The orbital station hums with the static of
unspoken treaties. A human engineer, tasked with
maintaining alien tech, finds himself caught
between two factions. The aliens demand
compliance; Earth’s leaders demand control. He
is neither.
A new shipment arrives—crystalline cores that
pulse with alien energy. The engineer is ordered
to install them. He refuses. The station’s power
grid collapses. Lights flicker. Systems fail.
The aliens accuse him of sabotage. Earth’s
command demands his silence.
He discovers a hidden subroutine in the cores: a
failsafe that erases memories of those who
tamper with it. He tests it on himself. His past
blurs. His name vanishes. His face becomes
unfamiliar. He no longer knows who he was.
The alien ambassador arrives, demanding a choice.
Earth’s envoy offers a deal: erase the
engineer’s mind, replace it with a loyal version.
The engineer refuses. The ambassador triggers
the failsafe. The engineer’s memories dissolve.
He forgets his own name.
The station reactivates. Power returns. The
engineer stands alone, blinking at the dark. He
does not know why he is here. He does not know
what he has lost. But the alien cores still glow.
And somewhere, a voice whispers his name.
