Elias watched the progress bar inch toward completion, sweat beading along his hairline. Ten minutes felt like an eternity. The hum of the cryochamber was drowned out by his heartbeat. Outside, the jungle wind rustled; inside, the only sound was data flowing onto his tablet.
At 95%, the download stalled. Red error message: ACCESS DENIED. Elias's throat went dry. He tapped the interface. No response. Then suddenly, the cryo-unit began cycling—coolant pressure rising. He froze.
"You can't restart her yet," he whispered.
The pod hissed louder. Elias yanked open the panel beside the console and punched override. The unit quieted as the screen logged full system access. Memory files began streaming again.
His knuckles whitened around the console. He scanned rapidly: genetic markers, activation protocols, voice logs. Ira's final entry appeared—chaotic, anguished.
He tapped it. A partial video flickered—blurry vision of her dragging a bleeding technician in the original lab explosion.
