May iniwan ang kaibigan ni Jineses na si Suzu na isang note na nagsasabing ipagpatuloy ang incomplete project nito tungkol sa isang time machine memory scanner.
Ginawa ni Jineses ang best niya para i-develop ito kasama ang former blockmate niya na s...
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Jineses' POV
"Thirty days," sabi ko habang pinapakita sa team ang encrypted email sa main screen. "We have thirty days before we pitch the finalized version of Project Hill to the Department of Science."
Crissa whistled low. "That's not a lot of time."
"Especially if we're including the Memory Gate and full-body future jump in the demonstration," dagdag ni Ronee.
Ann crossed her arms. "Kaya natin 'to. We've done more with less."
"I don't doubt our capabilities," sabi ko. "But this time, we're presenting a temporal neural device that can potentially change how the government sees ethics, memory, and even history itself."
"And if we fail?" tanong ni John, tahimik pero malinaw ang tono.
"Then someone else will take this tech. And they might not use it responsibly."
Tahimik na tumango ang lahat. Alam naming hindi lang ito tungkol sa research grant. Ito ay tungkol sa legacy — ni Suzu, at ng lahat ng pinaghirapan naming buuin.
Ann's POV
Habang sinusuri ko ang primary systems ng ChronoPod, naisip ko kung ilang beses ko nang naramdaman ang kaba't pananabik na ito. This time, ako pa rin ang test subject — pero hindi na ako babalik sa nakaraan. Pupunta ako sa hinaharap.
"Are you sure about this?" tanong ni Jin, habang tinutulungan akong i-secure ang mga synaptic cables.
"I need to know what the world sees when it has the Gate," sagot ko. "And we need to know if the future still believes in what we're trying to protect."
John approached with a small case. "I added an emotional sync stabilizer to your suit. Para kung sakaling overloaded ang echo flow, you won't collapse from sensory fatigue."
"Thanks," sabay ngiti ko. "Hindi ko pa rin maintindihan kung paano ka laging may ganitong gadgets."
"Secret ng isang tunay na analyst," sagot niya, at biglang nag-pose na parang superhero.
"Please stop," sabay irap ni Crissa. "Hindi kami handa sa cringe overload."
Tumawa kami. Minsan, ang pressure lang talaga ay nawawala sa isang biro.
