INTERLUDE: Echo Threshold

  Transcript recovered from Internal Communications Archive — Directive Node Theta

  Clearance: REDACTED // Partial AI Filtering Applied

  Time Index: [00:03:21] – [00:11:48]

  Transcript — Internal Monitoring Thread

  [Voice #1 – MALE – ADMIN: CENTRAL FIELD OPS]

  “…Subject 17-A has not filed a formal withdrawal request. That in itself isn’t anomalous.”

  [Voice #2 – FEMALE – INTEL ADJUNCT]

  “No, but the fact that he's remained inside the perimeter for seventy-six hours post-scan without movement request, command response, or observable psychological degradation—that is.”

  [Voice #3 – MALE – UNKNOWN DEPARTMENT]

  “Have we reviewed the dome logs?”

  [Voice #2]

  “Already flagged. Results show stable vitals. No drift. No elevation in neural response. But the dome ran warm.”

  [Voice #1]

  “Which means nothing. Outdated hardware does that.”

  [Voice #2]

  “It means nothing until the bunk started humming.”

  [Silence.]

  [Voice #1]

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  “…Repeat?”

  [Voice #2]

  “Low frequency. Tracked it through the bedframe. Matched with minor tremors. Seismic report tagged it as a Type I harmonic—local, not natural.”

  [Voice #3]

  “Where was he during the tremor?”

  [Voice #2]

  “Off base. Unscheduled walk. Returned by 0600.”

  [Silence.]

  [Voice #1]

  “…So he’s still quiet. Still unbroken. Still in field proximity.”

  [Voice #2]

  “Correct.”

  [Voice #1]

  “Then we wait.”

  [End Transcript — Branch Thread Sealed]

  Field Brief — SOUTH QUADRANT // RED ZONE NODE B

  Issued: [REDACTED]

  Assigned Team: Echo Recon Unit – Delta Shift

  Directive: “Recovery and Status Assessment”

  Voice-over Protocol (Training Feed Excerpt):

  “You’re not being sent to retrieve assets. You’re being sent to assess stability. If you find the team, extract what you can. If you find the site compromised, hold. Do not interact. Do not enter. Do not activate.”

  “You are not authorized to know the parameters of the anomaly. You are not trained to understand what it is.”

  “Your job is to return with a shape. Not a theory. Not an explanation. A shape.”

  “You are not expected to come back whole. Only clean.”

  Deployment Details

  Deployment Time: 0400 hours

  Entry Vector: Cold Line // Ice Threshold

  Team Lead: [REDACTED]

  Sub-designation: Recon Lead // Level 3 Clearance

  Gender: Female

  Internal Memo — Operator Record Excerpt

  “Recon Lead assigned to Delta Shift shows above-average sync resistance. Repeated exposure to Tier 2 anomalies has not produced drift. Emotional suppression borderline clinical. Authorization pushed through despite concerns over family background. No official connection to Subject 17-A confirmed.”

  They will not tell her what happened to the last team.

  They will not tell her what they think she is walking into.

  They only care that she’s quiet, obedient, and unlinked.

  They don’t know yet that linkage isn’t a choice.

  It’s recognition.

  And the next Guardian is already listening.