The air inside the Grey Hall is always five degrees colder than the city outside. The smell inside, a scent that makes my stomach turn.
I walk down the long, white corridor. There are no windows here, only the soft hum of the ventilation system and the rhythmic click of my boots on the marble floor. I pass a group of people leaving their sessions. They move with a strange grace, smiling at nothing. They have been "Reset." To them, the world is brand new and perfectly safe..
"Room 42, Serene," a robotic voice announces over the intercom.
I push open the heavy metal door. The room is small. In the center sits the chair, a high-backed leather seat with thick restraints for the arms and legs. It looks more like an interrogation device than a medical tool.
A technician stands nearby, with his gaze on the screen. He doesn't look up when I enter. To him, I am just a number on a spreadsheet, another productive worker of Silverside.
"Sit," he says, his voice flat.
I climb into the chair. The leather feels cold against my skin. He moves quickly, snapping the restraints over my wrists and ankles. I don't struggle. Kian taught me that the machine feeds on resistance. If you fight it, it digs deeper. If you stay still, it slides right over the surface.
"I am going to begin the Calibration," the technician mutters. He reaches for a tray and picks up the needle.. "Focus on the screen in front of you"
A screen descends from the ceiling, glowing with a soft, pulsing light. I know this part. This is where the machine scans my brain patterns to see which occupation fits my current "state."
I stare at the light and start the mental exercises I have been practicing for months. I visualize arms and weapons and training. Behind it, I hide the memories of my mother’s kitchen, the sound of my father’s laughter, and the image of Kian’s face.. but I replace the thought with the view of a rifle. I think about the sound of boots on gravel. I think about the word obey.
I spike my adrenaline on purpose, clenching my toes inside my boots until the muscles ache. I want the machine to see aggression. I want it to see a void where my empathy used to be.
The needle sinks into the side of my neck.
For a second, the world turns white. A high-pitched sound rings in my ears. This is the moment most people lose. This is when the machine wipes our memory clean.
"Syncing..." the machine speaks.
The seconds feel like hours. My vision blurs, and for a terrifying moment, I see a flash of Kian’s blood. I slammed the memory so hard my head throbbed. I cannot lose. Not now.
The sound fades. The light on the screen turns blue.
The technician grunts, leaning over to check the readout. "High aggression scores.. Low emotional volatility... Perfect synchronization!"
He hits a button, and the restraints snap open. I stay still for a moment, letting my breathing remain shallow and robotic. My head feels so heavy.
"Stand up, Serene" he orders.
I rise, keeping my back straight and my eyes fixed on the wall behind him. I don't look at his face. I don't look at the exit. I wait for the command.
"You have been assigned to the Vanguard," he says, handing me a small plastic card. "Report to the North Gate Barracks by 18:00. You are no longer a civilian. You belong to the soldier now."
I take the card. My fingers are steady, but inside, a small, quiet part of me is screaming... I did it..
I walk out of the room and back into the corridor. The fake blue ink on my wrist is glowing in response to the Sync, signaling to every guard and camera that I am successfully "Synced". I walk past the Gray Hall gates to my home.
I have one year.. one year to find the lab and my parents and one year to find the man who killed my brother...
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