Professor Reed's Release

Alex's fist slammed into the dashboard. "What do you mean Reed is out? That's impossible!"

Ethan held up his phone, his face pale in the blue light. "It's all over the news. 'Professor Mark Reed released on bail pending investigation.' He walked out of the police station an hour ago."

The truck swerved as Liam cursed and hit the brakes. They'd been driving for hours, putting space between themselves and the burning lab. Now they sat parked on a dark forest road, trying to process the news.

"But we have proof," Emily said, her voice shaking. "The robot Sophia, the lab—"

"The lab that's now a pile of ashes?" Jasmine pointed out. "And Robot Sophia is dead in the back of this truck."

Alex looked over his shoulder at the tarp-covered shape. After the robot had attacked him, Liam and Ethan had managed to shut it down. It still gave Alex chills to see something with his sister's face lying there, dead.

"So what do we do now?" Alex asked. His throat still hurt where the robot had grabbed him.

"We need to find the real Sophia," Ethan said. "If Reed made a robot version of her, she must still be alive somewhere."

Liam shook his head. "Not necessarily. Remember what I said about the check marks? If Sophia was—"

"Don't," Alex cut him off. "She's alive. I know it."

Silence filled the truck. Then Liam's phone buzzed with a text. His face went white as he read it.

"It's Reed," he whispered.

Everyone froze.

"What does it say?" Emily asked.

Liam turned the phone so they could all see: I know what you took. Bring back my stuff, and I'll give you back what's yours. You have 24 hours.

Attached was a picture of Sophia—the real Sophia—tied to a chair, today's newspaper visible beside her.

"She's alive!" Alex grabbed the phone, looking at his sister's frightened face. "We have to save her!"

"It's a trap," Jasmine warned. "He wants us to come to him."

"I don't care," Alex said. "She's my sister."

Liam took his phone back, his face grim. "There's more. Look at the background of the photo."

They all leaned in. Behind Sophia was a familiar wall—the same dark blue paint, the same framed diploma.

"That's your dorm room, Alex," Ethan whispered. "He's in your dorm room."

Terror shot through Alex's body. "He knows where we live. He knows everything about us."

"We need to call the police," Emily said.

"And tell them what?" Liam asked. "That an esteemed professor kidnapped a student and created robot duplicates? With what proof? The lab is gone, and we stole his 'property.' We'd be arrested on the spot."

"So what's the plan?" Jasmine asked. "We can't just hand over Robot Sophia. Who knows what Reed would do with that technology?"

Alex looked out the window at the dark trees. His mind raced with fear for his sister, but Jasmine was right. If Reed got his robot back, he could destroy the proof and disappear.

"Wait," Alex said suddenly. "What if we could use Robot Sophia against him?"

"She's powered down," Ethan reminded him. "And she tried to kill you, remember?"

"But what if we could reprogram her?" Alex turned to Emily. "You're a computer science major. Could you hack into her system?"

Emily bit her lip. "Maybe. But I'd need equipment, time—"

"Which we don't have," Liam interrupted. "Reed gave us 24 hours. And we need a plan that doesn't get us all killed."

They fell silent again, the weight of their situation crushing down on them. Alex felt tears of irritation building behind his eyes. His sister was in trouble, and he felt helpless to save her.

Then Ethan's hand found his in the dark. "We'll figure this out, Alex. Together."

Their eyes met, and despite everything, Alex felt a small spark of hope. Then he noticed Liam watching them, his face unreadable in the dim light.

"I might know someone who can help," Liam said eventually. "A professor I met while investigating Reed. She specializes in AI and robotics."

"Can we trust her?" Jasmine asked.

"We don't have much choice," Liam responded. "Professor Chen was the one who first tipped me off about Reed's experiments. She's been tracking his research for years."

"How far away is she?" Alex asked.

"About two hours from here. In the opposite direction of campus."

Ethan squeezed Alex's hand. "What do you think?"

Alex took a deep breath. Every minute they stalled was another minute Sophia remained in Reed's hands. But going in without a plan would only get them all captured—or worse.

"Let's go see this Professor Chen," he decided. "But we're going to need weapons."

Liam nodded grimly. He reached under his seat and pulled out a lockbox. Inside were two handguns and several magazines of ammo.

"You've been prepared for this all along," Emily whispered.

"Ever since my sister disappeared," Liam admitted. "I've been planning to take Reed down for three years."

As they drove through the night toward Professor Chen's lab, Alex couldn't stop thinking about the robot version of his sister. How had Reed gotten all those memories? How did the robot know things only the real Sophia would know?

"Reed must have been questioning her," Ethan said when Alex voiced his worries. "Gathering information to program into the robot."

"But why?" Alex asked. "Why go to all that trouble to make a perfect copy of my sister?"

"To get to you," Liam said grimly. "Think about it. The robot was programmed to target you specifically. 'Target acquired,' remember? Reed wants you for some reason."

A chill ran down Alex's spine. "But why me? I'm nobody special."

"That's what we need to find out," Liam said, eyes fixed on the dark road ahead.

They arrived at Professor Chen's isolated home just before dawn. The small house was surrounded by tall pine trees, with solar panels covering the roof. It looked nothing like a high-tech lab.

Liam parked the truck and told everyone to wait while he checked if it was safe. He approached the cabin carefully, gun ready.

Just as he reached the steps, the door swung open. A small woman with short gray hair stood in the doorway, pointing a shotgun straight at Liam's chest.

"I've been expecting you," she called out. "Reed's lab was all over the news. I knew you'd come here eventually."

"Professor Chen," Liam said, dropping his weapon. "We need your help."

The woman's eyes flicked toward the truck. "How many of you are there?"

"Five. Plus one of Reed's robots."

Chen's eyebrows shot up. "You captured one intact? Bring it inside. Quickly."

They carried Robot Sophia into the cabin. The interior looked like a normal living room, until Chen pressed her palm against a piece of wall. A hidden door slid open, showing a state-of-the-art laboratory.

"Put it on the table," Chen directed, pulling on latex gloves.

As they put the robot on the metal examination table, its eyes suddenly snapped open. The blue glow returned.

"Backup systems online," it said in that terrible mechanical voice. "Locating target."

Its head turned straight toward Alex.

"Override code required," the robot continued. "Connect to home server. Message from Professor Reed waiting."

"It's trying to call home," Chen said, grabbing tools. "We need to disable its communication system."

But before she could move, the robot's mouth opened. A tape of Reed's voice filled the room.

"Hello, Alex," the message started. "By now you know I have your sister. But what you don't know is why I need you."

Alex moved closer despite Ethan trying to pull him back.

"You're special, Alex," Reed's voice continued. "More special than you know. You see, sixteen years ago, I created something extraordinary. My first successful human clone."

The world seemed to stop around Alex as Reed's next words hit him like a physical blow.

"That clone was you, Alex. You're not who you think you are. You never were."