Chapter 24 - THE BROTHER WITHOUT A CHILDHOOD
The young man entered the service corridor alone.
The security door opened for him without a badge or code.
Evelyn aimed at his chest.
“Stop.”
He obeyed.
Up close, the resemblance was undeniable.
He had Teresa’s eyes.
My jawline.
Even the slight crease between his eyebrows matched mine.
“My name is Elias,” he said.
“Who are you?”
“Teresa’s first successful integration.”
“That isn’t an answer.”
“It is the only identity I was given.”
He looked through the observation window at the rows of sleeping subjects.
“I was raised inside this facility. I have never seen a city, attended school, or eaten in a restaurant.”
His voice was calm.
Too calm.
“What do you want with Amy?”
“I want nothing from Amy.”
“Then release her.”
“I cannot.”
“Cannot or will not?”
He tilted his head.
“I do not control Teresa.”
Evelyn lowered her weapon slightly.
“Your security detail suggests otherwise.”
“They protect the program’s investment.”
“You,” I said.
“Yes.”
Elias stepped closer.
“Teresa created me using early genetic selection and neural conditioning. I can process human behavioral patterns faster than conventional systems, but I cannot build new predictive architecture.”
“That’s why she needs me.”
“You create systems. Amy stabilizes human response. I operate the combined network.”
“The Architect, the Interface, and the Executor,” Evelyn said.
Elias nodded.
“I prefer the term Interpreter.”
I wanted to hate him.
Instead, I saw a man who spoke about his own imprisonment as if describing laboratory equipment.
“Why warn us?” I asked.
“Because Teresa intends to activate the network globally.”
“What does that mean?”
“She has agreements with governments, corporations, security firms, and political campaigns. Helix-based influence will be embedded in medical treatments, digital environments, and emergency-response systems.”
“She wants to control people.”
“She believes she is reducing violence.”
“And you?”
For the first time, emotion entered his face.
“I have never been permitted to want anything.”
An alarm sounded.
Elias looked toward the ceiling.
“She knows you are here.”
Amy’s voice came over the intercom.
“Connor!”
The sound was followed by a scream.
I ran toward the stairwell.
Elias caught my arm.
“If you approach Teresa directly, she will inject Amy.”
“Let go.”
“There is another route.”
“Why should I trust you?”
“Because I placed the cardboard box on your porch.”
I stopped.
“You sent the drive?”
“I needed the Architect to enter willingly.”
Evelyn raised her pistol again.
“You’re working with Teresa.”
“I was.”
Elias looked at me.
May you like
“Until I learned that activation requires the death of the Interface.”
📖 Elias reveals that Amy’s role ends in death, forcing Connor to trust a brother created by the same program that plans to kill his wife. 👇
