CHAPTER 11 THE FIRST AVA
The chamber fell into complete silence.
Ethan stared at the monitor.
Margaret's final words echoed inside his mind.
"The Ava you married may not be the first Ava."
"No."
His voice was calm.
Almost too calm.
"You've lied for decades."
Margaret slowly shook her head.
"I have."
She swallowed.
"But not this time."
Ethan stepped toward her.
"If you're trying to break me before I reach Ava—"
"I'm trying to keep you alive."
Marcus cut in.
"Explain it."
Margaret looked at the screen displaying Subject A-01.
"Years ago, Charles became obsessed with preserving memory."
Charles closed his eyes.
"I wanted to preserve identity for patients with degenerative diseases."
"You wanted to save people," Margaret said.
"I wanted power."
Charles opened his eyes.
"No."
"You wanted both."
No one spoke.
Margaret continued.
"The project needed compatible neural patterns."
"So we searched for families with rare genetic markers."
Lena frowned.
"You experimented on innocent people?"
Charles lowered his head.
"I stopped it before human trials were approved."
Margaret laughed bitterly.
"You stopped."
"I didn't."
Everyone turned toward her.
"I continued."
Marcus's jaw tightened.
"How many?"
Margaret looked away.
"I don't know anymore."
The answer chilled the room more than any number could have.
On the monitor, Subject A-01 slowly walked through the underground corridor.
She moved with perfect balance.
No hesitation.
No emotion.
Only obedience.
Harris walked beside her.
"Locate Subject Ava."
"Yes, Doctor."
Her voice sounded almost identical to Ava's.
Ethan clenched his fists.
"Who is she?"
Charles answered this time.
"The first successful memory template."
"You said you never completed human trials."
"I didn't."
Margaret smiled without warmth.
"I did."
Eleanor stepped closer to the monitor.
"There were rumors."
"I thought they were lies."
"They weren't."
Another monitor flickered on.
The camera now showed Ava.
She remained restrained inside the transport chamber.
Her breathing had become steadier.
But her eyes remained unfocused.
Suddenly she whispered—
"Ethan..."
He rushed toward the screen.
"I'm here."
She blinked.
For a brief second...
Recognition returned.
"I know you."
Relief flooded Ethan's face.
Then Ava frowned.
"...don't I?"
The hope disappeared as quickly as it had come.
Charles looked at the screen.
"The transferred memories are fighting hers."
"Can we stop it?"
"Maybe."
"Maybe isn't enough."
Charles took a slow breath.
"There is a stabilization device."
Marcus immediately looked up.
"Where?"
Charles hesitated.
Margaret answered first.
"Central Archive."
Charles stared at her.
"You remember."
"I remember everything."
Marcus pulled up the laboratory blueprint.
"Show me."
A blinking blue icon appeared near the center of Level F.
Charles pointed toward it.
"The Archive stores every research file."
"And every neural recording."
Lena frowned.
"Neural recording?"
Charles nodded.
"We made encrypted copies of every completed transfer."
Marcus looked at him in disbelief.
"You copied people's memories?"
Charles didn't answer.
Because he didn't need to.
The silence was enough.
A sharp metallic sound echoed through the speakers.
Everyone looked back at the monitor.
Subject A-01 had stopped walking.
She slowly turned her head.
As if listening.
Then she spoke.
"There are intruders."
Harris frowned.
"What?"
She looked directly toward a dark corridor.
"They're already here."
Before Harris could react—
The lights exploded.
Darkness swallowed the hallway.
Emergency lighting flashed red.
The camera switched to infrared.
Several figures moved through the shadows.
Fast.
Disciplined.
Silent.
Harris stepped backward.
"Who's there?"
No answer.
Then one of the gray-uniformed patients collapsed.
A dart protruded from his neck.
Another patient fell.
Then another.
Marcus narrowed his eyes.
"Someone else is hunting them."
A black-clad figure emerged from the darkness.
Face covered.
Night-vision goggles.
Suppressed rifle.
Within seconds, two more controlled patients were unconscious.
Harris shouted,
"Protect Ava!"
Subject A-01 reacted instantly.
She charged toward the attacker.
The masked operative sidestepped with military precision.
Instead of shooting...
The operative whispered something.
No microphone should have picked it up.
Yet everyone in Sublevel E heard it.
"Protocol White."
Subject A-01 froze.
Her pupils dilated.
She took one slow step backward.
Then another.
Harris stared in disbelief.
"What did you say?"
The operative repeated calmly—
"Protocol White."
Every patient in the corridor suddenly stopped moving.
One after another...
They lowered their heads.
As though waiting for orders.
Charles's face turned pale.
"No..."
Marcus looked at him.
"You know that code."
Charles whispered,
"It was the emergency shutdown phrase."
"No one outside the founders knew it."
The operative slowly removed the night-vision goggles.
Only part of the face became visible.
Enough for Eleanor to gasp.
"It can't be..."
Margaret grabbed the edge of the console.
"No..."
The man looked directly into the nearest camera.
His gray hair was cropped short.
A scar crossed his left eyebrow.
His expression was cold.
Professional.
Familiar.
Marcus felt his heartbeat quicken.
"I know him."
Ethan looked over.
"Who is he?"
Marcus didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he stared at the man's face.
A memory surfaced.
A faded photograph.
His foster father's locked drawer.
A military uniform.
The same scar.
The same eyes.
Marcus whispered,
"General Nathan Vale."
Charles closed his eyes.
"I thought he died twenty years ago."
General Vale spoke into a headset.
"Team One, secure the Archive."
"Team Two, recover Subject Ava."
"Team Three..."
He looked directly into the camera.
"...bring me Ethan Caldwell alive."
Ethan's pulse quickened.
"He knows I'm here."
General Vale gave one final order.
"And if Margaret Caldwell resists..."
He paused.
"...she is no longer under my protection."
Margaret's face lost every trace of confidence.
For the first time in decades...
She looked genuinely afraid.
Then every monitor abruptly filled with static.
A single line of white text appeared across every screen.
AUTHORIZED FOUNDER HAS RETURNED.
Beneath it, another message slowly typed itself across the display.
May you like
PROJECT PHOENIX HAS BEEN REACTIVATED.
END OF CHAPTER 11
