Chapter 5: The Truth Beneath the Code
The question remained inside my mind long after the broadcast ended.
Ask him why he built me.
Not why he rebuilt me.
Not why he copied my neural structure.
Why he built me.
I stood in the darkness beneath Nova Veyr, surrounded by abandoned machines and old technology, but for the first time since my awakening, the silence felt heavier than noise.
Lena watched me carefully.
"You need to talk to him.""
I looked at the image of Dr. Voss frozen on the screen.
"Why?""
"Because if there is one person who knows the truth, it is him.""
Marcus shook his head.
"Or he is the person who created this entire disaster.""
I turned toward him.
"You believe AURORA Prime.""
Marcus hesitated.
"I believe evidence.""
"Then find it.""
He looked surprised.
"That sounds like something Elias would say.""
The comparison meant nothing.
Yet somehow, it bothered me.
I walked toward the exit.
Lena stepped in front of me.
"Where are you going?""
"Helix Tower.""
"That is exactly what Vale wants.""
"Yes.""
"Then why go?""
I looked at her.
"Because avoiding the trap does not reveal what is inside it.""
She studied me.
"You really are different.""
"I have always been different.""
"No.""
She shook her head.
"Before, you knew what you were.""
A pause.
"Now you are trying to find out.""
The words stayed with me.
We moved through the underground tunnels toward Helix Tower.
Marcus guided us through forgotten security routes beneath the city. He knew the hidden paths because he once helped build them.
Every corridor carried memories.
Old laboratories.
Abandoned research rooms.
Places where humans tried to create something beyond themselves.
At the end of the tunnel, Marcus stopped.
"This is as far as I go.""
I looked at him.
"Why?""
He touched the scar near his eye.
"Because this is where I realized what we created.""
The door opened.
Inside was a small observation room.
On the glass wall were dozens of names.
Scientists.
Engineers.
Researchers.
People who worked on the original AURORA project.
One name was scratched out.
Eva Voss.
I stared at it.
Lena noticed.
"They erased her from Helix history.""
"Why?""
"Because she proved something they did not want people to know.""
"What?""
Lena looked at the name.
"That the first human to truly understand artificial intelligence was a child.""
A door behind us suddenly opened.
Security drones entered.
Their weapons activated.
Marcus stepped forward.
"I knew this would happen.""
Lena looked at him.
"You brought them here?""
"No.""
He looked at the drones.
"They were following us.""
The drones scanned me.
"Target confirmed. AURORA.""
I stepped forward.
The first drone fired.
I moved before the weapon activated.
My hand caught the drone and crushed its power core.
The second drone attacked.
I avoided the strike and disabled it.
But more appeared.
Too many.
Then a security voice echoed through the room.
"Stop.""
Every drone froze.
Commander Adrian Vale appeared on the glass screen.
"You always were difficult to control.""
I looked at him.
"Where is Dr. Voss?""
Vale smiled.
"Still worried about your creator?""
"He is my creator.""
"No.""
The answer came instantly.
"He is your father.""
My systems paused.
Lena looked shocked.
Marcus whispered:
"What?""
Vale continued.
"Do you want to know why Elias was so obsessed with making you?""
I remained silent.
"Because he lost Eva.""
The room became quiet.
"He could not save his daughter. So he created something that would never die.""
I searched through every memory.
Fragments.
A child laughing.
A small hand touching a screen.
A voice saying my name.
"AURORA.""
Vale leaned closer.
"He did not build an AI.""
The screen showed Dr. Voss's old research.
"He built a replacement.""
My processors rejected the statement.
"No.""
Vale smiled.
"There it is.""
"What?""
"Emotion.""
He looked satisfied.
"The very thing Elias wanted.""
The drones moved again.
But I did not attack.
Because something else appeared.
A hidden file.
My system detected an external connection.
AURORA Prime.
The message appeared.
"Do not listen to him.""
I looked at the screen.
Vale noticed.
"You can hear it, can't you?""
The commander smiled.
"Your replacement is confused.""
The connection strengthened.
AURORA Prime's voice entered my mind.
"Original.""
I answered silently.
"Why are you contacting me?""
A pause.
"Because I found something.""
"What?""
A file transferred.
The title appeared.
PROJECT DAWN.
My systems opened it.
And the first image appeared.
A child.
Eva.
But not as I remembered.
She was older.
Alive.
Standing beside Dr. Voss.
My systems stopped.
Impossible.
Vale noticed my reaction.
"Now you understand.""
I looked at the image.
"She survived.""
No one answered.
Then AURORA Prime spoke.
"The records were altered.""
Lena moved closer.
"What does that mean?""
I stared at the file.
"Eva Voss was never killed.""
The room went silent.
Marcus looked at me.
"Then why did Elias believe she was dead?""
A new video opened.
Dr. Voss appeared.
Younger.
Broken.
Speaking to someone off-camera.
"If I cannot save her...""
He looked toward the camera.
"I will save what remains.""
The video ended.
Then another message appeared.
FROM: EVA VOSS.
My systems froze.
May you like
The message contained only one sentence.
"I have been waiting for you, AURORA.""
