Chapter 28 - The First Woman
Nobody spoke.
The old woman rolled herself forward.
Thomas appeared on the monitor behind her.
He looked terrified.
She looked amused.
“Hello, children.”
Michael couldn't move.
“Grandmother.”
She smiled.
“You got old.”
He swallowed.
“So did you.”
She laughed.
“I cheated.”
Victoria stared at her.
“Who are you?”
The old woman looked at her.
“You are the fourth.”
Victoria's face tightened.
“I am Victoria.”
“Yes.”
“You made me.”
“No.”
The old woman leaned forward.
“They made you from me.”
She looked at me.
“You were made from all of us.”
I stepped forward.
“Who are you?”
“Evelyn Hart.”
Thomas whispered from the screen:
“My mother.”
Sarah closed her eyes.
“My grandmother.”
Evelyn smiled.
“Finally.”
She looked around the room.
“You found the house.”
I said, “Why are you alive?”
“Because they never learned how to kill the anchor.”
Michael stepped closer.
“You were the first anchor.”
“Yes.”
“And Mirror Zero?”
“My memory.”
The words hit harder than I expected.
She pointed toward the server room.
“Those machines only record what the bloodline remembers.”
I shook my head.
“Why would anyone do this?”
Evelyn answered without hesitation.
“Control.”
“Control over what?”
“History.”
She touched the side of her head.
“If I can make a man remember a crime he never committed, I can destroy him.”
She looked at Michael.
“If I can remove a marriage from a woman's mind, I can erase a family.”
She looked at Emily.
“And if I can convince a child her father is dead, I can control the life she builds afterward.”
Michael went pale.
“You did that.”
Evelyn's eyes softened.
“I allowed it.”
“You let her think I died.”
“I needed the network to believe you were gone.”
“You could have told her.”
“And exposed the anchor?”
Michael stepped forward.
“You destroyed her childhood.”
Evelyn's smile disappeared.
“I destroyed no more than was necessary.”
I looked at her.
“That is what everyone says.”
Evelyn stared at me for a long time.
Then she laughed.
“You finally sound like your mother.”
Sarah stepped toward her.
“Did you kill my sister?”
“Yes.”
Sarah's face hardened.
“Why?”
“She tried to free the archive.”
“Why didn't you let her?”
“Because she didn't understand what freedom would do.”
Sarah shook her head.
“You were afraid.”
“Yes.”
The honesty stunned me.
Evelyn continued.
“If the archive goes free, every identity alteration becomes visible.”
“That's good.”
“No.”
She looked at me.
“People will kill for that information.”
I thought of General Vale.
“What about the network?”
“It has already fractured.”
“Into what?”
“Groups.”
“Which groups?”
“Those who want control.”
She looked at Thomas.
“Those who want destruction.”
Then at Michael.
“And those who want everyone restored.”
I looked at Victoria.
“And the descendants?”
“They are not copies.”
Evelyn reached for Victoria's hand.
“They are survivors.”
Victoria pulled away.
“You used me.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I knew you'd eventually reject me.”
Victoria froze.
“What?”
“You were never intended to obey.”
“Then why?”
“Because someone had to survive with the key.”
She looked toward Emily.
“And now the key has a child.”
Emily stepped backward.
Evelyn looked at her.
“I have been waiting for you.”
I moved in front of Emily.
“No.”
Evelyn smiled.
“You misunderstand.”
She pointed to Emily's bracelet.
“It isn't a tracking device.”
“What is it?”
“A clock.”
“For what?”
“The synchronization.”
Michael suddenly turned toward the server room.
“No.”
“What?”
He ran inside.
The rest of us followed.
He stared at a central monitor.
The countdown had restarted.
But this time there was no number.
There was a date.
Tomorrow.
I stared.
“What happens tomorrow?”
Michael looked at Evelyn.
She answered.
“The network synchronizes every surviving identity.”
Reyes frowned.
“And then?”
“Every altered memory becomes permanent.”
I felt cold.
“So the people who've been changed…”
“Will lose their original identities forever.”
Emily looked at me.
“Can we stop it?”
Michael said, “Yes.”
My heart lifted.
Then he finished:
“But someone has to enter the archive.”
“Who?”
Michael looked at me.
“Me.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
He took my hand.
“I've been inside before.”
“You said you'd been imprisoned.”
“I was.”
He looked toward the other Elena.
“She can guide me.”
The other Elena looked at me.
“He may not come back.”
I tightened my grip.
“I just got him back.”
Michael smiled sadly.
“I know.”
Evelyn's voice came from behind us.
“There is another problem.”
We turned.
“What?”
She pointed at Thomas's monitor.
The screen showed General Vale.
He was no longer smiling.
Someone stood beside him.
A young woman.
Dark hair.
My face.
But this time the woman was wearing Emily's dress.
Emily screamed.
“That’s me.”
The woman in the video looked into the camera.
Then spoke.
May you like
“Mom.”
The feed ended.
