Malden leaned back in his chair, studying Youri for a long moment before speaking. "Let me tell you about Project Infinity. Fourteen years ago, I was hired as a neurology specialist at another space institute. It was called Mero. That place was filled with researchers of every kind you could imagine. It was massive—far bigger than Altex—and, like your home planet, it was located in the Prepequal Nebula."
The Mero Space Institute was a perfect sphere suspended against the velvet darkness of space. Its outer shell was forged from layered alloy and translucent panels that shimmered faintly, catching and reflecting distant starlight. Encircling the sphere were thin luminous rings, not decorative but functional—gravitational stabilizers and energy conduits that kept the structure perfectly balanced. The surface of Mero was segmented into countless hexagonal plates, each capable of shifting independently. Some opened to reveal docking bays recessed deep into the sphere, while others unfolded into observation windows that offered vast, uninterrupted views of space. From within those windows, silhouettes of researchers, machines, and test subjects moved like shadows inside a living organism.
Inside, the institute was organized in concentric layers. The outermost ring housed transport corridors and maintenance shafts, curved hallways that followed the natural arc of the sphere and gave the unsettling illusion that gravity bent sideways. Deeper within were the habitation and administrative levels—sterile, quiet, tightly controlled. Light panels adjusted automatically to simulate circadian cycles, though time itself felt meaningless so far from any sun.
Malden continued, "Mero was backed by the Terrian Empire, and on the surface it looked like an institute much like Altex, focused on technological and medical advancement. But in the shadows, it was much more than that. There were rumors back then that certain specialists weren't after progress alone. They were after something called potential."
He stood from his chair and walked toward the window overlooking open space. "You see, they believed that every human born carried a unique gene. Later, it was officially named the potential gene. Most people live their lives normally, playing the hand they're dealt. But there are certain individuals who, when pushed against a wall or faced with catastrophe, awaken something inside themselves. For some, it manifests as power. For others, something more subtle—sensory, mental, instinctual. That awakened force is what they called potential."
Malden turned back to Youri. "At Mero, there were two researchers obsessed with this idea. Dr. Percival Knox and Dr. Larsen Churchill. Brilliant men. Dangerous ones. At the time, I was nothing more than a neurology specialist, so I rarely interacted with them. Churchill was the head of Mero, so I saw him more often than Knox."
He paused, his voice lowering slightly. "I remember one meeting in particular. I was waiting in Churchill's office, and he wasn't there yet. Curiosity got the better of me, so I started looking around. His office was… strange. Shelves covered all three walls, but there weren't many books. Instead, they were filled with relics, tools, old artifacts. Some of them were unsettling—things that could send chills down any man's spine."
Malden folded his hands behind his back. "What truly caught my attention was a file on his desk. Hard copies were unheard of even back then, so I picked it up. When I opened it, the first page read: 'Project Infinity. Victor Olsen. 4127.' That alone shocked me. The lettering made it seem ancient, yet the data inside was precise, modern, written in Terrian script."
He continued, "As I flipped through the pages, I realized the file was a step-by-step manual for creating an artificial clone. But the last page… the last page is what stayed with me. It contained a DNA visualization—an abnormal print, unlike anything I'd ever seen."
Malden exhaled slowly. "I heard Churchill approaching and quickly put the file back. When he entered, there was something different about him. His eyes were unsettled. Churchill was never well-kept—always the same gray, uncombed hair, the same white coat he never bothered to wash. But that day, he looked… alert. Watching."
"I delivered my report as usual. While I spoke, I noticed him placing that file onto one of his shelves. When I finished, I left his office. At the time, I still didn't fully believe the rumors about him and Knox."
Malden's jaw tightened. "That changed shortly after. While walking down a corridor, I noticed a red light at what should have been a dead end. Curiosity struck again. I followed it. Where there should have been a wall, there was a hidden doorway cut into the paneling. Stairs descended downward, glowing red."
"I followed them. Halfway down, I heard voices. I stopped just before the stairs ended and realized the voices belonged to Knox and Churchill. They were arguing about something I couldn't fully make out. I leaned forward to look—and what I saw truly stole my breath."
Malden's voice grew quiet. "Below was an entire laboratory. Black floors, black walls. The only light came from the machines, casting a sickly green glow across the room. At the center stood an oval chamber filled with glowing red liquid. Inside it… an infant. Growing."
He shook his head slowly. "I turned away immediately. I knew I wasn't meant to see that. I ran back up and returned to my quarters. But fate has a cruel sense of timing. Knox passed me in the corridor shortly after."
Malden looked directly at Youri. "He stopped and said, 'Malden, right?' I smiled and replied, 'Yes, sir.' I will never forget the look he gave me. It sent chills down my spine. I knew, somehow, that he knew."
"The next day, I received a message informing me that I was being transferred to another institute. I understood then—it was their way of silencing me. I didn't resist. I transferred."
He let out a bitter laugh. "Call me mad if you want, but a few weeks after my transfer, I learned that Mero had been destroyed by the Empire. Official reason? Illegal cloning. But deep down, I always knew Knox and Churchill had a backup plan."
Malden stepped back to the table, placing his tablet in front of Youri. He tapped the screen, bringing up a familiar DNA structure. "Even after fourteen years," he said quietly, "I will never forget what I saw in that file.