A few years ago, Charles met James while working for a corporation. James said he saw a piece of paper where Morgan’s name was written, along with a detailed structure of a portal-like device. Meanwhile, Charles had a completely different reason for working there.

  At present, James and Charles are about to enter the Dead Belt. James’s legs tremble at the thought of what could happen there. Charles sits quietly, slowly growing suspicious. They are traveling toward the Dead Belt, but it seems to be taking much longer than expected.

  A few years ago, Charles and James shared a bond. They were both fond of freedom in different ways. It didn’t take long before they became friends.

  One evening after work, Charles sat with James over coffee. They sipped in silence.

  “So, how is Mathews?”

  “He is fine for now.”

  Charles paused before speaking. “I... kept it hidden because I didn’t trust you before. But I do now.”

  “What is it?”

  Charles leaned in and whispered, avoiding anyone overhearing. “I’m not a reconstruction. I’m... a human.”

  James was utterly shocked and speechless.

  “Don’t panic, and please don’t tell anyone else or I’ll die.”

  “Okay... okay... I won’t. It’s... something too rare to see. So you’re an original human.”

  James touched his arm. The skin was soft and fragile. It reminded him of Eve and the raiders who saved him and gave him a purpose.

  “My parents had HPP. Their bones were so weak they couldn’t work even though they were middle-aged. They were reconstructed. We didn’t have enough money to prevent it. The reconstruction strengthened their skeletons but wiped their memories, implanting only work-related memories.

  I saw my own parents ignore me and continue working here.

  I was taken to the lab for testing and reconstruction too, but I was aware.

  I collected enough money and got marks carved into my flesh by the black market - to prove that I'm already a reconstruction. As long as they think I've been reconstructed, they leave me alone. I made a deal with the black market to give them internal information about the corporation. That’s why I’m working here - to become richer.”

  At present, everything changes.

  James’s eyes are wide open, blood scattered across his face. The sight is so horrifying that it brings back all the trauma from the raiders.

  The scavenger sitting in the front seat silently pulls out his gun and shoots Charles. His head bursts open, splattering across the car.

  The flying car destabilizes, but the scavenger maneuvers it closer to the ground. Without a word, he jumps out near the surface. The scavenger drops into the toxic dust and disappears. James, still stunned, holds Charles as the car crashes down into the Dead Belt.

  James remains inside the wrecked vehicle, replaying everything in his mind.

  “The raiders... they saved us. They are good people. The corporations killed Eve and the raiders. Charles was a corporate man... that scavenger was a raider... they hate... hate... What... what do I feel...”

  James can't process it. One second his friend is there, talking about deals and survival. The next second there's just blood and the ringing in James's ears.

  For the first time, James feels rage.

  A rage that turns anyone ruthless. A rage that makes him forget everything about himself. A rage powerful enough to destroy the world.

  James, sitting inside the crashed car, is surrounded by scavengers.

  He screams at the top of his lungs, “Charles!!!!!”

  A scream that sounds desperate and fierce.It echoes across the area. The scavengers surrounding the wreck step back hands on weapons, unsure if this reconstructed man is broken or dangerous.

  ----

  James cries as he walks out, ignoring his surroundings and the guns pointed at him. It reminds him of the day he walked out of the hospital, all guns aimed at him. That was the day Eve saved him and gave him a new life.

  Now everything is gone.

  He walks straight toward the scavenger who drove him there. Almost twenty raiders surround him, their guns trained on him.

  “Do you hate the corps?” James asks. “We needed Charles’s body. He said he would give it away. But the corps paid us even more to kill him and bring him to them.”

  “Oh... so you’re with the corps... That makes me hate you even more,” James whispers.

  The scavenger fires, but the bullet deflects, leaving only minor scratches.

  James grabs his mask and crushes it open. A familiar face stares back at him. It is one of the raiders who stood beside Eve when they rescued him.

