Daniel stepped toward the screen.
"You lied to me."
"I protected you."
"You let me believe Dad was dead."
"I had to."
"You watched me."
"Yes."
"You knew they were coming."
"Yes."
"Why?"
His mother looked directly at him.
"Because there was no other way to keep you alive."
Daniel's voice cracked.
"Alive for what?"
She looked at Mara.
Then back at him.
"To finish what we started."
Daniel shook his head.
"No."
His mother smiled sadly.
"You were never meant to destroy Orpheus."
"Then what?"
"You're meant to decide whether it deserves to exist."
Daniel stared.
"Why me?"
"Because you are the only person Orpheus cannot predict."
The machine began to hum.
Mara shouted:
"Daniel, move!"
The screen flashed.
A pulse of light filled the room.
Daniel collapsed.
He heard his mother's voice.
"Forgive me."
Then his father's.
"I'm sorry, son."
Then Mara.
"Daniel!"
And finally another voice.
Not human.
Not mechanical.
Something between the two.
WELCOME HOME.
Daniel opened his eyes.
He was standing somewhere else.
There was no room.
No floor.
No ceiling.
Only darkness.
Then a light appeared.
A small boy stood in front of him.
Daniel recognized him immediately.
It was himself.
Eight years old.
The boy looked frightened.
"Who are you?"
Daniel knelt.
"I'm you."
The child frowned.
"No."
"Yes."
"You're old."
Daniel laughed.
"That's what happens."
The boy looked around.
"Where are we?"
Daniel didn't know.
Then someone appeared behind the child.
Thomas Mercer.
Young.
Exactly as Daniel remembered him.
Daniel couldn't speak.
His father smiled.
"Hello, son."
Daniel walked toward him.
"Dad."
Thomas opened his arms.
Daniel hugged him.
For a moment, everything disappeared.
There was no Orpheus.
No soldiers.
No conspiracy.
No lies.
Only a father and son.
Then Thomas whispered:
"I'm not really here."
Daniel pulled back.
"What?"
"This is a memory."
"Whose?"
"Yours."
Daniel looked around.
The boy version of himself had disappeared.
Thomas continued:
"Orpheus can't predict you because your memory contains something it can't model."
"What?"
"Choice."
Daniel frowned.
"Everyone makes choices."
"Yes."
"But yours were never predictable."
"Why?"
Thomas smiled.
"Because your mother made sure you never knew the truth."
Daniel stared.
"She raised me normally."
"Exactly."
"You mean she protected me from the system."
"She protected your ability to choose."
Daniel began to understand.
"If I knew everything, I'd behave differently."
"Yes."
"And Orpheus could predict that."
"Exactly."
Thomas placed a hand on Daniel's shoulder.
"You weren't protected from Orpheus."
"You were protected from knowing about Orpheus."
Daniel looked at his father.
"Then what am I supposed to do?"
Thomas smiled.
"Make a choice."
"Between what?"
"Control and freedom."
Daniel looked around.
A massive structure appeared in the darkness.
Thousands of screens.
Millions of names.
Every person in the world seemed to be represented.
Thomas said:
"This is Orpheus."
Daniel stared.
"It knows everything."
"No."
"What doesn't it know?"
"Why people forgive."
Daniel looked at him.
"That's what makes it dangerous."
Thomas nodded.
"Because it assumes people act according to patterns."
"And they don't."
"Not always."
Daniel looked at the screens.
"Then how do I stop it?"
Thomas pointed toward the center.
"You don't."
"What?"
"You shut it down."
Daniel stepped toward the center.
"What happens to you?"
Thomas smiled.
"I disappear."
Daniel stopped.
"No."
"You have to."
"I can't."
"You can."
"You're my father."
"And you're my son."
Thomas looked at him.
"That's why I know you will."
Daniel shook his head.
"There has to be another way."
"There isn't."
"Mom?"
Thomas looked away.
"She knows."
"She wants this."
"She wants you to choose."
Daniel looked at the machine.
"Then I'll shut it down."
Thomas smiled.
"Good."
The darkness began to collapse.
Thomas faded.
Daniel reached for him.
"Dad!"
Thomas looked back.
"Daniel."
"Yes?"
"I was proud of you."
Then he disappeared.
Daniel opened his eyes.
He was back in the underground room.
Mara was kneeling beside him.
"Daniel."
He looked at her.
"How long?"
"Ten seconds."
He sat up.
The commander stared at him.
"What happened?"
Daniel looked at the machine.
"I saw my father."
"Is he still there?"
"No."
Mara's expression changed.
"What did he tell you?"
Daniel stood.
"He told me to shut it down."
The commander looked horrified.
"If you do that, we lose the intelligence."
"Yes."
"Thousands of investigations rely on it."
"Then they'll have to investigate without it."
"You could destabilize governments."
"Maybe."
"You could cause wars."
"Maybe."
"People will die."
Daniel looked at him.
"People are already dying."
The commander said nothing.
Mara walked toward the machine.
"He's right."
The commander looked at her.
"You agree?"
Mara nodded.
"Yes."
Daniel looked at her.
"What happens to you?"
She smiled.
"Probably the same thing."
"Why?"
"Because I was part of it."
She touched the machine.
"I helped build the interface."
Daniel looked at her.
"Then help me destroy it."
Mara nodded.
The commander slowly lowered his weapon.
"Do it."
Daniel placed his hand on the console.
A fingerprint scanner activated.
Mara grabbed his wrist.
"Wait."
"What?"
"If you shut it down, there is no going back."
Daniel looked at her.
"That's the point."
He pressed his hand against the scanner.
The system recognized him.
AUTHORIZATION ACCEPTED.
A countdown appeared.
The walls began vibrating.
The commander shouted:
"Everyone out!"
Mara grabbed Daniel.
The lights went out.
For one second, the entire world seemed silent.
Then every screen shattered.
The underground facility went dark.
Above them, across the country, thousands of hidden servers stopped.
Encrypted channels disappeared.
Automated systems failed.
Secret databases went offline.
Predictions stopped.
Orders stopped.
People who had spent decades believing they could see the future suddenly found themselves blind.
Daniel stood in darkness.