Behind us, the guards opened fire.
Bullets tore through the laboratory equipment.
Glass shattered.
Alarms screamed.
The countdown continued.
31 SECONDS.
We reached the metal door.
Lucas slammed his palm against the control panel.
Nothing happened.
“What's wrong?”
“It needs two identities.”
“What identities?”
“Subject 001 and Subject 032.”
I looked at Isabella.
She placed her hand on the scanner.
Then I placed mine beside hers.
Both lights turned green.
The door unlocked.
We rushed inside.
The door slammed shut behind us.
For a few seconds, there was only darkness.
Then the lights came on.
I looked around.
It wasn't a disposal chamber.
It was an elevator.
A very old one.
Lucas stared at the control panel.
“This isn't supposed to be here.”
“What?”
“It wasn't in the original plans.”
Elena looked at him.
“Then where does it go?”
Lucas pressed the only button.
SURFACE.
The elevator began moving.
Up.
I leaned against the wall.
My heart was still racing.
“What is Subject 000?”
Nobody answered.
I looked at Lucas.
“You know.”
He hesitated.
“Yes.”
“Tell me.”
“Subject 000 was the first human they successfully altered.”
“Altered how?”
“Memory.”
I frowned.
“He was the first person whose memories could be completely rewritten.”
I stared at Elena.
“Who was he?”
She looked away.
“My father.”
I froze.
“You mean the man downstairs?”
“Yes.”
“Then why did Sofia say he isn't my father?”
“Because he isn't.”
I looked at Lucas.
“Then whose father is he?”
Lucas answered:
“Everyone's.”
The elevator suddenly stopped.
The lights went out.
Isabella screamed.
“Dad!”
“I'm here.”
Something slammed against the elevator doors.
Once.
Twice.
Then again.
Lucas raised his weapon.
“Stay back.”
A voice came through the metal.
“Daniel.”
My father's voice.
I stepped closer.
“How did you get here?”
He laughed.
“You still don't understand the building.”
“What?”
“The elevator doesn't go to the surface.”
The lights came back on.
The elevator doors opened.
I froze.
We were standing inside a completely different facility.
It was enormous.
Hundreds of glass rooms stretched in every direction.
Each room contained a person.
Men.
Women.
Children.
Some were awake.
Some were asleep.
Some stared at us.
On every glass door was a number.
Hundreds of them.
Isabella whispered:
“How many are there?”
Lucas looked horrified.
“More than I thought.”
Elena covered her mouth.
“We were told the program ended.”
A speaker crackled.
My father's voice echoed through the facility.
“It never ended.”
I stepped forward.
“You lied to everyone.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because humanity always fears what it cannot control.”
I looked at the people behind the glass.
“What did you do to them?”
“We improved them.”
“That's not improvement.”
“You're looking at the future.”
A door opened nearby.
A young woman stepped out.
She looked about twenty.
She stared at me.
Then she smiled.
“Subject 001.”
I stepped backward.
She approached.
“Do you remember me?”
“No.”
She touched her own face.
“You used to.”
I looked at Lucas.
“What is happening?”
Lucas whispered:
“These people were made from you.”
My stomach dropped.
“All of them?”
“Not exactly.”
He pointed toward the numbers.
“They're variations.”
“Variations of what?”
“You.”
I stared at the young woman.
She smiled.
“Some of us have your memories.”
I felt dizzy.
“Some have your intelligence.”
Another person stepped from a chamber.
“Some have your reflexes.”
Another.
“Some have your emotions.”
Another.
“And some have none.”
The last person stepped forward.
He looked exactly like me.
Same face.
Same height.
Same eyes.
He smiled.
I felt ice in my veins.
“Hello, Daniel.”
I couldn't speak.
Lucas stepped in front of me.
“Don't.”
The duplicate tilted his head.
“Why?”
“Because you know what happens.”
The duplicate smiled.
“You're still afraid of me.”
Lucas raised his gun.
The duplicate laughed.
“You always were.”
I looked at Lucas.
“What is he?”
Lucas whispered:
“The original.”
My father came through the speaker.
“Now you understand.”
I stared at the duplicate.
“You said I was Subject 001.”
“I lied.”
“Then what am I?”
The speaker answered:
“Subject 002.”
Lucas stepped forward.
“And I'm Subject 003.”
I looked at him.
“You're not my brother.”
Lucas shook his head.
“No.”
“But you remember being my brother.”
“They gave me your memories.”
I couldn't breathe.
“All those childhood memories…”
“Were implanted.”
I felt like my entire life had been ripped out from underneath me.
The duplicate stepped closer.
“You were created to replace him.”
I stared at him.
“Replace who?”
He pointed toward my father.
“His first son.”
I looked at the old man.
“You?”
He smiled.
“No.”
He opened his arms.
“Me.”
I stared.
“Then why did you create us?”
He answered:
“Because I wanted to live forever.”
Silence.
“You were dying.”
“Yes.”
“So you copied yourself?”
“Not exactly.”
He touched his chest.
“I transferred myself.”
My blood ran cold.
“Into the subjects?”
He smiled.
“Eventually.”
Elena suddenly shouted:
“Daniel, don't let him talk to you!”
My father laughed.
“She finally understands.”
I looked at Elena.
“What does she understand?”
“That he doesn't need a body.”
I frowned.
“What?”
“He needs a host.”
My father spoke again.
“Precisely.”
I felt something cold crawl down my spine.
“Why bring me here?”
“Because my current body is failing.”
I stared at him.
“And you need mine.”
He laughed.
“Not yours.”
He looked at Isabella.
“Your daughter's.”
I immediately pulled Isabella behind me.
“No.”
My father continued.
“Subject 032 was the only one whose cells could stabilize the transfer.”
Lucas raised his gun.
“You're not touching her.”
My father laughed.
“Lucas.”
He paused.
“Did you tell Daniel what happened to Subject 031?”
Lucas went pale.
I looked at him.
“What happened?”
Lucas said nothing.
“Tell me.”
He swallowed.
“I was the first attempt.”
“At what?”
“Transfer.”
My blood ran cold.
“They put him inside me.”
I stared at Lucas.
“What?”
“The old man.”
Lucas's voice cracked.
“He tried to put his consciousness inside me.”
“But you survived.”
“No.”
He looked at me.
“I didn't.”
I froze.
“What do you mean?”
Lucas pointed at himself.
“I'm not Lucas anymore.”
The facility lights suddenly went dark.
A voice whispered directly behind me.
“Neither are you.”
I turned.
My father was standing there.
Not through a speaker.
Not behind glass.
Standing only a few feet away.
But he looked different.
Younger.
Much younger.
He looked exactly like me.
He smiled.
Then he touched my forehead.
And suddenly I remembered.
A laboratory.
A woman screaming.
My mother.
A newborn baby.
My father holding a needle.
And one sentence:
“If this works, Daniel will never know he was born twice.”
I collapsed to my knees.
Isabella screamed.
Then my father whispered:
May you like
“Welcome back, Subject 002.”
And every person in every glass chamber opened their eyes at exactly the same time.