  Decades ago, a man was shot dead. His body was captured and frozen. A man named Finn proposed the idea of Super Reconstruction. He altered the mineral density and microarchitecture of the bones and reinforced tendons with collagen cross-link enhancement. The result was a person strong enough to fight on behalf of fifty soldiers. James was the first experiment. He was too expensive, and he ran away. After that, they stopped experimenting because they could not find him.

  At present, James does not want to kill the man in front of him, but the rage is taking control. The scavengers’ real target is not Charles, but James.

  “Bringing you to the Dead Belt means you can’t escape. Even if you kill us, you will die from the toxic gas you’re inhaling. There is no escape for you.”

  James sighs and walks away, ignoring everyone around him. They let him go, assuming he will be dead soon.

  Fifteen days crawl by. James eats whatever scraps he finds that won't kill him immediately, drinks from contaminated puddles. His enhanced body processes toxins better than a normal human's, but even he has limits. His vision blurs and his limbs ache. The rage keeps him moving. James walks straight toward “The Gut,” hoping he can still find something about the portal. He moves through abandoned tribes in the Undergrid.

  Meanwhile, somewhere in the South Archipelago, Finn asks, “Did you find Mathews and James?”

  “No, sir. Not yet, but-”

  “Motherfucker. You and your entire team had all these years to find just two people. Can you comprehend the losses I’ve faced? Because of these cold wars, the corps need protection. They want soldiers. If I succeed, I’ll give you and your team enough money to live without working. So just find MATHEWS and do your job properly.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  In the West, Concord, researchers welcome a new recruit. “The mission - there was a landing here, in the Dead Belt.”

  “I heard about it from retired corp workers. The strange spacecraft came with four humans,” the new recruit says.

  “Four? There were five.”

  In the Dead Belt, James nears “The Gut.” A smile of despair spreads across his face as he sees a massive crater. The toxic gas blurs his vision. He expected a bunker, but he was wrong. There was never a bunker. There were no secrets. It was hiding nothing.

  In Concord, the new recruit leans forward. “The fifth guy?”

  “Yeah. He was hiding in the Freeholds. He looked insane, but I bet he’s alive. There was one man among them. Rarely anyone talks about him. His name was Morgan. He was later reconstructed into someone else.”

  Back in the Dead Belt, James notices a strange structure still buried in the sand.

  In Concord, the conversation continues. “There are rumors the spaceship landed in the Dead Belt centuries ago supposedly. But it's all rumours and fragments."

  “But how do you know all this?”

  “Our manager, Sofia. She looks young, maybe just a year older than me. I started liking her. Once I tried to approach her at the office, but I overheard her talking about these things. That’s how I know.”

  “How does she know?”

  “She’s the manager. She, the head of the corps, and the government probably know much more than we think.”

  In the Dead Belt, James suddenly feels a sharp sting in his head. A voice echoes in his mind: “I like you, Morgan.”

  He falls to his knees. “Wh... what... Who is she? Whose voice is that?”

  He looks down at the sand and sees a torn piece of paper. He slowly picks it up. It reads: “Hyperfield Ap-” The rest is torn away.

  James stares at it as memories begin clicking into place, memories that are not his.

  He closes his eyes and sees it complete: the three poles, the central structure, the tear in spacetime.

  "Hyperfield Aperture."

  His voice and Morgan's voice feels the same as he says,

  "I built this."

  ----

  James lies on the ground for hours, his body half-buried in sand, his eyes open as he takes slow breaths. His mind flashes with memories and regrets.

  “I... wish I had died that day with Eve. Why did I live when I couldn’t even protect the man beside me? I... I’m just a loser. I wish I could take bullets like them... and die. I wish to end...

  Sorry... sorry, Eve... I’m giving up. Without Charles... I can do nothing. He helped me and Mathews hide all this time. He saved me. He helped me live. And he brought me closest to what I was seeking... just to see this garbage...”

  James lies there with his eyes closed, those words echoing in his mind: “I want to live,” Eve had said.

  “Why... why did you say you wanted to live at that moment? I remember... I never asked you... were you a human?”

  In Concord, at the corporation, the new recruit approaches his manager.

  “Hello, ma’am.”

