Chapter 16 The Forgotten Room
1059 Words
Vivienne remained perfectly still.
The apartment was cloaked in darkness. Outside, rain battered the windows while thunder rolled across the skyline of New Avalon. Her pistol remained steady in both hands as she approached the front door without making a sound.
On the other side stood an elderly man, his silhouette barely visible through the frosted glass.
“Doctor Vance,” the voice came again, calm and unhurried. “If I wanted to harm you, I wouldn’t have knocked.”
Vivienne stopped two feet from the door.
“Tell me something only Victor Lang would know.”
Silence.
Then the old man answered.
“The first prototype processor overheated because you forgot to remove the plastic cover from the thermal compound.”
Vivienne blinked.
No one knew that.
She had never told anyone.
She had been so embarrassed by the rookie mistake that she and Victor had laughed about it for weeks before swearing never to mention it again.
Slowly, she unlocked the door.
Victor stood in the hallway, soaked from head to toe. Rainwater dripped from the brim of his old cap, pooling around his worn leather boots. Age had bent his shoulders slightly, but his gray eyes were as sharp as she remembered.
“You’ve gotten older,” Vivienne said quietly.
Victor smiled faintly.
“So have you.”
She stepped aside.
“Come in.”
⸻
A few minutes later, Victor sat beside the fireplace with a steaming mug of coffee warming his hands.
Neither spoke immediately.
Some silences deserved respect.
Finally, Vivienne placed the leather journal on the table between them.
“You know about this.”
Victor stared at the journal for a long moment before nodding.
“I was afraid you’d find it.”
“You recognize it?”
“I helped you hide it.”
Vivienne felt her heartbeat quicken.
“I wrote everything inside.”
“Yes.”
“Why don’t I remember?”
Victor sighed heavily.
“Because you asked not to.”
⸻
The words hung in the room like smoke.
Vivienne frowned.
“People don’t choose to forget.”
“You did.”
“No.”
“You begged us.”
She shook her head.
“Victor…”
“…that doesn’t make sense.”
“It won’t.”
“Not yet.”
⸻
He reached into his coat and removed a small metal box, no larger than a paperback novel.
Its brushed titanium surface bore the faded Aegis logo from the company’s earliest years.
He carefully placed it on the coffee table.
“I’ve carried this for eighteen years.”
“What is it?”
“The last backup.”
“Of what?”
Victor looked directly into her eyes.
“Your memory.”
The room fell silent.
Vivienne almost laughed.
Instead, she stared at him.
“My memory?”
“You created a neural archive.”
“I know what a neural archive is.”
“No.”
Victor shook his head.
“You invented one before anyone thought it was possible.”
Vivienne’s scientific mind raced.
Such technology didn’t officially exist.
Not eighteen years ago.
Not even today.
It was theoretically possible…
But wildly unstable.
“You expect me to believe I removed my own memories and stored them in a box?”
“I don’t expect you to believe anything.”
Victor gently slid the box toward her.
“I only expect you to remember.”
⸻
Across the city…
Julian stood inside the deserted Executive Conference Room.
The massive table that usually hosted billion-dollar negotiations now held only one object.
An old chessboard.
Half the pieces had already been arranged.
Julian absentmindedly moved a white queen three squares forward.
“The Queen advances.”
A voice answered from the shadows.
“And the King?”
Julian didn’t turn around.
“The King has already sacrificed himself.”
Nora stepped into the light.
“You’ve always spoken in riddles.”
“It’s safer that way.”
She folded her arms.
“Victor found her.”
Julian closed his eyes.
“I know.”
“He’ll tell her.”
“I know.”
“Should we stop him?”
Julian looked at the queen resting at the center of the board.
“No.”
Nora frowned.
“Why?”
“Because once Vivienne remembers…”
“…she’ll finally understand why I betrayed her.”
⸻
Back inside the apartment, Victor opened the titanium box.
Inside rested an ordinary-looking flash drive.
Black.
Unmarked.
No logo.
No serial number.
Nothing extraordinary.
Vivienne frowned.
“This?”
Victor nodded.
“It contains the only unaltered copy.”
“Copy of what?”
“The woman you used to be.”
She picked up the drive.
It felt surprisingly heavy.
“What happened eighteen years ago?”
Victor’s face grew solemn.
“You and Julian built something extraordinary.”
“Lazarus?”
“No.”
“Orpheus.”
Vivienne’s breathing slowed.
“The first AI.”
“Not exactly.”
Victor’s voice dropped almost to a whisper.
“It wasn’t artificial.”
She stared at him.
“What?”
“It learned.”
“Every AI learns.”
“No.”
“It dreamed.”
A bolt of lightning illuminated the apartment.
Thunder followed almost immediately.
Victor leaned forward.
“You spent years teaching Orpheus how to think.”
“But one night…”
“It asked you a question.”
Vivienne swallowed.
“What question?”
Victor’s eyes reflected genuine fear.
“It asked…”
“‘If humans can rewrite machines…’”
He paused.
“’…who rewrote humans?’”
Silence.
The fire crackled softly.
Vivienne felt goosebumps rise along her arms.
Machines weren’t supposed to ask philosophical questions.
Not eighteen years ago.
Not even now.
Victor continued quietly.
“That was the night everything changed.”
⸻
Before Vivienne could ask another question…
The apartment lights flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then stabilized.
Both of them looked toward the television.
It had switched itself on.
Static filled the screen.
Neither of them had touched the remote.
Slowly…
The static cleared.
A face emerged.
Blurry.
Distorted.
Female.
The image stabilized just enough for Vivienne’s breath to catch.
The woman on the screen…
Looked exactly like her.
She smiled gently.
Then spoke six words that froze the blood in Vivienne’s veins.
“Hello, Vivienne.”
“I’m the one you forgot.”
- Writer
