2. Cooper Tower
At 8:30 in the morning, Pacific Time, the central building of TransHumanic was attacked. A series of explosions shook the structure, destroying part of its facilities. The total damage has not yet been assessed, but it is estimated that there are few fatalities. Authorities suspect that the attack was carried out by Purist fanatics, a group that radically opposes the company's technological advancements. This event has brought TransHumanic's operations to a halt, raising doubts about its future and that of the hundreds of investors who believed in its vision.
For Cooper Tower, the company's stock performance was the least of his concerns. At that moment, his mind was far from numbers and markets. TransHumanic represented humanity's last hope, a beacon amidst the decline of faith and widespread despair. However, Cooper didn't care about the promise of immortality that the company proclaimed. He couldn't imagine living forever in a world where routine and monotony would consume him. His true desire was to live long enough to witness the journey to the stars, a dream that seemed increasingly distant.
But even that dream was fading. With a trembling hand, he felt the pocket of his pants, where he kept the stolen data from TransHumanic. A cold sweat ran down his back as he thought about the consequences if someone discovered his crime. Would he survive the next week? Or would he end up as just another piece of rubble lying in the building?
During the evacuation, Cooper tried to blend in with his colleagues. Once outside, the scene was desolate. The eastern part of the building was engulfed in flames, and thick smoke formed a gray haze that mingled with the city's usual pollution. In the distance, firefighters tried to make their way through the chaos, but it was too early for them to arrive in time. Meanwhile, onlookers crowded the streets, watching in horror as the tragedy unfolded before their eyes.
Among the crowd, Cooper spotted the Purists. Dozens of protesters, with their signs and slogans, celebrated the attack as a victory against what they considered the moral decline of society. For them, technology was a sin, a direct path to eternal damnation. Cooper didn't share their beliefs, but he couldn't ignore the weight of their words. With his heart racing, he kept running alongside his colleagues, swept up in a wave of panic and the cold feeling of guilt for those who had been left behind.
When he arrived home, the first thing he did was lock himself in the bathroom. Paranoia consumed him. With trembling hands, he washed his face, trying to erase the traces of fear and despair. It had been a long time since he had looked in the mirror, and what he saw left him frozen. The wound on his forehead, caused by debris during the explosion, had dried, but the coagulated blood barely hid the gaunt face staring back at him.
Dark eyes, surrounded by deep circles, revealed sleepless nights and a lack of self-care. His poorly trimmed beard and mustache gave him a disheveled appearance, far from the 25-year-old he once was. The crooked tie, old jacket, and wrinkled shirt completed the image of a man who had lost all interest in himself. He was just another cog in the system, a replaceable part. That's why Kelly hadn't trusted him. His haggard appearance and apathetic attitude made him seem insignificant, someone no one would notice.
With determination, Cooper picked up the electric razor and began to transform himself. If he wanted to earn Kelly's trust, he had to change. Not just his appearance, but also his attitude. He wanted her to see him as an ally, someone she could rely on. But the physical transformation was just the beginning.
The world had changed since the attack on TransHumanic. The company's stock plummeted, and with it, global stability. A silent war broke out in the streets as technology came to a standstill, waiting for humanity to be ready to take the next step. The sick who awaited the promise of immortality clung to hope, while the Purists destroyed devices and data networks, demonstrating how fragile the system was.
Companies focused on cleaning the air and reforesting the land, though their efforts seemed insufficient. Meanwhile, TransHumanic continued its experiments in secret, seeking to achieve immortality away from public scrutiny.
Cooper's life took a different turn. From the moment he decided to change, his mission was to find an alternative energy source, something that would allow him to keep his computer running without being detected. Exposing himself to the transhumanists would land him in prison; exposing himself to the Purists would mean death.
Now, he worked deep within the city, in a massive boardroom where everything could be monitored. His workspace was no longer a cubicle among hundreds but a strategic location from which he detected system failures.
"That's all, Mr. Holland. It was a pleasure speaking with you," said Cooper, closing the connection without waiting for a response. There was no room for fake emotions in his world.
