NOVEL NEXT Chapter 20: Chapter 20: The Vault
Titan Facility, Subterranean Level Delta - July 1987
Even in Titan's deepest levels, security protocols had never been this intense. Caspian watched his mother complete the sixth layer of biometric authentication. The Emperor Eye tracked defense systems that went beyond cutting edge—some of the technology didn't seem possible for 1987.
"Professor Valemont designed these protocols himself," Walter explained, entering complex codes into three separate terminals. "The vault requires simultaneous validation from Director, Deputy Director, and a blood-verified Valemont heir."
"A safeguard against Novak's influence," Caspian noted. His Emperor Eye caught subtle patterns in the security system's design—familiar patterns. "These configurations... they're similar to the containment pods."
"Your grandfather didn't just lock away the evidence." Howard's voice came through a secured channel from his hospital bed. "He adapted their technology. Used it against them."
The final door was solid neutronium, three feet thick. As it slowly opened, temperature sensors showed the air beyond was significantly colder than the surrounding facility.
"Full containment gear," Carrie ordered. "No direct contact with anything inside."
The vault itself was smaller than Caspian expected. A single room, maybe thirty feet square. But the Emperor Eye immediately detected the wrongness in its geometry—angles that didn't quite align, shadows that fell in impossible directions.
"My God." Dr. Sterns' voice shook as he studied his readings. "The energy signatures... it's like the room exists partially out of phase with normal space-time."
"Because it has to." Howard sounded tired. "To contain what's inside."
The vault's contents were sparse. A sealed case containing what looked like weapon prototypes. A stack of folders with covers that seemed to shift color as they watched. And in the center, a simple metal box, frosted with impossible ice.
"Arthur's final report," Carrie said quietly, approaching the folders. "The real one."
"Director." Walter's voice carried urgency. "We're getting updates from the field teams. Three more facilities have gone active. Norway, Kazakhstan, and northern Canada."
Caspian moved to the metal box, Emperor Eye analyzing its construction. The ice patterns were familiar—the same as they'd seen in Finland. But controlled. Contained.
"It's not just a record," he realized. "Grandfather kept a piece. Right here in Titan."
"The keystone." Howard's laugh held no humor. "The one fragment that could never be allowed to rejoin the others. The piece that remembers what it used to be. Before the ice changed it."
Carrie opened the first folder. Her composure slipped for just a moment as she read. "The original entity... it wasn't Soviet at all. The research team that 'found' it was looking for something specific. Following older records. Much older."
"How old?" Sterns asked.
"The documents reference archaeological data. Sites in Siberia dating back thousands of years. Places where the ice... changed things. Changed people."
The Emperor Eye caught movement in the box's frost patterns. Subtle. Responsive. As if it was listening.
"Sir," Walter cut in. "Field reports confirm security breaches at all three new sites. The same pattern as Finland. Temperature drops, biological alterations in personnel, systematic—"
"They're not security breaches." Caspian's voice was very quiet. "They're coordinated attacks. Novak's people planned this. Waited decades to wake all the pieces at once."
"Why now?" Carrie demanded.
"Because they finally found a way past Arthur's failsafes." Howard's voice carried dread. "A way to make the fragments remember each other. Call to each other."
As if in response, the metal box shifted slightly. The ice patterns grew more complex, more deliberate. The Emperor Eye tracked changes in the vault's temperature gradient—dropping steadily.
"The facilities," Walter reported. "The active ones... their power signatures are aligning. Creating some kind of resonance pattern."
Through the secured channel, they heard Howard take a shuddering breath. "It's starting. What Novak always wanted. What Arthur died trying to prevent."
"The fragments aren't just waking up," Caspian said, watching the patterns spread across the box's surface. "They're calling to this one. The piece that remembers."
In the impossible cold of the vault, something ancient stirred behind layers of containment. And remembered what it used to be.