Chapter 7 - The door exploded inward.Daniel fired first.
The figure outside dropped behind the wall.
Marcus grabbed Laura and ran.
They moved through the laboratory corridor while alarms screamed overhead.
Red emergency lights flashed.
Doors opened and closed automatically.
The entire floor had become a maze.
Daniel shouted:
"Left!"
They turned.
"Stairs!"
They ran down two levels.
Then Daniel stopped.
"No."
"What?" Marcus asked.
"The stairs end here."
A wall blocked their path.
Laura looked around.
"We're trapped."
Marcus noticed a maintenance panel.
He ripped it open.
Behind it was another narrow passage.
Daniel stared.
"How did you know that was there?"
Marcus didn't answer.
He didn't know.
He simply knew.
They crawled inside.
The passage led downward.
Deeper.
Older.
Eventually they emerged beneath the building.
A massive underground room stretched before them.
Banks of servers filled the walls.
Thousands of tiny lights blinked.
In the center stood a glass chamber.
Inside was a person.
Marcus approached.
It was Harris.
The real Harris.
Or what looked like him.
He was unconscious.
Machines surrounded his body.
Laura whispered:
"He's alive."
Marcus stepped closer.
Harris suddenly opened his eyes.
Marcus jumped.
Harris looked directly at him.
"Marcus."
Marcus placed a hand against the glass.
"Mr. Harris?"
Harris nodded weakly.
"You're not supposed to be here."
Marcus almost laughed.
"Everyone keeps saying that."
Harris looked past him.
At Laura.
Then Daniel.
His expression changed.
"You brought them."
Marcus frowned.
"What?"
Harris whispered:
"One of them is not human."
Laura stepped backward.
"What did you say?"
Harris stared at her.
"You don't remember."
Laura's face went pale.
Marcus looked between them.
"What doesn't she remember?"
Harris closed his eyes.
"The first experiment."
The room went silent.
Daniel approached the chamber.
"What happened?"
Harris whispered:
"We needed someone who could carry memories without rejection."
Marcus stared.
"And you chose?"
Harris opened his eyes.
"Her."
Laura shook her head.
"No."
Harris continued:
"Laura wasn't an employee."
Marcus looked at her.
"What?"
"She was Subject 03."
Laura backed away.
"No."
Harris stared at her.
"You volunteered."
Laura's breathing accelerated.
"I never..."
Memories suddenly flashed across her face.
She stumbled.
Marcus caught her.
She whispered:
"The machine."
Harris nodded.
"You remember."
Laura looked horrified.
"I remember dying."
Marcus froze.
"What?"
Laura stared at Harris.
"I died."
Harris nodded.
"Your original body did."
Marcus couldn't speak.
Laura looked at her hands.
"I woke up in this building."
Harris said:
"Seven years ago."
Marcus shook his head.
"This is insane."
Harris's expression hardened.
"No, Marcus."
He looked directly at him.
"This is exactly what they wanted you to believe."
Marcus frowned.
"What?"
"They didn't create copies because they wanted immortality."
Harris swallowed.
"They created copies because they wanted obedience."
A monitor behind them lit up.
A file appeared.
PROJECT MIRROR.
Then:
OBJECTIVE: CONTROL OF MEMORY.
Marcus stared.
Harris continued.
"Every copy carries fragments of the original."
"Which means..."
"Which means no one knows where the original identity ends and the programmed identity begins."
Marcus looked at Laura.
Then Daniel.
Then Harris.
"Who can we trust?"
Harris smiled sadly.
"Nobody."
The room shook.
An explosion sounded above.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
Daniel looked up.
"They found us."
Harris's face changed.
"Too soon."
Marcus asked:
"What are you going to do?"
Harris pointed toward the servers.
"Destroy the ledger."
Marcus stared.
"You said the ledger is what exposes them."
"It also contains every identity they've ever created."
Marcus looked at the servers.
"Then we need to copy it."
Harris shook his head.
"If you copy it, they can track you."
"Then I'll destroy the original."
Harris grabbed Marcus through the opening in the chamber.
His hand was freezing.
"No."
Marcus looked at him.
"Why?"
Harris whispered:
"Because the ledger isn't on the servers."
He pointed upward.
"It's inside you."
Marcus froze.
"What?"
Harris's eyes filled with fear.
"They put it in your memory."
Suddenly every monitor in the room turned black.
A single line appeared.
SUBJECT 09 ACTIVATED.
Marcus felt something change inside his head.
He heard a voice.
His own voice.
May you like
But not the one he knew.
Hello, Marcus.
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