Chapter 27 - The Room of New Names
The hidden corridor ended at a circular metal door.
No handle.
No lock.
Only a glass panel displaying three names:
Daniel Reed.
Julian Vale.
Clara Vale.
Beneath them appeared three empty fields.
Twelve approached the panel.
“This is where replacements are assigned.”
Daniel touched his own name.
The screen displayed a list of documents.
Birth certificate.
School records.
Employment history.
Medical files.
Every detail of his life.
Then a second profile appeared beside it.
Same face.
Different name.
Different parents.
Different country of birth.
Julian stared at the system.
“They can replace us without killing us.”
Samuel shook his head.
“They erase the legal person first. After that, anyone wearing the identity becomes real.”
Four pointed at the empty fields.
“The Director is choosing new heirs.”
Daniel looked back toward the chamber.
The twelve children stood quietly together.
“He wants three of them.”
Twelve nodded.
“The strongest voices. The closest appearance. The easiest memories to rewrite.”
Julian struck the metal door with the violin.
“We destroy the system.”
The impact triggered an alarm.
The glass panel changed.
REPLACEMENT PROCESS ACCELERATED.
Three numbers appeared in the empty fields.
Four.
Eight.
Twelve.
The selected children stiffened.
Metal collars around their necks activated with red lights.
Daniel grabbed Twelve’s collar.
A current threw him backward.
The Director spoke through hidden speakers.
“You disrupted the selection. The system corrected your mistake.”
Daniel rose slowly.
“Release them.”
“Enter the transfer chamber.”
The circular door opened a few inches.
Cold white light spilled through the gap.
Inside stood three medical chairs surrounded by cameras, microphones, and transparent screens.
Each screen showed the face of one heir.
Daniel.
Julian.
Clara.
Samuel examined the machinery.
“It records movement, voice, and memory response.”
Four looked at Daniel.
“After the process, will I become you?”
“No.”
“The Director says names are safer than numbers.”
Daniel knelt before him.
“He is lying.”
Four’s expression did not change.
“Names can also be taken.”
Daniel had no answer.
On the ballroom monitor, Clara suddenly stood and struck the Director across the face with the silver metronome.
Michael Arden turned his weapon toward her.
Victor tackled him from the side.
The ballroom erupted into chaos.
Clara ran toward the camera.
“Daniel, the piano is connected to the chamber. I can stop the transfer, but I need the correct chord.”
Samuel rushed toward the panel.
“The original composer’s signature.”
He studied the shifting notation on the screen.
Julian looked at him.
“You said it was hidden in the final eight notes.”
“That was only the disclosure key.”
“Then what stops identity transfer?”
Samuel looked toward the twelve children.
“A name freely given.”
Daniel understood slowly.
“The system accepts assigned identities because the children have none.”
Twelve looked at him.
“Then give us names.”
The collar around her neck began counting down from sixty.
Daniel looked at Four, Eight, and Twelve.
Any names spoken carelessly could become permanent.
The Director’s voice returned, no longer calm.
“Do not interfere with registration.”
Daniel ignored him.
He looked at Four.
“Your name is Elias.”
The first collar stopped.
He turned to Eight.
“Your name is Mara.”
The second collar went dark.
Then he faced Twelve.
She held his gaze.
“Choose carefully,” she said.
Daniel remembered her courage in the archive, the way she protected the younger children, and how she refused every false promise.
“Your name is Hope.”
Her collar released and fell to the floor.
The circular door began closing.
The system rejected all three replacement fields.
Then a fourth empty field appeared.
This one had no number.
Only a live camera image from inside the ballroom.
The face on-screen belonged to Victor.
May you like
The Director’s voice became a whisper.
“The fourth heir has been hiding in plain sight.”