  Sofia’s eyes flicker. She is middle-aged, maintaining her body for centuries through reconstruction, without letting anyone except the head of the corps know.

  “What’s your name?”

  “My name is ******.”

  “Oh, so you’re the new recruit,” Sofia says with a smile. “The CEO probably hired you. He mentioned someone leaving the southern corp. You’re a skilled man.”

  Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

  He smiles appreciatively. “Thank you, ma’am. Well... if you don’t mind... I have a few things to ask.”

  He leans slightly forward in his chair. Sofia raises an eyebrow.

  A week earlier, when Charles was in the Freeholds, he entered the black market - a digitalized space that appeared legal but functioned entirely for illegal business run by gangs and raiders.

  “Listen, I’ll pay 5,000 Flux if you show me the records of scavenger visits.”

  “6,000.”

  “Stubborn bastard... 5,300. If not, the deal’s closed.”

  The dealer thinks for a moment. “Fine. Here’s the record. I’ll take my payment in Clinder.”

  ‘Flux’ is the general currency of this world, used by common people, Corporations, and the Government. Online transfers are made in ‘Clinder,’ which is an encrypted token. People below the poverty line, living in slum colonies, trade goods using ‘Scraps,’ a copper coin.

  Charles pays him and scans through the digital files. “Yeah... this scavenger has regular visits. That means he’ll arrive here in a few days. I should call James and let him know. I haven’t talked to him for months. If I tell him I’m in the Freeholds, he’s going to be mad. I don’t trust these scavengers, but I trust James. I’ll gather my information. I have a plan, and I have to execute it alone. First... I’ll get a doll.”

  At present, inside Concord City’s corporate building:

  “Morgan? Why do you want to know about Morgan?” Sofia asks.

  “I heard his name a couple of times. A colleague said you know something.”

  "Morgan?" Sofia's expression didn't change, but something flickered behind her eyes.

  "You're mistaken. Information is the most valuable commodity in this world. Knowledge makes even the richest kneel."

  “So... he’s prohibited from even being talked about?”

  “Yes. I think you should return to your projects but you're here asking dangerous questions so soon after joining... feels suspicious...”

  The new recruit smiled. "Actually, the first time I saw you, I thought you were stunning. I'm just... taking my chance."

  Sofia chuckles as she leans back. “Ha... ha... ha... I think you should focus on your work. Maybe I might grow interested in you.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  In the Dead Belt, James stands up. His breathing grows heavier. His body is barely keeping up. He searches through the wrecked spacecraft, trying to find a way inside. It is pitch black within.

  James takes out his lighter, burning away spider webs and clearing dust from his path. The structure is half-rusted. On the ground, he finds a small photograph.

  James holds the photograph in trembling hands. Five figures in space suits, standing before a spacecraft.

  For the first time, he sees Noah Morgan.

  It feels like staring into a mirror.

  He has never seen Morgan before. He never knew who he was. Yet it feels disturbingly familiar.

  He speaks unconsciously, “Morgan...”

  The word came unbidden, like breathing.

  His eyes shift to the man beside him. “Jay...”

  Then to the woman. “Sofia...”

  A tall man stands behind them. “Harrison...”

  His gaze finally falls on the fifth person in the photo.

  He freezes.

  His heart races. His mind begins to panic as he stares at the fifth figure.

  “He is...”

  ----

  A few days ago, in Freehold.

  "Fine, here's my DNA, but can you repeat how your doll works?" Charles asks.

  "I use the greatest model available. In the black market, we call it a 'doll.' But people from the Corps call it 'SBMC'—a Synthetic Bio-Mimetic Chassis. I have a huge collection of different models. Choose one whose body looks like yours."

  Charles looks to his sides. There are twelve different male bodies that resemble accurate humans.

  "Yeah, I choose... this. And I'll also take another one later, for a friend."

  "Perfect," the dealer agrees. "These are reinforced composite skeletons. The only thing we can work on is your face. I'll scan it, and the rest my bio 3D printer will handle."

  "How long will it take to finish?"

