"YOU HAD ME AT HELLO"

Thursday – 8:00 A.M. | Abandoned Observatory – Northern Range

The world was spinning.

Not literally — but for the first time in seventeen years, Rick Fyer felt like the earth beneath him was shaking not from battle, but from awakening.

News networks everywhere ran the broadcast from the Hollow Bridge mainframe. Unfiltered truth. Names, timelines, prototypes, failed clones, memory implants. The world was beginning to understand what had been hidden in plain sight.

Rick sat by the shattered telescope window, the wind gently swaying his hair. The sun was rising. Ava approached with two mugs of coffee.

"You haven't said a word since we landed."

Rick took the mug but didn't drink.

"I thought blowing it all open would feel like peace. But all I feel is weight."

Ava sat beside him.

"That's called being human."

9:10 A.M. | Observation Deck

Kael and Echo were working on signal jammers and pulse shields. Just in case. Trust didn't come easy anymore.

Echo glanced at Rick as he walked by, then said, "You look different today."

Rick raised an eyebrow. "I haven't slept."

"No. I mean…" Echo paused. "You look… more like yourself."

Rick considered that.

Then Echo asked, without turning,

"Do you ever wonder… if you're just a reflection of someone better?"

Rick walked over, put a hand on the kid's shoulder.

"No. I wonder if he would've been strong enough to be you."

Echo smiled softly, then got back to work.

12:30 P.M. | Global Uproar

Ava flicked through international headlines:

"Hollow Truth: 12 Countries Demand Accountability After Clone Project Leak"

"Public Divide: Are Ricks Dangerous or Victims?"

"Ethics or Evolution? The World Grapples with Consciousness Engineering"

Kael leaned over her shoulder.

"People want answers. Some want revenge. Others want to give us medals."

Rick stood across the room, watching silently.

"We never asked for any of it."

1:00 P.M. | Inner Chamber – Echo's Breakdown

Rick heard it first — something crash.

He rushed into the small side room and found Echo curled in the corner, his fists clenched, breathing erratic.

"What happened?"

"I'm… not real," Echo whispered. "They made me believe I was something. But all I am is memory fragments and designed personality curves. I'm… fabricated."

Rick knelt.

"So am I. And you know what?" He pointed to Echo's chest. "That heartbeat? That ache in your gut? The fact that you care this much? That's not code. That's not fabrication. That's you."

Echo shook his head.

"I don't even know what I want to be anymore."

Rick nodded.

"Good. That's the first step toward being human."

3:00 P.M. | Across the World – Protests & Supports

In Tokyo, a crowd chanted Rick's name, holding signs:

"The Truth Sets Us Free."

"Justice for the Forgotten."

In New York, riots broke out at the Hollow Division headquarters.

In Berlin, thousands held a silent vigil for the fallen clones.

The world was torn.

But it was listening.

6:00 P.M. | Final Scene – Campfire Beneath the Stars

That night, the team gathered outside the observatory. A fire crackled between them. No threats. No plans. Just a moment.

Echo stared up at the stars.

"Do you think people will ever accept us?"

Ava answered, "Some will. Some won't."

Kael added, "But the truth's out now. That's more than most get."

Rick looked at his hands, flexed them, then tossed another log on the fire.

"We can't control the world. But we can choose who we are in it."

Echo asked, "And who are you, Rick Fyer?"

Rick looked at him and smiled.

"Still figuring it out."

They all laughed softly.

The stars, finally, seemed peaceful.