The heavy silver-steel blast doors of the Genesis Archive shivered in their frames as a violent, bone-shaking boom tore through the bedrock of the sunken atoll.
CRACK-BOOM!
High-pressure sirens screamed through the halls, their shrill clockwork rhythm competing with the terrifying sound of five thousand meters of ocean water tearing through fracturing stone. The air inside the archive instantly dropped by ten degrees as freezing deep-sea salt water breached the outer air-flow drain pits. It sent torrents of black sea water cascading down the circular stairwells.
Arthur Vance didn’t waste a split second. He slung his tactical rucksack across his shoulders. He felt the comforting, heavy weight of the Project Genesis Black Box and the crystal-clear old family gene drive resting securely against his lower-back spine.
“Escape protocol: Alpha-One!” Arthur commanded, his voice cutting cleanly through the screech of buckling metal. “Valerie, rally Miller and the scouts! We move to Submersible Docking Bay Four! Abandon all backup equipment!”
Valerie racked the bolt of her assault rifle. She grabbed Corporal Miller by the drag handle of his tactical harness. “You heard him! On your feet, Vanguard! Double time!”
Arthur led the unit out of the archive and back into the vast nave of the Inner Genesis Cathedral.
