An artificial night looms over "Selene-9," but Lena's mind cannot find stillness.
Every time she closes her eyes, those codes haunt her: ECHO-RED... Project Echo...
And within her, a question grows like wildfire: who are you really?
In the morning, she was called to the simulation room—a facility designed to test suits in virtual environments simulating Earth, lunar, and even space conditions. The building was surrounded by electromagnetic fields that prevented any data leakage, increasing her unease.
There, waiting for her, was "Dr. Mirai" one of the leading scientists in the biological research department. Cold, precise, devoid of emotion, but her eyes studied Lena as though she were a lab sample.
She spoke in a neutral tone, "Today, we'll simulate an Earth environment. We want to test your nervous system's response."
My system? Lena thought, but she didn't show any surprise.
She was led into a transparent room, its walls turning into an artificial environment. Suddenly, she found herself in the middle of a rain forest. The rain poured, birds chirped, and humidity surrounded everything. The realism was astounding.
Then, she felt something strange.
Every cell in her body recognized this place. Her walk, her breath, even her skin's reaction to the rain... it wasn't strange, it was familiar.
Mirai's voice came from outside, "Breathing rate... normal. Skin response... excellent. Lena, do you feel any odd sensations?"
Lena responded in a low voice, "No... quite the opposite. It feels like... I've been here before."
At that moment, Lena heard soft static interference in the suit's system. New codes appeared before her on the suit's HUD: Echo Detected // Red Protocol Initializing...
The simulation was abruptly terminated. Mirai seemed tense for a moment, then returned to her stern demeanor.
"That's all for today," she said.
But Lena didn't move.
She whispered, "What is Project Echo?"
Mirai stopped, stared at her for a long while, then said, "Things buried with the earth's dust. It's none of your business."
On her way back to her unit, Lena received a message through her private channel, encrypted in an old method not used in years: "If you want the truth... go to Warehouse-6 after the mid-cycle."
Warehouse-6... an abandoned site outside the dome, used to store old suits from the first war with Earth. Dangerous... but curiosity was stronger than fear.
At midnight, Lena sneaked out of her unit. She wore a light suit without any unit markings. She walked through the dark tunnels until she reached the door leading to the warehouse.
The door was open.
Inside, there was no dust... only a modern operating system running silently, displaying a blue screen:
"Welcome, LINA-01. It's time to remember."