CHAPTER 24: THE THOUSAND VOICES
Aiden stood at the center of the tower.
His body trembled beneath the weight of countless memories.
Claire approached carefully.
“Aiden.”
Hundreds of voices answered.
“Which one?”
“You are Aiden.”
“I have been kings.”
“You are my son.”
“I have been mothers.”
Claire touched his face.
“You asked for help inside the capsule.”
His eyes softened.
For one second, Aiden returned.
“Mom.”
Then the voices overwhelmed him again.
The underwater dome cracked further.
Water sprayed through the ceiling.
Clara Seven ordered everyone toward the evacuation submarines.
Helena refused to leave the core.
“If we shut it down now, the identities inside Aiden may stabilize.”
Anna shook her head.
“Or destroy him.”
Claire Vale pointed her pistol at the machine.
“We destroy the source.”
Claire blocked her.
“He is connected.”
“So is August.”
Adrian entered the tower, barely able to stand.
He looked toward his son.
“Aiden.”
The young man turned.
Adrian stepped closer.
“I don’t know how to be your father.”
Aiden’s expression changed.
“But I know no one should decide who lives inside you.”
He placed his hand on Aiden’s chest.
“Choose yourself.”
The voices began screaming.
Aiden fell to his knees.
Lily joined him.
She placed her small hand over his.
The fragment of August inside her connected with the master core.
Every screen displayed August’s face.
His voice filled the city.
“You cannot choose an identity you were not given.”
Lily looked toward Claire.
“You told me I’m myself.”
“Yes.”
“Then so is he.”
She began singing the coded lullaby.
Aiden joined her.
The machine responded.
One by one, the stored identities separated from Aiden and returned to the core.
Except one.
August.
The oldest voice refused to leave.
Helena entered a command.
“I can trap him inside the master core.”
“What will it cost?” Claire asked.
“Someone must remain connected.”
Helena sat inside the control chair.
Claire grabbed her arm.
“No.”
“I owe you this.”
“You owe us answers.”
“I have no answers that will repair what I did.”
Claire Vale looked at her mother.
“Then live with it.”
Helena stared at both daughters.
The city shook again.
There was no time.
Anna pushed Helena aside and sat in the chair.
“You were made from me,” Anna said. “Let the original finish it.”
The machine locked around her.
August screamed through the speakers.
Anna smiled at Claire.
“Memory is not love.”
Then she activated the trap.
May you like
The master core sealed.
Every light in the city went dark.
