Chapter 12: At the Heart of the Truth

We crossed the threshold of the metal door, holding our breath. The room behind it was vast and dimly lit by glowing screens. Futuristic-looking control consoles were arranged in rows, and a constant hum filled the air. This was not a medical laboratory like the one we had discovered earlier. Here, the atmosphere was different, more intellectual, but just as sinister.

At the center of the room, a giant screen displayed a complex network of data, lines of code scrolling at a dizzying speed, and graphs with unsettling curves. Étienne approached one of the consoles and began manipulating the controls with surprising expertise.

"This is a data center," he whispered, his fingers tapping on the keyboard. "They store a huge amount of information here."

While Étienne explored the digital data, my eyes were drawn to physical documents scattered on a table. Reports, diagrams, photographs... I grabbed them and began to examine them frantically.

The documents revealed the extent of the elected ones' projects. It wasn't just about creating new people with powers. It was much broader, more manipulative. They had been studying, classifying, and even manipulating individuals with special abilities for years, long before the discovery of my own nature.

Familiar names appeared in the reports, people we had encountered at the tower, "model students" with impressive powers. The notes indicated a subtle control over their lives, a direction of their abilities towards goals set by the elected ones.

One photograph in particular caught my attention. It showed a group of young people, their faces marked by a strange melancholy, their eyes devoid of any spark. On the back, an old date and a chilling note: "Stabilization Phase -"

I felt a knot forming in my throat. The elected ones were not just creating. They were controlling, shaping, and extinguishing all individuality in the name of their own designs.

Étienne let out a curse. "Lyra, look at this."

He pointed to the main screen. A complex organizational chart was displayed, revealing a hierarchical structure within the tower. At the top was a name we had not yet encountered: the Founders' Council. Sophia was just a cog in a much larger machine.

Below, branches divided, designating different departments: Research, Recruitment, Surveillance... and one that made our blood run cold: Conditioning.

"This is where they break people," Étienne murmured, his face dark.

Suddenly, a discreet alarm went off, a barely audible sound but enough to alert us. "They've spotted us," I whispered. "We have to go."

We knew our time was up. We had seen too much. The elected ones would not let us leave with this information.

We quickly gathered the most incriminating documents and were about to leave the room when the main screen changed.

The organizational chart disappeared, replaced by an image.

A clear and sharp photograph of me, taken at a moment I didn't expect, perhaps during my training in the garden.

Below the photo, a concise text: "Subject Alpha - Unlimited Potential - Immediate Apprehension Order."

I felt an intense cold run through me. They knew who I was, what I represented. I was a threat to their control.

Before we could react, the doors to the room burst open, and several elected ones stormed in, their faces expressionless, their eyes gleaming with cold determination.

"The intruders are here," one of them announced, his voice devoid of emotion.

"Stop them."

The trap had closed. We were at the heart of the truth, but we were also trapped. The confrontation was inevitable.