Page 125 of Broken Sentinel

"Look," Lily whispers, pointing.

At the chamber's center stands what appears to be an altarof sorts—a flat stone surface elevated on a natural rock formation. Upon it rests a container unlike anything I've seen before. Not metal, not plastic, but something that seems to shift between states, surface rippling slightly despite the absence of air currents.

"What is that?" Vex asks, his instincts clearly registering potential threat.

Lily approaches without hesitation, silver eyes fixed on the strange object. "Records," she says with certainty. "From Haven. Before the purge."

I follow more cautiously, the resonance now humming through my modifications like a tuning fork vibrating at precisely the right frequency.

"How do you know?" Trent asks, maintaining a protective position between us and the chamber entrance.

"Because it's keyed to us," Lily explains, placing her hand near the container without quite touching it. "To Haven children specifically. Our modifications were designed to interact with this storage medium."

The container's surface ripples more actively as Lily's hand hovers above it. Patterns form and dissolve, responding to her proximity.

"It's some kind of data storage," I realize. "But not using any technology I've ever seen."

"Biological interface," Lily confirms. "Dr. Reeves—my mother—mentioned it in her journals. Data encoded in synthetic organic compounds that respond only to specific genetic markers."

"Haven's backup plan," Trent suggests, understanding dawning. "If their facility was compromised, their research wouldn't be lost."

Lily nods, then looks at me expectantly. "We need to both touch it. Your pattern and mine together will unlock the full interface."

I hesitate, remembering Lin's betrayal, Unity's attempts to control my modifications. "Is it safe?"

"Nothing's truly safe," she says with wisdom beyond her years. "But this was created by our mothers. For us specifically."

Something in her certainty convinces me. I step forward, positioning my hand opposite hers above the strange container.

"On three," I suggest. "One... two... three."

Our hands descend simultaneously onto the shifting surface. The material gives slightly under our touch, warm and cool at once, solid yet fluid. For a heartbeat, nothing happens.

Then light erupts from the container, resolving into projected images that fill the chamber around us. Holographic displays, but with a clarity and dimension unlike any Unity technology.

Faces appear—men and women in research attire, expressions serious yet hopeful. Among them, I recognize the woman from my recovered memories—dark hair like mine, eyes intense with purpose.

My mother. Elara Thorne.

Beside her stands another woman, this one with Lily's delicate features and distinctive silver eyes. Dr. Reeves, presumably.

"Activation confirmed," a synthesized voice announces, echoing through the chamber. "Haven Archive accessed. Genetic verification: Thorne, Zara and Reeves, Lily. Two of twelve Haven children present."

"It knows us," Lily whispers, awe in her voice.

"Automatic recording initiated prior to Haven facility purge," the voice continues. "Priority message for surviving Haven children follows."

The holographic display shifts, focusing now solely onElara Thorne. She looks tired, strain evident in her features, but determination burns in her eyes.

"If you're receiving this message, then our worst fears have been realized," she begins. "Haven has fallen, and Unity's purge has begun. But you have survived, as we hoped. As we designed you to."

I feel a strange tightness in my throat, watching this woman—my mother—speak across the years to the daughter she sent away.

"By now, your modifications will have activated, responding to environmental triggers and proximity to others like you. This is not accident or coincidence. It is the culmination of our work—adaptive genetics that remain dormant until needed, then express in response to specific conditions."

The image shifts, displaying complex genetic sequences I recognize from Reid's explanations at Haven's Edge.

"What Unity fears most is not modification itself, but modification they cannot control," Elara continues. "Your adaptive capabilities represent exactly that—evolution responding to need rather than external direction. Natural rather than engineered, despite the apparent contradiction."

---