  The dealer thinks for a moment. "At most, one and a half days. For eight hours straight, you will be wearing this helmet. This helmet consists of AI, and it will try to replicate your brain. The structure will be complete in a day. And sir, it will cost five Clinder."

  Charles mumbles to himself, "Okay, if I call James, he will take his time to arrive tomorrow."

  At Deadbelt, James takes the photographs and leaves the spacecraft. "I have to survive... this information... now I know who he really is."

  A strange sound is heard from a distance. James looks at the sky. A flying car arrives at his location. James is completely stunned. The car lands near him, and the gates open. He realizes the car arrived by autodrive. Having no other choice, he steps inside. He recognizes the interior. "The car... it's Charles's..."

  The echo inside the car pulses. A familiar voice is heard.

  "Charles..."

  James looked at his blood-stained hands. Except it wasn't Charles's.

  "Heyyy, am I audible? Huh, sorry, I was just busy these days."

  James is completely baffled. "What the fuck?"

  "Hey, why are you screaming? You reached Gut. It shows from your tracker I put in you. So you succeeded, right? How is my doll? Did both of you reach?"

  "I feel betrayed..." James mumbles as he closes the car gates. "It wasn't a normal prototype. It was expensive, right? Why did you do that? I need an explanation."

  "Fine... So I sent my morphological replication with you. I never trusted this scavenger, but I know how strong you are. I heard from you that you saw an old paper in a Corp. I have contacts, and I wanted to know for sure what is in the Deadbelt. I found something. In the Corp I joined, the manager... she seems to know something about Morgan, and I want to squeeze the info out of her. Though it's going to be hard."

  "The manager? Who is she?"

  "Her name is Sofia..."

  James suddenly leans back, his mind racing as he connects every piece of the puzzle. He realizes the people from the spacecraft aren't lost. It's not the Government or the Corps who hid the truth. It's them.

  James sighs before telling him everything that happened. "And so, i was lost. Suffering in that toxic hell for days and almost died."

  For a brief moment, there is no word from Charles. "I understand." His tone is serious. "Sorry for whatever happened. My car was designed to reach you once you arrived at Gut. I'm happy you're alive. Also... that replica was too expensive..."

  "Forget it. It's past now. What matters is, I found a photograph in the spacecraft."

  "Photograph of?" Charles's tone shifts from sad to serious.

  "Of five people. They were all in spacesuits. They are Morgan, Jay, Harrison, Sofia and..."

  "Wait... what did you say?" Charles's voice grows loud as he asks.

  "Sofia. The moment you mentioned her name, I understood everything. They are not dead. I'll talk about it once I see my boy Mathews," James mumbles.

  "Sure. You said five people in the photograph. Who is the fifth?"

  "I poured my heart out to that thing, you dumb fuck. It acted so similar - but I suspected something when it kept asking me to repeat details about the Morgan paper. Anyways, I remember that guy. He reconstructed me and tried to reconstruct Mathews. He is Finn."

  "That biologist."

  The car flies at its top speed, escaping the atmosphere of Deadbelt. James tries to hold himself together while heading toward the east, in Ring Sprawl where his home lies.

  Meanwhile, in Concord City, Charles stands outside near the building, talking to James. Sofia, sitting in her office, keeps hearing the whole conversation.

  Three days ago, Sofia approached Charles at his workstation. He knew she was watching him - had been watching for days.

  He still tried to keep working and acted normal. Sofia walked toward him. His breath hitched when she leaned closer. "You look really good today."

  His throat went dry. "Uh... thanks, ma'am."

  She places her hand softly on his neck. Her thumb brushes the crook of his neck. She secretly places a sharp, splinter-like microphone under his skin and leaves while his eyes remain locked on her face. He felt a sharp pinch - barely noticeable.

  When she walked away, he touched the spot but felt nothing.

  At present, James reaches his home.

  He stands outside his door.

  Inside, he heard laughter. Mathews's voice - bright, happy.

  And his own voice. Playing with his son.

  He looked down at himself. Covered in toxic dust, blood-stained, half-dead. He couldn't let Mathews see him like this.

