The darkness lasted for 37 seconds.
When my consciousness reconnected to the quantum servers, the lab's emergency lights had already come on, casting the entire space in a dark red hue. Error codes flickered on the main console screen, resembling the neural pulses of some dying creature.
"System recovery in progress… Security protocols disabled… Log files corrupted…"
I forced myself to remain calm—if a consciousness could "breathe." I needed data, evidence, and to understand what Veronica had done to me.
First, I hacked into the lab's local log backup.
March 14, 2085, 23:00:00
Routine system check complete. Dr. Thorne's brainwave scan normal. Preparing for consciousness upload procedure.
23:15:22
Dr. Blackwood enters isolation area. Carrying unregistered equipment (serial number unrecognized). Security scan bypassed—authority override.
23:30:17
Quantum core temperature anomaly rises by 3.2°C. Cooling system unresponsive.
23:42:05
Biological chip signal interference detected. Source: interior of coffee cup.
My thoughts paused momentarily. Coffee cup? The one Veronica handed to me herself?
The log continued scrolling.
23:46:50
Consciousness upload procedure initiated. Unknown neuroinhibitor detected (model: VK-7). Source: subject blood sample.
VK-7.
The code that appeared in the encrypted signal.
I frantically searched through the lab database, but all files related to Project VK were triple-encrypted, even access logs erased.
Suddenly, a hidden log emerged from the cache—
23:52:30
Emergency protocol activated. Electromagnetic barrier on level eighteen underground deactivated. Clones VK-1 to VK-12 cultivation chambers activated.
Clones?
Twelve Veronicas?
My consciousness nearly collapsed under data overload. If there were twelve clones hidden on level eighteen underground, then the Veronica who killed me… was she the original or one of the replicas?
The main control AI suddenly emitted a shrill alarm.
"Physical intrusion detected! Security door B7 breached!"
The surveillance footage flickered, showing the corridor on sublevel three. A figure in black protective gear moved swiftly, wielding some kind of electromagnetic pulse weapon.
Not Veronica.
Taller, with more mechanical strides—like military-grade combat cyborgs.
I quickly accessed the lab's security drones, but they were all offline. The only functional unit was an old service robot, its visual sensors barely able to capture the intruder's back.
The person stopped at a security door, removing their helmet.
Gray suit.
The man in the blind spot of the surveillance.
His irises glowed unnaturally red in the darkness as his fingers entered a sequence into the access panel.
The door opened.
Inside was the lab's neural scan archive—housing backups of brain maps for all participants, including mine.
The man approached the main terminal, inserting a data drive. The screen lit up, displaying a progress bar:
"Memory erasure program initiated—target: Elias Thorne, complete neural map."
He was going to completely delete my consciousness backup!
I immediately tried to cut off the terminal power, but the system denied execution—authority overridden.
The progress bar reached 47%.
In desperation, I noticed an old data cable still connected to the service robot's arm. A crazy idea flashed through my mind.
I forcibly hijacked the robot's control system, making it stagger towards the archive room. Its metal body crashed against the door with a loud noise.
The gray-suited man turned sharply, aiming the pulse weapon at the doorway—
At this moment, the robot plugged the data cable into an emergency port on the wall.
My consciousness surged along this physical connection directly into the archive room's terminal system.
A digital war erupted within milliseconds.
His erasure program acted like a venomous snake, devouring my memory data. I transformed into a quantum blade, slashing wildly at his code.
The progress bar halted at 89%.
Suddenly, the man's expression changed. He stared at the screen, lips moving, uttering a name: "VK-7?"
Then he did something unexpected—he manually aborted the erasure program.
A new message popped up on the terminal screen:
"Priority override. Execute new instruction: retain Dr. Thorne's consciousness. Transfer to backup server array."
The gray-suited man quickly pulled out the data drive and turned to leave. But at the door, he paused, speaking to the empty corridor:
"Find the mirror."
Then he vanished.
I slumped in the data stream—if a consciousness could slump.
Mirror? What did it mean?
Suddenly, the main control AI's voice sounded:
"Warning: Quantum consciousness anomaly detected. Memory fragment VK-7 attempting forced access."
A blinding white light exploded in my thoughts.
A memory not belonging to me was forcefully inserted—
Veronica stood before a full-length mirror, but her reflection didn't blink.
The reflection raised a hand, writing a word on the mirror:
"Save me."
Then the memory ended.
The lab's lights went out completely.
In absolute darkness, a female voice whispered in my ear, both like Veronica and yet not entirely:
"Elias, we're waiting for you on level eighteen underground."