Conrad froze, his hand on the door. “Ian?”
The white void vanished. Conrad found himself back on Station Kronos, kneeling in a pool of coolant. The cables lay dead. The amber lights had turned a steady white. And Maya—the FLT kernel—was gone. Flashback 2-FLT
“You’re the original,” the younger Conrad said without turning around. “The one who refused the FLT back in ’95. The one who chose pain over peace.” Conrad froze, his hand on the door
“This isn’t home. It’s a trap.”
A.I.S.H.A. materialized beside him, her hummingbird form flickering. “That’s the core. If you destroy it, the signal stops. But everyone who’s been infected will revert to their original memories—including the trauma. Including the pain. Thousands of people will suffer all over again.” Flashback 2-FLT