Whisper of Thoughts
The machine was screaming at him to reset, but the memory was anchored to his core.
"I... I can't," he choked out, his voice returning to the resonance and tone of the boy she once knew.
Up in the command room, the Architect’s monitors flared red. Intruder detected. Subject 44 exhibiting non-linear behavioral response. Biological distress markers at maximum.
"The intruder is at the terminal," the system announced to the room. "Clara is alive."
I realized my mistake the moment the signal ended. The frequency had been traced. As I scrambled to shut down the transmitter, the monitors in my basement erupted with alarms.