Fuck that. I’m not going down this way. Not yet.
A fire surges through my bloodstream and down my spine.
Leon throws his rifle down as a tear beams down his face. From his back, he retrieves his spear and activates it.
“I’ll cover you. Looks like I won’t be getting that rematch after all,” he says, faking a smile.
Without giving us a chance to protest he screams, “Now!” and turns the corner sprinting straight at them.
Their bullets tear through Leon, but he keeps going.
Staring death in its eyes, he doesn’t stop.
Within meters of the bunkered platoon of Lethe droids and officers, the mountain raises his spear with both hands and slams it into the ground. Before I can blink great arcs of purple and blue electricity spring from the white-hot pole. Its glare reflecting off the tattered, metal plates of the droids one second; the next, an earsplitting flash of light leveling the block. The smoke from the explosion screams past the corner Xander and I hide behind as droplets of debris rain over us. He sacrificed himself for me, they both did. It’s up to us now.
I finish the upper half of a twitching droid sizzling at my ankles and race to the Delta building lurking in the shadows of this nightmare. Dodging the smoldering carcasses of Lethe, Xander’s right behind me.
We smash through the red-tinted glass of the entrance just as another formation of Lethe droids charges from behind. We only have seconds to spare.
The lobby’s deserted. An expensive metal desk sits pompously in front of us with a hallway bordering on each side. Delta Project in large, illuminated words hangs behind the desk, nearly touching the frosted glass wall where a larger neon triangle radiates a faint red. No credit was spared. There is newness in the air that twirls in the musk of gun smoke lodging itself firmly within my nostrils.
Ten doors on the stone wall to our left. Floor-to-ceiling windows flank our other side. From what I can tell, the building is laid out like a diamond. Windows on all sides. Fused glass floors the color of sandstone.
We take the last room at the end of the hall on the right.
Through the double doors, there are bodies on gurneys everywhere. In symmetric rows, sedated, and naked, only a thin sheet covers them in this cold, artificially lit lab. A few of the comatose strangers are attached at the neck to a large silver cord stretching to a central network of cables continuing through the ceiling. Two men in lab coats freeze when they notice us. Their hands rise to air at the sight of our guns.
“What is this place?” I demand, my rifle to his face. “Who are these people?”
“This is the Delta Project,” he replies.
“If I tell you a name… can you put her into one of these people? Can you bring her back?”
He laughs at my desperation. “The Delta Project doesn’t save you from losing yourself to rebirth, that’s just what Lethe tells you to make it easier to steal your consciousness. The Delta Project rips your memories from you and stores your consciousness for the entertainment of the rich, trapped inside their servers for an eternity for them to use as they wish. Everything that you are is digitized and stored. Imagine reliving the same dream over and over, every time someone plugs in. Eternal damnation.
“Why are they doing this?” asks Xander.
“After centuries of immortality, thanks to the upgraded Lethe catalyst in Olympia, people grew bored. There is only so much one person can experience before life itself becomes another monotonous chore. You plug into your computer and download the Delta Project directly into you – the ultimate virtual reality. As you exit this world you become someone else, living through their perspective. Imagine experiencing the life of a complete stranger without any of the risks. You feel every emotion they felt. You see everything they saw. Their thoughts become yours. You become them. When you plug in, your entire life changes. It absorbs you. Within seconds you completely forget who you really are. Even the most insignificant of experiences are addicting, no matter whose eyes you observe behind.”
“Where do they store the consciousnesses?” I shout. My hands, shaking uncontrollably. I feel a rush of adrenaline shoot straight down my spine. I want to kill this man.
“Upstairs! Look, we’re just doing what they say, following orders. Please… don’t hurt us.”
I lower my rifle as Xander blasts them both until they lay as motionless as the people they kidnapped for Lethe.
Xander looks at me, blood splattered across his face. “Enforcing evil is just as bad as creating it.”
We exit the lab cutting down another squad of Lethe officers and race upstairs.
The fluorescents in the stairwell flicker rapidly. Xander’s eyes meet mine as we hear more reinforcements tearing through the glass entrance. They’re just seconds behind.
The stale smell of this place follows us upstairs. Same layout.
Clear down both halls, we take the right again.
Reading every doorplate, we move swiftly through a labyrinth of closed corporate doors.
Distant traces of footsteps and conversation coming from one of the rooms freezes us both. They heard us. I think they heard us.
Less than a meter in front of me, a door opens.
“Hey!!” a startled voice shouts from behind it.
Xander fires into his open mouth with his rifle, silencing him forever.
My weapon moves to the woman left standing behind the bleeding corpse of her colleague. She’s dressed nicely. The executive type. Unarmed. Sobbing.
“Where are the servers? Now!” I demand.
Crying uncontrollably, she points to the last door on this hall.
“Please…” she begs.
I lower my rifle as she pulls a sidearm from behind her skirt. Xander fires six rounds into her chest sending her flying into the red-stained wall.
We sprint to where she pointed. Footsteps from the floor below us, they’re coming up the stairs now.
The door she led us to is black as night. Shiny paint, looks untouched. SERVER ROOM
