Chapter 72
The Memory That Belonged to No One
The crack crossed the room from ceiling to floor.
Behind it was a memory Claire had never seen: Mara and Everett as children, standing beside the artificial lake. Between them stood a third child.
The child had no face.
“Who is that?” Tess asked.
Mara did not answer.
Everett did.
“My brother.”
The child had died in the first clinic experiment. Everett's mother had told him the boy was ill. Mara's mother had told her the boy had left. Neither story had been true.
The program had moved the blame between them until neither child could remember the death without remembering the other.
“The first witness,” Ada said.
The faceless child turned toward the glass.
“The memory belongs to no one,” it said.
Everett stepped backward. “You are not real.”
“That is what you called me.”
The shadow in the owner chair began to dissolve.
Claire understood the room's purpose. Room One had created witnesses. Room Two removed ownership from the original wound. It was not designed to save people. It was designed to make guilt impossible to assign.
Mara stood. “We have to name him.”
Everett shook his head.
“He had a name,” Mara said.
“He had a number.”
“Say it.”
Everett looked at the faceless child.
“Samuel.”
The room opened.
The lake rushed through the glass walls.
Claire grabbed Ada. Daniel grabbed Rowan. Tess held Mara's hand.
Everett remained in the owner chair.
The shadow placed both hands on his shoulders.
“Now remember who you were before you owned the record,” Samuel said.