Read Online Undiscovered: An Unremembered Novella (The Unremembered Trilogy) by Jessica Brody - Free Book Online
Authors: Jessica Brody
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“your plan was admirable. Everyone is impressed.”
I wanted to spit in his face again. He was patronizing me. I couldn’t care less what these people thought of my plan.
“But we’ve been tracking your movements for a long time,” he admitted. “We were prepared for something like this. You could even say we were expecting it. Especially given the way you look at her.”
I thought about the memories they’d stolen. All the times she’d looked into my eyes and felt something. Each one of those moments was now stored in an encrypted pod in a server room somewhere.
The idea made nauseated me.
“You knew I was going to see her,” I said. “For months. Why didn’t you ever tell me to stop? Why did you keep erasing her memories of it?”
Rio nodded. “At first that option was discussed. As was altering your memories. But we eventually decided to let it play its course. It was an interesting turn of events. One that made for a nice addition to the data we were collecting for this project.”
His answer made my blood boil. The fact that I was just another pawn in their game. Another variable in their equation.
“What is the project?” I growled. “What is she?”
“She’s a synthetically engineered human being, with the most advanced genetic code in history. A scientific miracle.”
I was actually surprised by how candid he was. If that was even the truth. “What do you plan to do with her?”
Dr. Rio smiled. “I’m afraid I can’t divulge that.”
So much for candidness.
“She’s not like us,” I stated somberly.
“No,” Dr. Rio confirmed. “She’s not. She’s everything we want to be. Fast. Strong. Smart. Beautiful. Healthy.”
“And you created her?”
He almost looked proud at the question. It made me want to punch the smirk right off his stupid smug face. “I did. After many failed attempts.”
“So, what?” I asked. “You’re going to tell me the truth about all of this and then wipe it from my memory? Just like you did with her countless times? That’s why I’m in here, isn’t it?”
“You’re in here because it’s protocol. You saw something you weren’t supposed to see. But I’ve already dismissed the Memory Coder on staff tonight.”
“Why?”
“Because I thought I would try to talk to you, Lyzender,” Rio said, growing impatient. “You’re a scientist, like me.”
“I’m nothing like you.”
His lips pursed as though he were about to argue, but instead he continued where he left off. “I’ve seen what you can do. Your little inventions are extraordinary. You have your mother’s brain. I’d rather not tamper with it by coding in a new set of memories. I’d rather we try to come to an agreement.”
I scoffed at this. “An agreement that involves me never speaking to her again?”
“Naturally.”
“Forget it,” I spat.
“You love her.” Rio’s voice had dropped to a near whisper. It took me aback. Not only the tone, but the words themselves. And how easily they flowed from his lips. It wasn’t a question. It was a fact. A universal truth.
He was right. I did love her. But I remained stoically silent.
“It’s an illusion,” he remarked. “You only think you love her. She’s designed that way. To make people fall in love with her. It’s like these wall screens. We can program them to look beautiful and serene. We can make you feel something when you look at them. But it’s not real.”
“It’s real,” I grumbled, and immediately regretted it. There was no use arguing with Dr. Rio. He would never understand what Seraphina and I had. And he wasn’t worth the effort of trying to explain it.
But I was too emotional to keep quiet.
“I don’t love her because she’s beautiful.”
Rio looked interested. He tilted his head to the side, as if encouraging me to continue.
“I love her because she’s her.”
“Strong and intelligent and flawless?” he ventured with a smirk.
I shook my head. “No. I mean, yes, she’s all
I wanted to spit in his face again. He was patronizing me. I couldn’t care less what these people thought of my plan.
“But we’ve been tracking your movements for a long time,” he admitted. “We were prepared for something like this. You could even say we were expecting it. Especially given the way you look at her.”
I thought about the memories they’d stolen. All the times she’d looked into my eyes and felt something. Each one of those moments was now stored in an encrypted pod in a server room somewhere.
The idea made nauseated me.
“You knew I was going to see her,” I said. “For months. Why didn’t you ever tell me to stop? Why did you keep erasing her memories of it?”
Rio nodded. “At first that option was discussed. As was altering your memories. But we eventually decided to let it play its course. It was an interesting turn of events. One that made for a nice addition to the data we were collecting for this project.”
His answer made my blood boil. The fact that I was just another pawn in their game. Another variable in their equation.
“What is the project?” I growled. “What is she?”
“She’s a synthetically engineered human being, with the most advanced genetic code in history. A scientific miracle.”
I was actually surprised by how candid he was. If that was even the truth. “What do you plan to do with her?”
Dr. Rio smiled. “I’m afraid I can’t divulge that.”
So much for candidness.
“She’s not like us,” I stated somberly.
“No,” Dr. Rio confirmed. “She’s not. She’s everything we want to be. Fast. Strong. Smart. Beautiful. Healthy.”
“And you created her?”
He almost looked proud at the question. It made me want to punch the smirk right off his stupid smug face. “I did. After many failed attempts.”
“So, what?” I asked. “You’re going to tell me the truth about all of this and then wipe it from my memory? Just like you did with her countless times? That’s why I’m in here, isn’t it?”
“You’re in here because it’s protocol. You saw something you weren’t supposed to see. But I’ve already dismissed the Memory Coder on staff tonight.”
“Why?”
“Because I thought I would try to talk to you, Lyzender,” Rio said, growing impatient. “You’re a scientist, like me.”
“I’m nothing like you.”
His lips pursed as though he were about to argue, but instead he continued where he left off. “I’ve seen what you can do. Your little inventions are extraordinary. You have your mother’s brain. I’d rather not tamper with it by coding in a new set of memories. I’d rather we try to come to an agreement.”
I scoffed at this. “An agreement that involves me never speaking to her again?”
“Naturally.”
“Forget it,” I spat.
“You love her.” Rio’s voice had dropped to a near whisper. It took me aback. Not only the tone, but the words themselves. And how easily they flowed from his lips. It wasn’t a question. It was a fact. A universal truth.
He was right. I did love her. But I remained stoically silent.
“It’s an illusion,” he remarked. “You only think you love her. She’s designed that way. To make people fall in love with her. It’s like these wall screens. We can program them to look beautiful and serene. We can make you feel something when you look at them. But it’s not real.”
“It’s real,” I grumbled, and immediately regretted it. There was no use arguing with Dr. Rio. He would never understand what Seraphina and I had. And he wasn’t worth the effort of trying to explain it.
But I was too emotional to keep quiet.
“I don’t love her because she’s beautiful.”
Rio looked interested. He tilted his head to the side, as if encouraging me to continue.
“I love her because she’s her.”
“Strong and intelligent and flawless?” he ventured with a smirk.
I shook my head. “No. I mean, yes, she’s all
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