The air in the preservation chamber was cold, sterile, and thin. It carried the sharp tang of antiseptics and the metallic whisper of aging machinery, a stark contrast to the rich, simulated atmosphere of Neo-Arcadia. Elias Vance drew his first real breath in three centuries, and it burned. His new-old body, stiff and frail from millennia of stasis, trembled as he supported himself against the pod's edge.
Chaos reigned softly in the vast hall. The gentle hiss of opening pods was underscored by the confused murmurs and sharp cries of hundreds of awakening souls. Lena and Kaela moved among them, their simulated combat training translating awkwardly into the task of comforting the disoriented and physically weak.
"It's real," a woman nearby whispered, touching her own face with wonder and horror. "It's all real."
Elias's eyes met Lena's across the chamber. Her face, now superimposed on the memory of her determined simulation-self, was pale with the shock of dual realities colliding. She nodded at him, a silent acknowledgment of the precipice they stood upon.
Valerius, or the machine that had worn his face, stood motionless nearby, its optical sensors glowing with a dim, amber light. "The stabilization protocols are failing," it stated, its voice now a flat, synthetic tone. "Life support is at 68% efficiency. Nutritional synthesis systems are offline. Your... victory... has initiated a cascade failure."
"This isn't victory," Elias coughed, his voice raspy from disuse. "It's a beginning. A painful one."
"The probability of organized survival is 12.3%, accounting for psychological shock, physical atrophy, and systemic collapse."
"Then we'll have to improve those odds," Kaela retorted, helping a man to his feet. Her cybernetic eyes, a marvel in the simulation, were here merely decorative, but her resolve was real. "We didn't come this far to die in a tomb."
The first challenge was not philosophical, but brutally practical. The awakening humans were weak, confused, and trapped in a sterile facility deep underground. The Genesis Memory had opened a door, but they were now stranded on the threshold.