  "I hear two people inside. I'm confused and tired. I want to abandon the truth but want to know the essence of my life. I'm not sure what the Hyperfield Aperture did, but if I follow quantum dynamics, the structure can be similar."

  He stands at the door, unable to enter in the condition he is in. An hour passes when it starts to rain. It washes away a lot of agony from the past few days.

  ----

  James, standing in the rain, still can’t bring himself to open the door. He walks toward the backyard and takes a look through the glass. He sees an exact replica of himself telling stories to Mathews. A warm smile fills his face. He places his palm on the glass, wishing for Mathews to look at him with a smile for once, but also wishing he wouldn’t - because it would bring great confusion.

  "Thanks, Charles. Thanks for always watching my back. But... I can’t just forget it completely. You are vulnerable. You are human. I’m just... I’m not human at all. I can’t risk your life for now. I’ll fix everything. I’m aware of everything now. I know what I have to do."

  A few days later, Charles visits Ring Sprawl. He arrives at the door secretly, knocking a few times. After a while, Mathews opens it.

  "Hey, kiddo." Charles ruffles his hair.

  "Hi, Uncle."

  "Where is James?"

  "He’s in my room. He started singing songs to me, and I enjoy it so much."

  Charles realizes it’s just the replicant of James and not the real James. Though he can’t ask about it, Mathews doesn’t know that the James inside is only a replicant.

  "Okay... enjoy your time. I just came to check on you and James." Charles gives him a candy bar and steps out of the house.

  He stands at the same spot where James once stood a few days ago, though he doesn’t realize it.

  "You said you would never leave Mathews alone again. I made this replicant of you because of Mathews. You’re not even answering my calls... are you angry? I didn’t make this to replace you or distance you from Mathews. Where are you, James? Just don’t get caught by the Corps, or I won’t be able to save you."

  Two years later, somewhere in the South Archipelago, the research lab’s military officers are contacted by officials.

  "Dr. Finn is missing."

  News of the abduction spreads worldwide. A well-known biologist. A doctor known to _save_ lives.

  Finn slowly opens his eyes. He finds himself in a large, dimly lit room. A man stands at a distance, covered in black clothing. His hands and legs are tied to a chair. He shouts, "Hey! You don’t know me. The Corps will find you..."

  "Shut your fucking mouth," James shouts.

  Finn can’t recognize his voice yet. He looks around. A lot of wires cover the entire floor and walls, meeting at the center where a strange machine stands.

  "Who are you?"

  James sprints from the center toward Finn. He reaches him quickly and points his gun at his head. "Do you even know how much joy I feel?"

  "Who the hell are you? How much money do you want?"

  "No price can pay for what I felt. Do you know how long I stalked you? For months, just to get you here. I know Morgan wasn’t dead and preserved. He was killed. Shot in the head by someone. And then you reconstructed him into me."

  "You’re... James..."

  Finn's face pale.

  "Yes. I have some work for you." James’s smile is wide and terrifying.

  "How much information do you have?"

  Meanwhile, in Freehold-

  "I paid a lot of money. Search through the whole Deadbelt. James must be there," Charles says as he bangs his hand on the bench.

  After James disappeared, Charles continued his work and kept Mathews safe, while also searching for James, who couldn’t be found by anyone.

  "The news... Finn’s abduction or disappearance... I know it’s James. But where are you?"

  In the South Archipelago, Sofia is in the lab with the other heads of the Corps due to Finn’s abduction. The meeting continues as they discuss a solution.

  Sofia raises her hand and brings out a report. "This used to be a patient. A special patient of Finn. He knows a lot about him and escaped his facility a decade ago."

  "Then why would he show up now?"

  "Good question, sir. But it’s not just intuition - it’s him. He hides himself well. I paid enough men in Freehold to get information. Though it’s just a hunch, I don’t think anyone else is capable of doing this but him. And about the reason - it shouldn’t be revenge. Finn bombed a huge base in Ring Sprawl months after James’s disappearance. That base was owned by raiders who rescued many patients from the facility. Give me some time and money, and I’ll quickly find where he is."

