The deck beneath Rotham's boots vibrated suddenly — subtle at first, then stronger, like a heartbeat returning after a long coma.
Lights along the corridor blinked in a synchronized rhythm. One by one, dormant screens came alive, displaying unreadable data streams. Rotham stepped back, startled.
Then the voice returned.
Not through the speakers — inside his mind.
"Cognitive key confirmed. Protocol... resuming."
A dull hum resonated through the station. Somewhere deep below, a generator rumbled awake. The power grid, long believed dead, flickered back to life.
Rotham's eyes widened as the control console in the alcove reinitialized. A name flashed across the screen:
CORE SYSTEM: ADRA-9 AI UNIT — 'SELIN'STATUS: PARTIAL MEMORY FRAGMENT ONLINEIDENTITY MATCH: KEYHOLDER – ROTHAM.
His chest tightened.
"Keyholder?" he whispered. "What the hell does that mean?"
Suddenly, the lights burst bright — a blinding pulse. Rotham shielded his eyes. When his vision cleared, he saw something new: a holographic projection forming in the center of the room.
It was a woman's silhouette — blurred, fractured like static. Her voice echoed softly.
"Rotham… you've returned. But not soon enough."
The projection blinked out before he could respond.
He stood in silence.
The station had awakened. And it remembered him.