Everyone was talking at the same time.
And they all said names.
“Maria.”
“Ivan.”
“Elena.”
“Boris.”
Stoyan pressed the key to Daniel's palm.
If you want to save him, you have to do one thing.
"What?"
"You have to choose."
"What should I choose?"
Keep the archive. Or destroy it.
"I don't understand.
"If you keep the archive, your father can stay here, but all the memories will be preserved. If you destroy the system, you will release the people who can still be released. But we don't know if he'll wake up.
Daniel was looking at his father.
He had dreamed of this moment all his life.
To see it.
Let him hear his voice.
To ask him why.
And now he stood before him and understood that sometimes the cruelest question is not “where is he?”
“What are you willing to sacrifice to pay it back?”
"I can't decide," he whispered.
Stoyan looked at him.
"You can.
"No.
"You can. Because that's the difference between you and me. I chose the secrets. You have to choose the truth.
The door behind them opened.
Figures appeared in the darkness.
Three.
Then five.
Then more.
People in old clothes. With pale faces. With empty eyes. Some wore ore helmets. Other — hospital aprons. One was holding a child's shoe.
Daniel squeezed the key.
Then he looked at the panel by the pool.
There were two buttons.
One green.
Above it it said:
“PRESERVE.”
The other red.
Above it:
“LIBERATIONS.”
His father was lying in the capsule.
His grandfather stood next to him.
The Guardians were approaching.
Daniel was thinking about his mother.
About how she had been looking at the door for years when she heard footsteps on the stairs.
About how on every birthday of Daniel left an empty space at the table.
About how he never said a bad word about Boris.
“Maybe someday he’ll come back,” she said.
Daniel pressed the red button.
First nothing happened.
Then the water in the pool started spinning.
The pipes cracked.
The glassware in the halls behind them scattered one after another.
Clocks started calling.
Letters scattered on the floor.
Rings rolled.
And the voices...
The voices turned into screams.
Not in pain.
From something like liberation.
His father's capsule opened.
The glass fell apart.
