THE DEAD COPY

THE GENERAL'S CONFESSION

The general sat in a chair in the base's interrogation room, his hands bound, his shoulder bandaged. His cold blue eyes followed Elliot as he walked around the table.

"You should have killed me," the general said.

"I'm not a killer."

"Everyone is a killer. Some just take longer to admit it."

Elliot sat across from him. "Where are the other copies? The ones you hid?"

The general smiled. "You'll never find them."

"I found this facility. I found the vault. I'll find the others."

"Perhaps. But not before I die."

Elliot leaned forward. "You're not going to die. You're going to spend the rest of your life in a cell."

The general laughed. It was a bitter sound. "You think I'm afraid of prison? I've been in prison my whole life. Prison of ambition. Prison of grief. Prison of guilt."

"Guilt for what?"

The general was silent for a moment. Then he said, "For my son. For Gavin."

Elliot's eyes narrowed. "You're the one who funded his research. You're the one who encouraged him."

"I'm the one who created him. The same way he created you." The general looked at his hands. "Gavin was always trying to please me. Always trying to prove himself. I pushed him. Harder than I should have."

"He became a monster."

"He became what I made him." The general's voice cracked. "I told him his mother's death was his fault. I told him he could bring her back if he tried hard enough. I planted the seeds of his obsession."

Elliot sat back. "You're not confessing to save your soul."

"No. I'm confessing because I'm tired. Tired of running. Tired of hiding. Tired of being the man I've become."

"Then help me. Tell me where the copies are."

The general looked at him. His eyes were wet.

"Promise me something."

"What?"

"Promise me you'll take care of them. The copies. The ones I made. They're innocent. They didn't ask to be created."

Elliot nodded slowly. "I promise."

The general closed his eyes. "There's a facility in the desert. About five hundred miles from here. It's hidden beneath an abandoned mining town. The entrance is in the old sheriff's office."

"And the others?"

"There's one in the mountains. East of here. Hidden in a cave system. The entrance is behind a waterfall."

"How many copies?"

"Dozens. Maybe more. I lost count."

Elliot stood up. "Thank you."

The general opened his eyes. "Don't thank me. I'm not doing this for you."

"Then why?"

"Because I want to remember what it feels like to be human."

Elliot found Frank in the command center.

"The general talked," Elliot said.

Frank looked up from the map. "Where?"

Elliot pointed to the locations. "Desert. Mountains. Two facilities. Dozens of copies."

"How do we know he's telling the truth?"

"We don't. But we have to check."

Frank nodded. "I'll take the desert. You take the mountains."

Elliot shook his head. "I'm going with you."

"Elliot—"

"The copies in those facilities are my responsibility. I'm not sending anyone else to do my job."

Frank was silent for a moment. Then he nodded.

"We leave at dawn."

The desert facility was hidden beneath a ghost town.

Elliot stood in the middle of Main Street, looking at the crumbling buildings. The sheriff's office was at the end of the road, its windows boarded, its door hanging from its hinges.

Frank walked up beside him. "The entrance is inside."

They pushed through the door.

The office was dark.

Elliot flicked on his flashlight. Dust covered the floor. Cobwebs hung from the ceiling. But in the corner, a metal door, set into the floor.

He pulled it open.

Stairs led down into darkness.

The facility was smaller than the others.

Tanks lined the walls—maybe twenty in total, each one containing a copy. Monitors flickered with neural data. Machines hummed with power.

Elliot walked to the nearest tank. A man floated inside, his eyes closed, his face peaceful.

"He's alive," Adam said through the earpiece. "Neural patterns are stable."

"How many?"

"Twenty-three. All stable."

Frank checked the other tanks. "The general wasn't lying."

Elliot pressed his hand against the glass. "We take them all."

The extraction took the rest of the day.

Marcus's team carried the tanks up the stairs. David and Lily loaded them into the vans. Charlotte monitored the copies' vitals.

Elliot stood by the entrance, watching the sun set.

"One down," Frank said. "One to go."

"The mountains are three hours from here."

"Then we go tonight."

The drive to the mountains was long and dark.

Elliot sat in the back of the van, staring at the map. Frank drove. Adam navigated.

The waterfall was hidden in a canyon, surrounded by trees. The entrance was behind the falling water, a metal door set into the rock.

Elliot climbed out of the van, his boots splashing in the stream.

"Be careful," Frank said. "The general could have set a trap."

"I know."

He walked behind the waterfall.

The door was locked.

Elliot pressed the device against the scanner. The lock clicked.

Inside, a cave. Dark, damp, smelling of moss and age.

He flicked on his flashlight.

The tunnel led down.

