(Jax screams as two guards enter. Dr. Vance turns to Agent Cole.)
It doesn’t want to breach. It wants one memory from each of you. Cole’s guilt. Vance’s childhood fear of failure. Leo’s first death as a researcher. Give them freely – no one gets hurt. I walk free.
(The whisper stops. Silence.)
(chained, smirking) Oh great. The walking resume for a tragic accident gets to play hero. Let me guess – I go in first?
The offer stands. Four memories. Four lives. One door opens.
(checking rifle) Then we move it to a cold cell. I don’t like how quiet it is. Last time something “surged” here, we lost three guards to a cognitohazard.
(raising a hand) Hold. Sound.
(cold) No. He’s right about one thing: we fear losing memories more than death. So we don’t negotiate.