(Point of view: The Old Man)
There was no silence in that room.
Even at three in the morning.
No one dared to speak.
The screens were whispering.
The pumps were vibrating.
The monitors were flashing.
Everywhere.
Always.
I stepped aside and watched the numbers scroll by on the suspended interfaces.
I was too slow to help them with this maneuver.
The lines went up and down.
The curves and percentages are quite good.
And at the heart of it all…
Roum.
Or rather, what he had become.
The young man was lying behind a transparent wall.
Elongate.
Immobile.
A multitude of cables ran up his arms, torso, and neck.
Her chest rose and fell slowly.
Regularly.
The dark liquid that once flooded his arm seemed to have stabilized.
For now.
I move closer to him.
My wrinkled hands clasped behind my back, reminding me of decades past.
Her reflection appeared on the window for a few seconds.
All your efforts have finally paid off.
– You always waste a considerable amount of our time...
I murmured.
Roum didn't answer, he couldn't, but it relaxed me a little.
I thought you were dead.
Since his arrival, he has had to be placed in an induced coma.
A decision that sparked several debates.
But no one had offered anything better.
The records were conclusive.
A few more hours.
A few days at most.
And the transformation could have become irreversible.
I was observing the dark veins visible under the skin.
Even asleep...
The phenomenon was still progressing.
Very slowly.
But he was making progress.
He was perfectly somewhere between human and beast.
On the screen near me.
ANOMALY STABILIZED: 50.00%
RISK OF DRIFT: MODERATE
TRANSITION RISK: PRESENT
I sighed, it had been a long time since I had felt this satisfaction, it was as if I were taking a bag off my back, or like a gentle breeze, little cats and a coffee on the edge of the terrace even if the view remains grey.
Seventy-three years older.
That wasn't enough.
Never.
I want to experience that feeling again, to know, to see the evolution with my own eyes, to leave my name on it.
Behind me, several researchers were busy at work.
The entire room looked more like a cathedral than a laboratory.
Every movement seemed forbidden.
As if the slightest noise could awaken something.
Or someone.
A woman in a white jumpsuit approached.
– The samples are ready.
I held out my hand to him.
A transparent capsule was placed in his palm.
A dark red liquid was floating inside.
It was Roum's blood.
I stood for a few seconds contemplating it.
Then he let him go.
– Send it to the Cultivation Houses.
The woman nodded.
Without asking any questions.
The capsules left immediately.
I finally turned away from the tank and faced my priority.
I shouldn't be curious.
Especially after the incident.
The heart of the system.
The place where future generations were born.
The place where the new Emotionals were being crafted.
LE PROJECT "PERFECT"
He closed his eyes briefly.
They had spent years helping with this project.
And yet...she stole it without ever telling us where it was.
– Hahaha, we found it after all.
A notification appeared on my interface.
SECURITY LEVEL 3 ACTIVATED
ENHANCED PATROLS
LIMITED ACCESS
A technician was running up.
Out of breath.
- Sir.
I looked up at the sky.
– The analyses are continuing.
- And ?
The technician hesitated.
– His brain activity increases.
Silence
- Increase ?
The technician swallowed.
– Despite being in a coma, he continues to produce it abundantly.
Something was wrong.