Chapter 15 - The Choice of Subject 27
A circular platform slowly lifted Marta above the others.
"No!"
Robert rushed forward but an invisible force pushed him back.
Henrik struck the transparent barrier surrounding the platform.
Nothing happened.
Mira remained perfectly calm.
"It finally chose."
Marta looked down.
"Chose what?"
"You."
"For what?"
"The next Keeper."
Victor shouted,
"Reject it!"
Marta turned toward him.
"How?"
Victor hesitated.
"I don't know."
The mechanical voice continued.
"Keeper succession requires confirmation."
"Memory restoration available."
Elena screamed,
"Don't accept!"
But another voice interrupted.
Anton.
His image appeared above the platform.
"Marta...
Listen carefully."
He looked exhausted.
"The system only offers one chance."
"If you reject it now..."
"You'll never learn why Meridian truly existed."
Robert shook his head.
"This isn't about business anymore."
Anton nodded.
"It never was."
The warehouse camera suddenly returned.
Vale had reached the deepest chamber.
He opened the steel case.
Inside rested a crystal-like object unlike anything anyone had ever seen.
It emitted a faint blue light identical to the platform beneath Marta.
Victor whispered in disbelief.
"He actually found it..."
Henrik looked at him.
"Found what?"
Victor answered without taking his eyes off the screen.
"The object that started Meridian."
Vale lifted the crystal.
Instantly, every monitor throughout the control room flickered.
The walls vibrated.
The invisible barrier surrounding Marta disappeared.
She fell back onto the platform.
At the same moment, the system announced:
PRIMARY POWER SOURCE REMOVED.
FACILITY FAILURE IN...
29 MINUTES.
Emergency lights flashed crimson.
Mira looked at Marta with the first genuine fear anyone had seen on her face.
"If the crystal leaves Warehouse 19..."
She stopped.
Marta grabbed her shoulders.
"What happens?"
Mira looked toward the ceiling.
May you like
"The thing beneath the southern site..."
"It wakes up."
