The Beyond: Dystopian Survival Fiction (The Breeder Files Book 4) by Eliza Green (most popular novels TXT) 📗

He sat down, looking too stiff to be comfortable. ‘Explain.’

Anya remained standing. She gripped the back of her chair keep from crumpling to the floor.

‘We banished Quintus to the Region or, more precisely, to a city that existed before he did. We limited his access to technology by creating towns that neither had nor needed tech to survive. The city and Quintus’ presence were both meant to help the volunteers adapt.’

Anya snorted.

Agatha continued, ‘To live a good life. The volunteers agreed to the mind regression because they knew it was the only way to stop Quintus. If they didn’t remember this place, then Quintus couldn’t gain access to it. But when Quintus found a way to override the safety protocols in his program, it spawned a rebellion. The shock of events in the Region knocked loose some memories that hadn’t been buried deep enough. Some volunteers suddenly remembered how to access their true home, which they designated the Beyond.’

Anya shook her head. This was too much.

Agatha said, ‘We created as real an environment as possible and gave people false memories to make sure the sentient program didn’t suspect anything. It was only supposed to be for a few months. By that time, Quintus was meant to be subdued and we could safely remove him.’

‘But,’ Dom prompted.

‘But Quintus found his way out of the hard reset, designed to remove his knowledge, and multiplied himself. He remembered how to make technology he had access to here. He replicated it, including a cruder version of the memory regression machine we’d used on the volunteers.’

That would explain why this place felt so familiar. But Anya wasn’t ready to believe Agatha’s farfetched story just yet.

‘He used us to learn more about humans,’ Anya said.

Agatha nodded. ‘His goal became to leave the Region and return here. In his current, evolved state, we cannot let that happen.’

Dom grunted. ‘If this is all true, let our friends come through to this side. We have people who can help you.’

Agatha shook her head. ‘They have a Copy with them. Copies are built to follow commands, and any sentient being that was connected to the Collective will have a little bit of Quintus in their programming.’

‘So you’re going to let the volunteers die?’

Agatha’s lips thinned. ‘We can’t risk opening the door again.’

Dom stood up roughly, knocking over his chair. ‘We’re not going to let them die.’

‘They won’t die. They have resources.’

‘You have no idea what that place has become.’

Agatha smiled sadly. ‘I have an idea. We lost good people when Quintus took over this base. He got control of the weapons system. People died trying to protect this place.’

‘And people have died in the Region trying to get us away from the Collective.’ Anya’s lower lip wobbled. ‘My parents and my brother died in their attempts to keep us safe. Don’t let their sacrifice be for nothing.’

Agatha’s gaze sharpened. ‘So you understand more than most why we can never open up access to the Region again.’

That wasn’t what she meant. She needed Agatha to see reason. ‘Not all the Copies listen to Quintus. Some have developed independent thoughts.’

‘Like Quintus did.’

‘Copies who’ve rebelled against him. A couple of them helped us to escape Praesidium.’

Agatha’s eyes widened a fraction. But then she shook her head. ‘We can’t take that risk. If we expose our systems to him again, we risk losing not only the military base but the entire city on this side.’

This couldn’t be the end.

Anya stared at Agatha, hoping to see some remorse. Her hardened gaze told her all she needed to know.

‘What are you saying?’

The commander said, ‘Mourn your friends and be grateful you made it this far.’

26

Carissa

The sound of soft whimpering woke Carissa. She bolted upright and rubbed her eyes. As a Copy sleep was sporadic, but ever since she’d left the city she’d found herself falling into a regular sleeping habit.

She’d had the strangest dream. The Inventor had been waving at her as he walked away. She’d run after him, but the harder she’d tried to catch up, the farther away he’d gotten. She shook the feeling of abandonment away with a shiver.

118-C, sitting on the floor next to the workbench, watched her curiously. She wore her medic uniform—white tunic and trousers with red trim on the collar and cuffs—and had her feet pulled under her.

Carissa blinked. ‘How long was I out for?’

‘It’s morning,’ said the medic.

She looked around. ‘I heard whimpering.’

‘It came from you.’ 118-C stared at her. ‘How can you sleep?’

‘It’s what the humans do, so I do, too.’

118-C touched the discs in her head. ‘The upload rooms are all I know. I don’t know how to exist without them.’

That’s what Carissa had thought, too, when they’d escaped the city. She smiled and repeated what the Inventor had said to her. ‘Don’t worry. I’ll help you.’

Remembering her dream, she scanned the workshop for the Inventor, breathing out when she saw him and Thomas sitting in one corner. Thomas had his pencil and paper out and was showing him something. Vanessa and Charlie sat in another corner, looking tired and ready to try a new idea. But this remained their best chance at escape.

The last thing Carissa remembered was seeing the Inventor and Thomas hooking 118-C up to the monitoring machine a second time. She must have fallen asleep during it.

‘Did they find anything new about where Quintus went?’

118-C shook her head. ‘But it’s possible one of the Copies downloaded him and the other nine, and is keeping them safe until we leave. That’s probably why the Great Hall is under protection, for when they return.’

The thought hadn’t occurred to Carissa. Knowing Quintus could still be on this side filled her with relief. ‘We can’t let him