By changing his appearance, Cooper had also transformed his personality. It was as if something inside him had shifted, gaining confidence and self-esteem. That had brought him back to TransHumanic, where his ability to detect flaws was invaluable.
Working alongside him was Simon Hands, another computer expert his age. With impeccable hair and an imposing height, Simon was everything Cooper was not. Both enjoyed some flexibility in their work, as demand had decreased. Now, their job was to decipher smuggled data, searching for the key to immortality.
When Cooper realized there were no more data cards to process, he decided it was time for a break. Simon followed him, driven by the curiosity Cooper always sparked in him. To Simon, Cooper was a kind of genius hiding something more, something he couldn't quite understand.
"A cigarette?" Cooper asked when they reached the machine station, a small ledge where a massive hole housed pipes and power cables descending into the depths. Down below, hidden in the darkness, was the nuclear reactor, a silent monster. One wrong step would mean a fatal fall.
Simon took the cigarette and placed it between his lips. Cooper lit it, and both exhaled the smoke, as if trying to expel the despair consuming them.
"I feel like we're close," Simon said, breaking the silence. "This time was different. I could feel something."
His words revealed that he was driven more by emotions than logic. Cooper looked at him skeptically before responding.
"You saw the algorithms, just like I did. A pattern that repeats over and over, replacing Mr. Holland's real memories with what the machines consider correct. It's a constant struggle between machine logic and human feelings. It was easier when we extracted the brain and connected it with wires to interact. I don't know what geniuses thought putting it in hard drives was a good idea," Cooper mocked, eliciting a laugh from Simon.
"I think we'll make it," Simon insisted. "In a couple of years, we'll find the right algorithm to extract the data without errors. We just have to keep working."
"I hope so," Cooper murmured as the cigarette slowly burned out. The warmth of the smoke contrasted with the cold of the underground space, filled with machines and cables.
"I heard that before coming here, you worked on an antimatter energy project," Cooper said, changing the subject, something he had decided to work on with Simon. "A single cube of energy could replace all this machinery beneath our feet."
Simon nodded, but his expression turned somber.
"It was the same thing that happened with TransHumanic. The Purists thought any mistake could detonate a bomb capable of destroying the planet. The company was forced to shut down, but..." He paused, as if hesitating to continue. "I'll tell you a secret: I'm still working on it. In my department, I have something that could replace this entire archaic system."
"That's not a secret you should be telling me," Cooper replied, exhaling another puff of smoke.
"I'm not hurting anyone. It's not dangerous. Besides, I doubt you'll tell anyone. I've been working with you for months, and I know you don't care much about what happens here."
"I care too much about what happens here," Cooper retorted bluntly, letting out a nostalgic laugh. "But it's too costly, and we're not getting anywhere. When I started working here, my dream was to be one of the volunteers traveling to the stars."
"I don't think that's possible," Simon said with a hint of bitterness. "The Purists won't allow interstellar travel to develop. For them, saving this planet is the priority."
"They won't last forever," Cooper asserted. "They're in their final phase. The Purists are desperate, trying to be heard in their last breath."
"I'm glad to hear that," interrupted a cold, calculating female voice.
Cooper and Simon turned toward the entrance of the station. There, under the dim light of the lamps, stood a young woman with a tan complexion and brown eyes that reflected more annoyance than irritation. Her hair was pulled back into a flawless ponytail, and she wore a suit that exuded authority. Beside her was a man in his sixties, with thin white hair, trying to stand tall as if projecting strength in his final years before retirement. The freckles on his face blended with the wrinkles marking the passage of time.
The woman, Sandy Sully, pulled a card from her pocket, revealing a police badge.
"We've come to speak with you, Mr. Tower," she said firmly. "If you could accompany us for a moment, we have some questions."
Cooper let out a sigh of annoyance. He thought he had hidden Kelly's information well enough, erasing his tracks from every data center. But what he didn't know was that Sandy Sully wasn't just an investigator. She was a Purist at heart, and her investigation was heading in a completely different direction.