Chapter 19 - THE CONTROL TOWER
The old control tower rose from the desert like a forgotten monument.
Sarah landed hard.
The aircraft skidded before finally stopping.
She jumped out.
The notebook was under her arm.
A storm was forming over the mountains.
Lightning flashed.
Sarah entered the tower.
"Emily!"
No answer.
The elevator doors opened.
Sarah stepped inside.
The elevator descended.
Lower.
Lower.
Far below the surface.
When the doors opened, Sarah found herself inside a massive underground facility.
Screens covered every wall.
Maps.
Aircraft.
Satellite images.
The Phoenix symbol appeared everywhere.
Then Evelyn Cross stepped from the shadows.
Emily was beside her.
Her hands were tied.
"Mom!"
Sarah raised the notebook.
"Let her go."
Cross smiled.
"You still think you're negotiating."
Sarah looked around.
"Where's Vance?"
"Dead."
Sarah's eyes narrowed.
"And Hayes?"
Cross laughed.
"You mean Daniel?"
A monitor switched on.
Daniel appeared on the screen.
He was inside the hangar.
Surrounded by armed men.
Cross said,
"He served his purpose."
Sarah's face hardened.
"You used him."
"Everyone is useful until they're not."
Sarah looked at Emily.
"Are you hurt?"
Emily shook her head.
"No."
Cross pressed a gun against Emily's shoulder.
Sarah stopped moving.
"Put the notebook down."
Sarah slowly lowered it.
Cross stepped forward.
"You have no idea how long we've waited for this."
"Why me?"
"Because Phoenix Protocol was built around your flight data."
Sarah frowned.
"My data?"
"Your instincts."
Cross pointed toward the screens.
"You were the only pilot who could consistently recover from total-system failure."
Sarah understood.
"They trained the system using me."
"Exactly."
Cross smiled.
"You weren't a failed pilot."
"You were our prototype."
Sarah's stomach turned.
"All these years..."
"Every test. Every simulation. Every aircraft."
Cross stepped closer.
"We built an artificial pilot from your reactions."
Sarah stared at the screens.
An algorithm.
Based on her decisions.
Her instincts.
Her mistakes.
Her victories.
A digital version of Phoenix.
Cross continued.
"And today, it finally became autonomous."
Sarah whispered,
"That's why the system recognized me."
"Yes."
Cross raised the gun.
"But there's one problem."
"What?"
"The artificial Phoenix refuses to obey anyone but you."
Sarah looked at the main screen.
A digital flight path appeared.
The system had stopped attacking aircraft.
Instead, it displayed a single message.
WAITING FOR PHOENIX.
Cross smiled.
"So now you're going to activate it."
Sarah looked at Emily.
Emily shook her head.
"Don't."
Sarah knew what her daughter meant.
Don't sacrifice yourself.
Don't trust them.
But Sarah also knew something else.
The system had been trained from her.
If she could enter it, she could change it.
Sarah looked at Cross.
"I'll do it."
Emily cried,
"Mom!"
Sarah smiled.
"Trust me."
Cross gestured toward the console.
Sarah walked forward.
She placed her hand on the scanner.
The system recognized her fingerprints.
The screens went black.
Then one sentence appeared.
WELCOME HOME, PHOENIX.
Sarah closed her eyes.
And suddenly she heard voices.
Thousands of pilots.
Thousands of aircraft.
Every emergency signal.
Every warning.
Every passenger.
The system had connected her consciousness to the network.
Cross stared at the screen.
"What are you doing?"
Sarah opened her eyes.
"Flying."
The Phoenix symbol disappeared.
Then every aircraft across North America changed course.
But not toward Washington.
They were heading safely toward airports.
Cross's face went pale.
"No."
Sarah looked at her.
"You wanted control."
She smiled.
"I gave it back to the pilots."
Cross raised her gun.
But Emily suddenly kicked her leg.
The gun fell.
Federal agents burst through the doors.
Cross was tackled.
Sarah looked at Emily.
For a moment, everything seemed over.
Then the main screen flashed.
SECONDARY SERVER ACTIVATED.
Sarah's smile disappeared.
May you like
There was another system.
And it was already online.
