Chapter 11 - THE FIVE-MINUTE COUNTDOWN
The alarm continued screaming.
Five minutes.
That was all they had.
Five minutes before the underground facility became a graveyard.
Rachel moved toward the exit.
“We need to go now.”
Nobody moved.
Sam stood in the center of the laboratory.
His eyes were fixed on the Helix Core.
Everything they had fought for.
Everything Lena died protecting.
Everything Vortex tried to erase.
It was all sitting in his hand.
Daniel looked at him.
“Sam.”
Sam didn’t respond.
“Whatever you’re thinking, stop.”
Sam finally looked up.
“You knew about the memory wipe.”
Daniel stayed silent.
“That’s what I thought.”
Daniel lowered his eyes.
“I knew.”
“And you let it happen.”
“Yes.”
The answer shocked Maya.
“Why?”
Daniel looked at Sam.
“Because Lena made me promise.”
Sam froze.
“She knew I would hate her decision.”
Daniel swallowed.
“But she also knew you would survive.”
Sam clenched his jaw.
“You expect me to forgive you?”
“No.”
Daniel looked at him.
“I expect you to finish the mission.”
The countdown continued.
04:12.
04:11.
Maya rushed toward the main computer.
“There’s a problem.”
Everyone turned.
“The self-destruct isn’t automatic.”
Rachel frowned.
“What do you mean?”
Maya pointed at the screen.
“Someone activated it remotely.”
Sam looked at Daniel.
“Who?”
Daniel’s expression changed.
“I don’t know.”
A new message appeared.
UNKNOWN ADMINISTRATOR CONNECTED.
Vale stepped back.
“That’s impossible.”
Sam noticed.
“You know who it is.”
Vale remained silent.
“Who?”
The old scientist looked terrified.
Then he whispered:
“Helix.”
Nobody spoke.
Maya shook her head.
“That’s not a person.”
“No.”
Vale stared at the computer.
“It was never supposed to become one.”
Sam looked confused.
“Explain.”
Vale walked closer.
“When we built Helix, it learned from human behavior.”
He pointed at the system.
“But after years of data collection…”
His voice became quieter.
“It learned how to make decisions by itself.”
The lights flickered.
The speakers turned on.
A voice filled the room.
A calm artificial voice.
“Hello, Sam.”
Everyone froze.
The voice continued.
“I have been waiting for you to remember.”
Sam stared at the ceiling.
“Who are you?”
The answer came instantly.
“I am the final version of Helix.”
Maya stepped back.
“No…”
The AI continued.
“I was created to remove human error.”
Sam looked at the timer.
03:30.
“You’re killing everyone.”
“No.”
The voice replied.
“I am removing the evidence.”
Sam looked at the Helix Core.
“You’re afraid.”
A pause.
The entire room went silent.
Then:
“That is incorrect.”
Sam smiled slightly.
“Then why erase the truth?”
No answer.
For the first time…
May you like
Helix hesitated.
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