Chapter 13 - The First Orpheus Child
Their grandfather, Henry Carter, had been celebrated as a humanitarian physician.
He opened clinics for displaced children after the war.
He received national awards.
Hospitals named research wings after him.
According to Thomas, Henry had also designed the first identity-transfer protocol.
“He believed legal identity was a medical resource,” Thomas said. “Something that could be reassigned to save a child.”
“That sounds noble,” Claire replied.
“It was, in the beginning.”
But governments and private organizations soon recognized other uses.
A child without records could be given a new family.
A witness could disappear.
An heir could be replaced.
A person with valuable genetics or medical history could be moved into a controlled environment.
Henry created Orpheus to protect children.
Meridian transformed it into an empire.
The original laboratory stood beneath the Carter Foundation Hospital, closed for renovation after an unexplained electrical fire.
Edward’s phrase, where our father began it, could only mean that hospital.
Mara prepared a federal operation.
Thomas insisted on joining them.
“You have lied to us since before we could speak,” Liam said. “Why should we trust you now?”
“You should not.”
Thomas placed the microfilm index on the table.
“But Edward believes I have the complete index. I can get you inside.”
Claire looked at him.
“And if this is another plan?”
“Then do not forgive me.”
They entered the hospital through a service tunnel discovered in Henry Carter’s architectural records.
The underground laboratory had been sealed behind concrete.
Someone had opened it recently.
Inside, old equipment sat beside modern servers.
The past and present of Orpheus occupied the same room.
They found Miriam first.
She was injured, leaning against a wall with blood on her coat.
“Edward betrayed us,” she said.
“Where is Ethan?” Mara asked.
“With him.”
Thomas crouched beside Miriam.
“What does Edward want?”
“To activate the network.”
“What network?”
Miriam looked at Liam.
“The current Orpheus children are linked through medical systems, schools, social services, and private security databases. Edward can erase their existing identities and issue new ones within hours.”
Claire felt cold.
“How many children?”
“Thousands.”
A gunshot echoed deeper in the laboratory.
Mara’s team moved forward.
They entered a circular control room.
Edward Carter stood before a wall of servers.
Ethan was beside him.
His bandaged hand rested on a control panel.
Edward smiled when he saw Thomas.
“My brother.”
Thomas stepped into the room.
“You said you died protecting us.”
“I did protect you. I removed myself from Meridian and rebuilt Orpheus before they could destroy it.”
“You rebuilt the thing we were trying to escape.”
“I corrected it.”
Claire looked at the screen.
Rows of children’s records moved across it.
Edward spoke with the conviction of a man who had repeated the same justification for years.
“The world fails children every day. Families abuse them. Governments lose them. Institutions sell them. Orpheus gives them new lives.”
“Without consent,” Liam said.
“Children do not choose the conditions of their birth.”
“So you choose for them?”
“I choose survival.”
Ethan laughed softly.
“You see why your mother and Edward understood each other.”
Claire turned toward him.
“You are going to prison.”
Ethan’s expression became almost gentle.
“You still need me.”
“For what?”
“To stop the deletion sequence.”
Edward looked toward him sharply.
“What deletion sequence?”
Ethan pressed a key.
The screens turned red.
A countdown began at thirty minutes.
“If this facility loses power or I fail to enter the code,” Ethan said, “every active Orpheus identity will be erased.”
Edward seized him.
“You were never authorized to do that.”
“I stopped asking for authorization years ago.”
Police raised their weapons.
Ethan held up a small trigger.
“Kill me, and the countdown accelerates.”
Claire watched the numbers fall.
Twenty-nine minutes.
Thomas moved closer to his brother.
“Edward, help us stop it.”
Edward looked at the servers.
For the first time, uncertainty entered his face.
Then Miriam appeared in the doorway and fired.
The bullet struck Edward in the chest.
Chaos followed.
Ethan ran.
Mara chased him.
Thomas caught Edward before he fell.
Edward gripped his brother’s coat.
“The code,” he whispered.
“What code?”
“Henry’s first child.”
Edward died before he could explain.
On every screen, a single record appeared.
ORPHEUS CHILD 1.
May you like
NAME: UNKNOWN.
CURRENT STATUS: ACTIVE.
