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Chapter 9: Legacy Protocol
The silence in the observation chamber was suffocating.
Three versions of him now stood in the room — Jax, the boy, and the two older models flanking Dr. Valya Rausch like shadows with blueprints for bones.
Valya stepped forward.
“These two…” she gestured to the older teens, one male, one female, both with matching gaze and minimal expression, “…are ECHO-01 and ECHO-02. They were grown after Cassian failed. This time, we focused not on decision mirrors, but override integration. They won’t resist purpose. They don’t want to.”
The male Echo blinked once. “We were created to ensure the pattern doesn’t break.”
Jax’s voice was low and lethal. “I’m not a pattern.”
“You were,” Valya said. “Until you chose empathy over protocol. Until you abandoned the pu
