The Archive

Julian went into town the next morning for supplies. It was a three-hour round trip.

Ezra waited until the Audi’s taillights vanished around the bend. He went straight to Julian’s office.

The door was locked.

"House, unlock office," Ezra commanded.

*“Access denied. Authorization: Julian Vane only.”*

Ezra looked at the keypad. He thought about the record Julian had played. *1924*.

He typed it in.

* Click.* The door slid open.

Ezra wheeled inside. The room was a shrine to technology. Servers hummed in rack mounts along the wall. Multiple monitors displayed the feeds from the security cameras.

Ezra rolled to the desk. He woke the computer. It prompted a password.

He typed *Caspian*.

* Access Granted.*

Ezra opened the file directory. He ignored the financial folders and went straight to a folder labeled **PROJECT: MNEMOSYNE**.

He opened it.

There were subfolders. Not dates, but names.

**Subject 1: Thomas (1985)**

**Subject 2: Leo (1999)**

**Subject 3: Isaac (2012)**

**Subject 4: Ezra (Current)**

Ezra clicked on Thomas.

Photos filled the screen. A young man in a wheelchair. He had dark curls, pale skin. He looked exactly like Ezra.

There were medical reports. *Spinal severance. Induced amnesia via electro-shock therapy.*

And then, a final report. *Result: Failure. Subject rejected the imprint. Termination date: Nov 14, 1985. Cause of death: Accidental fall in ravine.*

Ezra clicked on Leo. Same look. Same injury. *Termination date: Feb 2, 2005. Cause of death: Drowning in therapy pool.*

Isaac. *Termination date: July 4, 2015. Cause of death: Carbon monoxide poisoning.*

Ezra scrolled to his own folder.

* Subject 4: Ezra. 85% physical match. Memory wiped. Resistance high. Regression therapy initiated. If memory does not resurface by the Winter Solstice, prepare for reset.*

Ezra looked at the calendar on the desk.

Today was December 21st. The Solstice.

Julian wasn't his fiancé. He was a collector. A serial killer who believed he was rescuing a soul by breaking bodies.

And tonight was the reset.