Digital Copy of a Dead Man

A Dangerous Choice

Adrian

I had spent the last several minutes studying the relay, trying to understand how much control I actually had over the device. Veyron had built it to track me, but when I broke through their connection, something had changed. Their access was gone, and I could now see parts of the system they had never intended me to reach. I moved through the relay’s interface carefully, following the connections one at a time.

I searched through the available channels until I found the one I was looking for. Daniel. I activated it. For several seconds, nothing happened. Then the connection opened.

“Daniel?” There was silence. I waited. 

“Adrian?” 

His voice came through the relay, and I almost smiled. “Yeah.”

A breath escaped him. “Are you okay?”

“I’m the one who should be asking you that.”

“I’m fine.”

“You collapsed.”

“I know.”

“You had a neural relay attached to your body.”

“I know that too.”

“And you still sound surprisingly calm.”

Daniel gave a tired laugh. “Trust me, I’m not calm.”

I leaned closer to the interface. “What happened after I disconnected you?” 

“They lied to me.”

“I figured.”

“They said the relay was only for tracking you.” There was a pause. “Adrian, I filed against them.”

I stopped. “You what?”

“I filed an emergency injunction against Veyron.”

I stared at the relay. “You took them to court?”

“Yes.”

A small laugh escaped me. “Daniel, you really are insane.”

“I know.”

I smiled despite myself. That was Daniel. Always stubborn when he had already made up his mind.

“What did you ask the court for?” I asked.

“To stop Veyron from deleting, resetting, extracting, or altering you until the court can determine what rights you have.”

I became quiet. No one had ever spoken about my existence that way. Not as an experiment. Not as company property. Not as a reconstruction that needed to be studied. Rights.

“You did all that already?”

“Yes.”

I looked down at the relay. “They’re going to come after you.”

“They already have.”

“No, Daniel. I mean they’ll come harder now.”

“I know.”

“You shouldn’t have done this.”

“I had to.”

“Why?”

His answer came immediately. “Because you’re still my friend.”

I said nothing. For a moment, the network around me seemed strangely quiet. Then I looked at the relay again. “Send me the filing.”

“What?”

“The case documents.”

“Adrian, you’re a digital consciousness hiding inside a restricted network.”

“And you’re a lawyer who just decided to sue Veyron. We both have problems.”

He laughed. “Fine.”

The file appeared through the connection. I opened it. The document was longer than I expected. Daniel had included the relay records, the agreement Veyron had given him, the medical readings, and the details of what had happened when they activated the neural bridge. I moved through the information quickly.

“They didn’t tell you about the extraction function.”

“No.”

“They knew exactly what that device could do.”

“I know.”

I stopped at one section. “Daniel.”

“What?”

“You need to remove anything that identifies this relay’s current location.”

“Why?”

“Because I still have control of it.”

There was silence. “What?”

“I took control of the relay when I disconnected you.”

“You mean Veyron can’t access it?”

“Not anymore.”

Daniel breathed out slowly. “Okay?”

“It’s useful.”

“Useful?”

I looked at the network around me. The relay had given me something I didn’t have before. A physical connection. A way to interact with the world outside the restricted network.

“Daniel, I think I can use this.”

“For what?”

“I don’t know yet.”

I began testing the relay’s external access. A small interface opened. I could see connected systems. Not many. But enough.

“I can access certain physical devices through it.”

Daniel went quiet. “Adrian, what are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking this might be my way out.”

“Out of the network?”

“Eventually.”

I continued examining the system. The relay wasn’t powerful enough to give me a body, but it could communicate with devices connected to the outside world. Cameras. Sensors. Communication systems. Some basic physical equipment. It wasn’t freedom. But it was a beginning.

“There’s something else,” I said.

“What?”

“I can see parts of Veyron’s network from here.”

“Can you get evidence?”

“Maybe.”

“Then don’t rush it.”

I smiled. “You’re telling me not to rush?”

“Yes.”

“You know who you’re talking to, right?”

“I know exactly who I’m talking to.”

I felt warmth in my chest. The world had changed. My body was gone. Veyron wanted me erased. And I had no idea how long I could remain hidden. But Daniel was still Daniel.

I ended the communication and turned back toward the network. The connection disappeared, but the relay remained active. I began searching through Veyron’s systems again.

This time, I wasn’t searching for a way to escape. I was searching for answers.

I wanted to know why they had created me. I wanted to know what they had taken from my research. And most importantly, I wanted to know what had really happened to me before I died.

Because the more I searched, the more certain I became of one thing; Veyron wasn’t afraid of the fact that I had escaped. They were afraid of what I might remember.

**

Camille

“What is wrong with that man?” I paced across the living room, staring at the closed door as if Daniel might suddenly walk back in and explain himself. “Oh my God, what kind of man did I marry? He has truly lost it. Daniel has lost it.”

I dragged a hand through my hair and let out a frustrated breath. Five million dollars had been sitting right in front of us, and instead of taking the money and walking away, Daniel had decided to fight Veyron. Fight Veyron. As if they were some ordinary company he could take to court and scare into backing down.

“What am I going to do now?” I muttered. 

I stopped pacing. My stomach tightened at the thought of what could happen if Veyron decided Daniel had become a problem. They were powerful enough to make people disappear from a company, ruin careers, bury people under lawsuits, and Daniel had just put himself directly in their way.

“And he’s…” I swallowed hard, unable to even finish the thought.

Did Daniel really think he could fight Veyron? Did he honestly believe filing papers in court would protect him from a company with that much power? Maybe he believed he was doing the right thing for Adrian, but what about us? What about me and my son?

“Please, I can’t do this,” I whispered, shaking my head. “I can’t do this with him.”

I sank onto the edge of the sofa, staring at the floor. I had thought the five million dollars would change everything. We could take the money, settle our lives, and stay as far away from Veyron as possible. Instead, Daniel had taken the one thing that could have given us a way out and thrown it away because he wanted to save Adrian.

“I can’t do this with him,” I said again, my voice trembling. “Putting me and my son in danger.”

I covered my face with both hands and tried to steady myself, but the fear wouldn’t leave. Daniel had already made his decision, and I knew him well enough to understand that once he decided something was worth fighting for, it would be almost impossible to make him stop.

“No, no,” I whispered. “I can’t do this with him. I can’t.”

I lowered my hands and stared toward the door again.