COMPLETE. Eli just wants to get through college in one piece, but that goal is cast aside the day he awakens from his simulated reality.
Will Subject 801 submit to the system? Or will he fight his dreamscape-- and those desperate to keep him the...
The metal bodies flew against the floor and walls around them, bowling pins crashing in all directions. But somehow, the two of them made it out unscathed, and Lopez whooped as they left the sea of moaning, broken metal behind them.
Eli couldn't help but smile a little at their triumph. Bombarding the gods of his simulation, knocking them flat, reclaiming his free will—he hadn't felt that good in ten years.
They finally made it to the very end of the hall, where a large set of double doors blocked off the most important space in the building: the central control room.
The power source of the entire facility.
The brain and soul of this machine.
As expected, the A.I.'s Achilles heel was also locked, and Eli shuffled forward with his battered crutch, glaring down at the shiny keypad.
His only chance was the code the medic bot had used before. If it was an identification code that permitted the bot access to such locations, then he'd be golden. If the code had belonged to Teddy's room exclusively, then he was screwed.
"Please work. Please, please fucking work," Eli begged, and he typed in the same number the bot had used to unlock the simulation room.
He waited a few heartbeats, his lungs clenching, his chest too tight. Then the doors emitted a soft, beautiful beep, and the keypad turned green.
He nearly burst into tears.
He kicked the keypad against the wall—smashing its contents—and pulled Lopez inside, shutting the doors behind them. Then he proceeded to slide his second crutch through the handles to lock the doors in place. It probably wouldn't hold against a mob of robots, but it would buy them some time.
Helping Lopez down from the medical table, he wrapped his arm around him and held him steady as they took in the high-security area before them.
Five giant monitors checkered the opposite wall, all reflecting different images and codes and equations. Three long rows of sleek supercomputers filled the rest of the space.
No chairs. No tables. Just computers and user interface equipment, all built and accessed by robots.
"What now?" Lopez asked, clutching onto Eli for support—and probably a little comfort. This was still all new to him after all. Hell, he hadn't even been awake for more than fifteen minutes, and he'd already escaped an army of evil robots. Eli was just surprised he was capable of speech and coherent thought with all the new revelations bouncing around inside his head.
"Now we end this."
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Eli half-carried Lopez to the control panel where he could sit between keyboards and lean back against the wall. He patted Teddy's knee, nodding at him reassuringly. Then he approached the main computer system.
