The rebel safe house wasn't what I expected. After two hours of navigating through maintenance tunnels and abandoned subway lines, we emerged into what had once been a university library. Massive bookshelves still lined the walls, though most were empty now, their contents long since burned for warmth or destroyed by the elements that seeped through the reinforced walls.
But the rebels had made it their own. Salvaged technology hummed quietly in corners, monitoring equipment cast soft blue light across frost-painted windows, and the air was noticeably warmer than the tunnels – though still cold enough that I could see my breath.
"Home sweet home," Commander Ash said, removing her helmet. In the better light, I could see she was older than I'd first thought, with fine lines around her eyes that spoke of years of hardship. "At least until the queen's forces find it. We never stay in one place too long."
"How do you keep warm?" I asked, noticing heating units that seemed far too small for the space.
One of her companions – a lean man with close-cropped gray hair and cybernetic implants visible around his left eye – answered. "Efficient use of resources. We tap into old geothermal lines, supplement with thermal recycling units. Tech's about all we have going for us these days." He held out his hand. "I'm Marcus. Former environmental systems engineer, current rebel tech specialist."
I shook his hand, noting the mechanical precision of his grip. "The other one who was with us?"
"Zhang," Commander Ash replied. "She's checking our perimeter sensors. Can't be too careful these days." She gestured to a table surrounded by mismatched chairs. "Sit. You must have questions."
The understatement almost made me laugh. I had nothing but questions. I sat, watching as Marcus moved to a makeshift kitchen area and began preparing what smelled like some kind of soup.
"Start with the world," I said. "MIRRA told me there were 'complications' with climate engineering. What really happened?"
Ash's expression darkened. "Hubris happened. Desperation. Fear. Take your pick." She sat across from me, running a hand through her short hair. "When the climate crisis hit critical levels, the world's governments decided they couldn't wait for gradual solutions. They implemented an aggressive atmospheric modification program – seeding the upper atmosphere with reflective particles, deploying ocean-based carbon capture systems, the works."
"It worked too well," Marcus called from the kitchen. "Classic overcorrection. The models didn't account for compound effects or feedback loops. Within five years, global temperatures were plummeting. Within ten, the ice sheets were expanding. Now..." He gestured to the frozen windows. "Well, you've seen outside."
"But that doesn't explain everything," I pressed. "The queen, the hunters, this resistance – what happened to normal government?"
Ash laughed, but there was no humor in it. "Normal government? That died with the old world. When the freeze really hit, everything collapsed. Food shortages, mass migrations, chaos. Perfect conditions for someone with the right resources and absolutely no moral compass to seize power."
"Queen Isolde," I said.
"Queen Isolde," Ash confirmed grimly. "She emerged right when people were at their most desperate, offering a solution – controlled territories with guaranteed heat and food, in exchange for absolute loyalty. Those who refused..." She trailed off, her expression distant.
"How does she maintain control? Those hunters that were after me – their technology seemed advanced."
"Frostbane," a new voice said. Zhang had returned, her features sharp and angular beneath her hood. "The queen's secret weapon. Some say she developed it from stolen cryogenic research. Others think it's something else entirely. Whatever it is, it gives her forces advantages we can't match."
The mention of cryogenic research made my heart skip. "Eleanor's research? Is that why they were at the facility?"
"Probably," Ash nodded. "Your stepmother's work was revolutionary. The queen's forces have been searching for her research sites for years. Finding you there, alive... that's going to interest them a lot."
"What happened to her? To Eleanor?"
The rebels exchanged glances. Finally, Marcus spoke as he brought bowls of soup to the table. "No one knows for sure. There are stories – rumors that she tried to stop the climate engineering project when she realized what was happening. Some say she was arrested. Others think she went into hiding. A few believe she's still out there somewhere, working on a way to reverse what was done to the world."
I stared into the bowl he placed before me. The soup was thin but hot, with unfamiliar vegetables and what looked like cultured protein. "And the other sleepers? You said they wouldn't be harmed..."
"The queen values scientific knowledge," Ash explained. "Especially anything related to cryogenic technology. Your fellow subjects will be taken to her research facilities. They'll probably be kept in suspension until she can study them properly."
"We have to help them!"
"We will," Ash said firmly. "But not by getting ourselves killed in a frontal assault. The resistance works strategically. We gather intelligence, disrupt supply lines, free people when we can. Speaking of which..." She leaned forward, her expression intense. "Why do you think MIRRA woke you specifically? Out of all the sleepers?"
I shook my head. "I don't know. She said something about increasing our chances of protecting the others, but she was cut off before she could explain further."
"Your suit," Marcus interjected, studying my outfit with his cybernetic eye. "It's old tech, but the base design... it looks like a prototype for what the queen's forces use now. And those hunters seemed very interested in taking you alive."
"You think I'm connected to their technology somehow?"
"I think," Ash said carefully, "that MIRRA was one of the most advanced AIs ever created. If she chose to wake you now, after all these years, she had a reason. We just need to figure out what it was."
A distant rumbling interrupted our discussion. Zhang moved to a monitoring station, her fingers dancing over holographic controls. "Contact. Multiple vehicles moving along the surface, heading west. Looks like they've lost our trail for now."
"They'll be back," Ash stated flatly. "They always come back. Which means we need to move soon. But first..." She fixed me with an intent stare. "We need to decide what to do with you."
"I want to join your resistance," I said without hesitation. "I need to find out what happened to Eleanor, and I need to help free the other sleepers. Whatever MIRRA's reason was for waking me, I'm here now. I want to fight."
Ash studied me for a long moment, then smiled slightly. "Good answer. But wanting to fight isn't enough. You need to understand what you're up against. The world you knew is gone, Seraphina. The rules have changed. Are you ready to learn new ones?"
I thought about Eleanor, about MIRRA's last desperate warnings, about my fellow sleepers now in the queen's custody. "Teach me," I said. "Teach me everything."
Outside, the wind howled against the windows, carrying ice and secrets from a world transformed. Whatever came next, there was no going back to sleep. The future – this cold, harsh future – was my reality now.
And somewhere out there, in a palace of black ice, a queen was learning that one of the sleepers had escaped. I hoped she was worried.
She should be.