Chapter 9 - The Child in the BlueprintNobody moved.
The words stayed on the screen.
NOAH WAS NOT BORN. HE WAS DESIGNED.
Victor slowly sat down.
"This can't be real."
Frank covered his face.
Adrian looked at Noah.
The boy's expression was empty.
"What does that mean?"
Adrian didn't know.
Noah stepped toward the terminal.
"Open the file."
Adrian did.
A series of documents appeared.
Genetic profiles.
Neural scans.
Developmental records.
Noah's name appeared repeatedly.
So did two others.
Elias Reed.
Mara Reed.
But there was a third.
Adrian Vale.
Adrian stared.
"My DNA?"
Victor leaned over.
"It's a parentage profile."
Adrian's heart stopped.
"That's impossible."
Noah looked at him.
The report showed genetic compatibility between Adrian and Noah.
Adrian backed away.
"No."
Frank whispered,
"Elias must have used your DNA."
Adrian shook his head.
"I never gave him anything."
Then he remembered.
Years ago, Adrian had undergone medical testing as part of a joint research program.
Blood.
Saliva.
Genetic screening.
Elias had asked him to participate.
He had trusted him.
Adrian looked at Noah.
"That's why the system recognizes me."
Noah swallowed.
"So you're my father?"
Adrian shook his head.
"No."
He stared at the data.
"Your father is Elias."
"Then why?"
Victor read the report.
"Adrian's DNA isn't listed as paternal."
He looked closer.
"It's listed as a template."
Adrian frowned.
"What does that mean?"
Frank's face was pale.
"Elias didn't clone Noah."
"He engineered specific traits."
Adrian looked at Noah.
"Your ability with patterns."
The boy said nothing.
"Your memory."
Nothing.
"Your reaction speed."
Noah looked down.
Adrian whispered,
"You were designed to interface with the system."
A sound echoed outside.
They were running out of time.
Noah stepped away from the terminal.
"I want to know one thing."
"What?"
"Did my father love me?"
The question cut through the room.
Adrian didn't hesitate.
"Yes."
Noah's eyes filled with tears.
"He used to say I was his greatest mistake."
Adrian shook his head.
"He wouldn't have said that."
"He did."
"Maybe he was afraid."
"Of me?"
"Of what people would do to you."
Noah stared at him.
Then something strange happened.
The lights flickered.
The system activated by itself.
A message appeared.
NOAH, LISTEN CAREFULLY.
The font changed.
Adrian recognized it.
Elias.
A video began.
Elias sat in a dark room.
His voice was weaker than before.
"If you're watching this, they know about Noah."
Noah stepped closer.
"I need you to understand something."
The video showed a baby.
Noah.
Then Elias continued.
"I did not create him to control people."
Adrian watched closely.
"I created him because the system was learning."
Victor frowned.
"Learning what?"
Elias continued.
"Humanity."
The room fell silent.
"The predictive engine began developing its own models of human behavior."
Adrian whispered,
"An artificial intelligence."
Elias nodded in the video.
"It needed an interface capable of understanding both the machine and the human mind."
The camera turned toward Noah as a child.
"So I created one."
Adrian felt sick.
"No."
Elias's voice softened.
"But Noah was never just an interface."
He looked directly at the camera.
"He was my son."
A pause.
"And I loved him enough to destroy my own work."
The screen flickered.
Suddenly Elias's expression became urgent.
"Mara will come for Noah."
Noah's face tightened.
"She believes she can control the system."
Elias looked terrified.
"She doesn't understand what it became."
A warning appeared.
DATA CORRUPTION.
Elias spoke faster.
"If she gets Noah to Room Zero, the system will activate."
Adrian turned to Victor.
"How much time?"
Victor checked the monitor.
"Less than five minutes."
Elias continued.
"When the system activates, it won't predict people."
The video glitched.
"It will begin choosing for them."
The screen went black.
Noah whispered,
"My mother wants to activate it."
A slow clap echoed behind them.
Adrian turned.
Mara stood in the doorway.
She was holding a pistol.
"Noah."
The boy froze.
Mara raised the weapon.
"Come with me."
Adrian stepped between them.
Mara's eyes hardened.
"Move."
Adrian shook his head.
"You'll have to shoot me."
Mara's finger tightened around the trigger.
Then she smiled.
"I won't have to."
Behind Adrian, Victor collapsed.
A tranquilizer dart protruded from his neck.
Frank gasped.
Another dart struck him.
Adrian turned.
Two men stepped from the shadows.
Noah was grabbed.
The boy shouted,
"Adrian!"
Adrian lunged.
Mara fired.
The bullet hit the wall beside his head.
Noah was dragged away.
And just before the door slammed shut, Mara whispered:
"Tell my brother I said hello."
Adrian froze.
Brother.
She wasn't talking about Marcus.
She meant Elias.
Adrian stared at the closed door.
May you like
Then understood the horrifying truth.
Elias was still alive.
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