The antique architect's desk concealed a hidden compartment-a false bottom-one even Margaret had not found. Inside was the final blueprint of James Bennett:
Project Assembly
A worldwide network of lighthouses each able to synthesize neural stabilizers from local materials when activated in sequence. Activation involves:
Voice print of a Bennett heir (Ryan)
Sample of Calloway blood (From baby's umbilical stump)
Carter witness (Lena)
Sophie traced the coordinate points. "He built a worldwide reset button. But why hide it?"
That thought first grasped by Ryan's disintegrating mind. "Because it's also a weapon." He gestured at the small print: Frequency harmonic may cause permanent dissociation in Phase Two recipients.
Lena's stomach sank. Activating the lighthouses might save the uninfected-but would lobotomize every Calloway collaborator, including the brainwashed children.
The baby's cry interrupted the silence. Outside, the horn of the Acheron bellowed-the tide was high.