Previously: In a distant future, Theo working for Omni, a biotech giant, failed to recruit Jin, who disapproved of the firm’s methods. Now Theo is summoned by Omni’s Board.

 Theo pushed open the door to his luxurious hotel room. The lighting adjusted automatically as his footsteps echoed on the polished marble floor. Victor, his humanoid assistant with perfectly sculpted features, awaited him by the bay window.
“I’ve started the video call. The Board is waiting for you.
- The full Board?
- No, just Nathan and Mila.
Theo loosened his tie with a weary motion.
The wall screen lit up, revealing two figures in their ultramodern offices. Nathan, an austere man in his fifties, bore an extremely pale complexion, like Theo. His dark three-piece suit seemed to absorb the light. Next to him, Mila, an elegant woman with a slightly tanned complexion, observed the scene with icy focus from her leather armchair.
Theo sat down on the Italian sofa, Victor remaining in the background like a marble statue.
- Good evening to both of you, Theo said.
- Good evening, Doctor Garnier, Mila replied in a measured voice.
Nathan’s silence weighed like a heavy shroud. Theo tried to regain the initiative:
- I knew this first contact wouldn’t be conclusive. It was only a first step, nothing more. Of course he was going to refuse, but he’ll think about it, I’m sure of it.
- The memo I received paints a less optimistic picture. Your meeting was clearly poorly prepared, Nathan retorted.
- What do you mean?” Theo frowned. “I don’t understand.”
Nathan leaned toward the screen, his angular features cutting through the shadows.
- The information about his wife was crucial.
Victor stepped forward. “It’s my fault, sir. That data wasn’t yet available at the time...
- Doctor”, Nathan cut him off coldly, “tell your luxury toaster not to interrupt me.
If Victor could feel shame, he might have shrunk back. Sometimes, being a robot had its advantages. Theo discreetly activated his neural chip.
-  Don’t say another word, he transmitted silently.
Nathan continued, unfazed: “And your defense of Omni? Virtually nonexistent. A simple ‘it’s not for me to comment on’, pathetic. If I didn’t know you, I’d say you had no desire to recruit Doctor Wu.”
The surgical precision of those criticisms rattled Theo. How could Nathan know these details?
- Victor, did you already send them the report?
- No. Not without your authorization.
- Are you with us, Doctor? Nathan’s voice cracked like a whip.
- Yes, sir. Sorry.” Theo straightened up. “It was just a first contact. I hadn’t seen him in nearly twenty years, it didn’t seem appropriate to push right away.”
- Everyone has strengths and weaknesses, Mila murmured with a trace of compassion.
- But the real problem”, Theo said, “is that I don’t see any exploitable leverage.”
Nathan paused deliberately, then replied sharply: “And yet I just reminded you his wife and daughter were deported. Clearly, that’s beyond you.
A chill ran down Theo’s spine. How did Nathan know that information?
- A decision has been made. You’re off the project. Alfonso takes over the case immediately, Nathan said.
- Yes, sir, Theo replied, crestfallen.
The screen shut off abruptly, plunging the room into unsettling dimness. Theo stared at his reflection in the dark screen, his mind racing. How had the Board obtained such ultra-confidential details? Victor’s report contained none, and hadn’t even been sent.
He had been alone with Jin. No surveillance devices in the medical office. No possible leak. This wasn’t his first mission, and nothing like this had ever happened.
His hands trembled slightly as he removed his glasses to rub his eyes. His gaze fell on the lenses. Could they be the source? He disassembled them with careful gestures, examining each component. Nothing. No tracker, no anomaly.
The silence became deafening. His mind ran at full speed, analyzing every possibility. A knot of anxiety formed in his stomach. For the first time in years, a visceral fear overcame him, not for himself, but for Jin. Because he couldn’t stop imagining what methods Omni would now use to bring his childhood friend to the Plain.

Next: discover, alongside Sofia, what Jin has really been working on all this time.
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