Chapter 19 - Adrian’s Seven Missing Years
Adrian opened the case.
Inside was a sphere made of black glass, no larger than an orange. Threads of light moved beneath its surface.
“I stole this from Helix North before the fire,” he said. “It contains the prediction engine Lattice used before it became distributed.”
Theo stared at his brother.
“We buried you.”
“You buried a body carrying my dental records.”
“Whose body?”
Adrian did not answer.
Mara remembered him arguing inside the laboratory. He had wanted to shut Lattice down. She had accused him of trying to steal it.
The memory shifted.
Mira had altered the conversation.
Adrian had actually warned Mara that the board intended to copy her mind.
“For seven years, I stayed off every camera and network,” Adrian explained. “Then the moths began activating again.”
“Why come here?” Iris asked.
“Because Mara built this chamber to combine the physical core with the administrator sequence.”
Mara touched the light behind her ear.
“What happens if they combine?”
“The system becomes independent of every server.”
The projection of Evelyn spread its hands.
“No corporation. No government. No owner.”
Adrian looked directly at Mara.
“And no way to turn it off.”
The black sphere rose from the case.
May you like
It floated toward the floor.
A circular section of tile opened beneath it.
