Research Log Entry: March 17, 2024 – Midnight
At 11:40 PM, I stood before the emergency stairwell leading to B4.
This was the only route not covered by surveillance. Earlier today, I had "accidentally" spilled coffee on the security office's duty schedule and memorized the patrol timings—between 11:30 and 11:55 PM, there would be a blind spot.
My phone had no signal; my only guide was the time on my wristwatch. The beam from my flashlight flickered over damp walls, the air thick with the stench of mildew. The deeper I descended, the colder it grew.
The fire door to B4 bore a bold warning: **[Authorized Personnel Only – High Voltage Hazard]**. I slipped on the insulated gloves I had prepared, took a deep breath, and pushed the door open.
At 11:45 PM, I found myself in a dimly lit corridor. Unlike the polished levels above, the walls here were bare concrete, and the floors were lined with anti-static tiles. Red emergency lights dotted the hallway, their glow unsettling in the dark.
On either side of the corridor were a series of labs, their doors marked from B4-1 to B4-9. My destination was Lab B4-7.
At 11:46 PM, I reached the door. It was secured with a cutting-edge biometric system requiring both an iris scan and fingerprint verification. As I hesitated, a string of code suddenly appeared on the screen:
```
Overriding security protocols...
Admin access: Lin Wei
Authorization confirmed
Unlocking complete
```
My sister's access still existed in the system? Or was this the work of the mysterious program that had appeared before?
At 11:47 PM, I pushed open the door, and a cold draft greeted me. Inside, most of the equipment was powered down, covered in a thin layer of dust. In a corner, however, an old computer glowed faintly.
As I approached, the screen displayed a program in progress:
```
Project Code: Butterfly Dream
Objective: Consciousness Transfer and Digitization
Key Advances: Genetic Modification + Quantum Computing
Source of Test Subjects: [Data Deleted]
Successful Cases: Subject No. 7 (Gene Sequence: 97-K-486)
```
Suddenly, the screen flickered violently, and a video log began to play:
**[Recording Date: December 15, 2023
Footage: Lin Wei documenting experimental data]**
"The stability of Subject No. 7's consciousness has reached 93%," my sister said in the video. "But should we truly continue this project? To digitize human consciousness—this goes against..."
The video glitched, jumping to another segment.
"They want to replicate this technology," Lin Wei's voice was now filled with fear. "But No. 7 is not just a test subject. She's..."
Another distortion interrupted the footage. The final clip showed Lin Wei speaking frantically:
"If you're seeing this, it means you've discovered the truth. Subject No. 7 is..."
The video abruptly cut off.
Just then, I heard footsteps behind me. Turning around, I saw Zhang Lin standing in the doorway, her expression grave.
"So, you've figured it out," she said. "The truth about Subject No. 7."
"Who is she?" I demanded.
"She's Lin Wei," Zhang Lin replied, "or rather, a copy of Lin Wei's consciousness."
My mind went blank. My sister... a test subject? No, it wasn't her—her *consciousness* had been copied?
"But where is the real Lin Wei?"
"That's the problem," Zhang Lin whispered. "No one knows where the original Lin Wei is. Subject No. 7 inherited her memories but has been evolving. Director Li and his team want to study this evolution, but..."
Before she could finish, alarms blared, and the emergency lights flashed red.
"They've found us," Zhang Lin said, her face pale. "We need to leave, now!"
But it was too late. The lab door slammed shut, sealing us inside. A voice crackled through the intercom—it was Director Li.
"Well done, everyone's here," he said, his tone almost gleeful. "Zhang Lin, I knew you were helping her. Now, let's complete this experiment."
A sickly sweet odor filled the air. My head spun as dizziness overtook me. Before losing consciousness, I caught one final glimpse of the computer screen:
**[Program Initiated: Consciousness Synchronization
Target Sequence Locked: Gene Sequence 97-K-487]**
That was my gene sequence.