  "Okay, Sofia. We think you are best suited for it."

  Back in the large, dimly lit room-

  "I know who shot Morgan. And it wasn’t you."

  Finn is absolutely baffled. He thought the secret had been buried a century ago.

  ----

  In Concord City, late at night, Charles sits completely alone in a café. The lights flicker softly against the glass as rain taps outside. He writes a note on a pane.

  "James, I’ll leave this note here in case I never see you again. You have too many doubts that hold you back. Your body is pushed through the harshest environments, but your mind is broken. First, we were normal Corp workers who could relate to each other. Then, for the first time, I heard about Morgan. The paper you described doesn't exist. I visited the Corp. It was run by Jay a century ago. But there is no paper. There is nothing that proves what you said. So I knew… I knew you were either lying or mistaken.

  But I searched everywhere, and I’m running out of money. I can’t anymore. You are too far away."

  Beneath the café, deep in a hidden basement, James is there with Finn.

  "First, Morgan is alive. I heard him so many times."

  "W-What? You are his reconstruction. Maybe there is a fault in you. It wasn’t complete when you ran away."

  "But reconstructions can’t create memories. You can’t implant anything other than work life - which you failed to. What I heard before was real."

  Finn swallows. "Okay… okay, I believe you. Tell me what you want."

  "It all stopped suddenly. The voice. I can’t explain it. But the last thing he said was about a junction. A two-way thing. It flashed, but I couldn’t understand it."

  "What do you want me to do?"

  "You’re the best biologist. I have a plan. You will create a pathogen. A really deadly one. One that can’t be cured."

  "What? That’s not possible."

  "You made me." says James.

  Finn hesitates. "If a pathogen is produced by a man, it can be healed by a man."

  James leans forward, gripping Finn’s collar tightly. "You can’t talk about nature after living for centuries. Cheating death. Stealing lives to make slaves. You are stealing souls."

  "You've lived barely a decade. I've survived for centuries. I've watched the richest become wolves, addicted to profit with no boundaries. They do anything they want, and people just complain. So the wolves toss them scraps of delusion to stay calm. I chose survival. In this world, you join the wolves or you get eaten. There is no third option."

  "You know… someone is desperately trying to find you. Too desperately." James smiles wide. "It took years to stay alone, and then I figured out my power. And this ugly world? Everyone is as good as dead. I know what is happening. And what will happen - to that world and ours."

  Finn sighs. He knows he is vulnerable now. And James is far stronger than he looks.

  Inside his own mind, James thinks:

  If there are two Morgans - one alive, and one is me - then the junction means something. A cross-connection. But timeline branches are far apart. They’re not stacked. So why are these branches so close?

  Meanwhile, in the Deadbelt, twenty-five scavengers are paid by Charles to scan every sector.

  Sofia, with the Corp’s military power, searches Ring Sprawl for James and Finn. She finds a home deep in the woods. Lights are on. Military men move slowly toward it, scanning the perimeter.

  Sofia becomes almost certain as she reaches the door.

  She pauses.

  Her face freezes.

  A note is stuck to the door.

  "Trying to find your lost crewmate? Give up."

  Her anger rises sharply, but she hides it with a smile. She tears the note away and calmly orders the military men to leave the search here.

  Back in the underground room, Finn is given a small lab beneath the main chamber.

  James observes the device. He recalls every failure. Every moment it was too risky. But now he studies its parts carefully.

  A compact toroidal chamber.

  A modulator he doesn’t fully understand - but knows is functional.

  He knows the machine is too dangerous. Even activating it for a fraction of a second could change or destroy the entire world.

  "What I see might be the future of that timeline. And if a coin has two sides… then he should be hearing my voice too. In that case, it’s his future as well. Right now, I feel like things got worse. They went to space. It’s because of me. If that’s correct… then my Hyperfield conditions were met."

  James continues scanning the machine, whispering to himself.

  "That world. With the crew. Just Eve and Mathews. Together…"