The facility was larger than the others.

Tanks lined the walls—dozens of them, maybe a hundred. Each one contained a copy. Men, women, children. All asleep. All waiting.

Elliot's heart ached. "How many?"

Adam's voice came through. "Ninety-seven. All stable."

Frank walked up beside him. "This is the largest one yet."

"The general was saving them for something."

"An army."

"Or a sacrifice."

Elliot walked to the main console. He inserted the drive. The data began to download.

"Elliot, you have five minutes," Adam said.

"I need ten."

"You have five."

The progress bar moved. 10%. 20%. 30%.

The lights flickered.

"What was that?" Frank asked.

Adam's voice was tense. "The facility's power grid is failing. Someone is shutting it down."

"Can you stop it?"

"I'm trying."

The lights flickered again. The tanks dimmed.

"Elliot, you need to get out. Now."

"The copies—"

"Will die if you stay. The power grid is connected to the life support."

Elliot looked at the tanks. At the copies floating inside.

"We can't leave them."

"We don't have a choice."

Frank grabbed his arm. "Elliot. We need to go."

Elliot pulled away. "No."

"Elliot—"

"I'm not leaving them."

He ran to the main console and pulled the drive. The download was only 60% complete.

"Adam, I need another way."

"There is no other way. The facility is going to collapse."

"Then I'll carry them out."

"There are ninety-seven copies, Elliot. You can't carry ninety-seven copies."

Elliot looked at the tanks. At the copies.

"Then I'll carry as many as I can."

He started with the children.

Elliot opened the first tank and lifted the child out—a girl, no older than ten. She was light, too light. Her body was cold.

He carried her up the stairs, through the tunnel, behind the waterfall.

Frank was waiting. "Put her in the van."

Elliot laid her on a cot. Charlotte covered her with a blanket.

"I'll get the next one."

"Elliot, there's no time."

"Then make time."

He ran back inside.

The facility was shaking.

Dust fell from the ceiling. Lights flickered. Alarms blared.

Elliot opened the second tank. A boy, maybe twelve. He carried him up the stairs.

"Seventy-three percent," Adam said. "The power grid is failing faster than I predicted."

"Then I'll go faster."

Third tank. Fourth. Fifth.

The ceiling collapsed behind him.

"Elliot, get out."

"Not yet."

Sixth. Seventh. Eighth.

The floor buckled.

"Elliot!"

He ran.

The last child was in the corner.

Elliot opened the tank and lifted her out. She was tiny, maybe five years old. Her eyes were closed. Her face was peaceful.

He ran.

The tunnel was collapsing behind him. Dust filled the air. Rocks fell.

He burst through the waterfall, gasping for breath.

Frank caught him. "You're insane."

"Probably."

He laid the child on a cot. Charlotte checked her vitals.

"She's stable."

Elliot looked at the vans. At the copies they had saved.

"How many?"

"Eight," Frank said. "Out of ninety-seven."

Elliot's heart sank.

"We tried."

"Not hard enough."

The drive back to the base was silent.

Elliot sat in the back of the van, staring at the floor. The child lay beside him, still sleeping.

Frank drove. Adam stared out the window.

"We'll go back," Frank said. "When the rubble clears. We'll find the others."

"The power grid failed. The life support failed. They're dead."

"We don't know that."

Elliot closed his eyes.

"I know."

The base was quiet when they returned.

Elliot carried the child to the medical wing. Charlotte set up a bed for her, monitors, IV fluids.

"She needs a name," Charlotte said.

Elliot looked at the girl's face. So small. So peaceful.

"Hope," he said.

Charlotte nodded. "Hope."

She attached a tag to the bed. Hope. Female. Age approximately 5 years. Status: Stable.

Elliot stood by the window, watching the sun rise.

Frank walked up beside him. "You saved eight."

"It wasn't enough."

"It never is."

Elliot looked at the child. At Hope.

"We need to find the others. The ones who survived."

"How?"

"I don't know. But I will."

That night, Elliot dreamed of the garden.

Echo was there, sitting on the bench beneath the tree. His face was peaceful, his eyes clear.

"You saved them," Echo said.

"Not all of them."

"The ones you could. That's all anyone can do."

Elliot sat beside him. "I'm tired."

"I know."

"I don't know how much longer I can do this."

Echo put a hand on his shoulder. "That's why you have the others. David. Maria. Lily. Frank. They'll carry you when you can't carry yourself."

Elliot looked at the flowers. At the sky.

"I miss you."

"I'm not gone. I'm in the copies you saved. In the hope you gave them." Echo smiled. "I'm in you."

Elliot closed his eyes.

When he opened them, the garden was gone.