In the heart of a windowless corridor, the avatar control room pulsates like an electric hive. Every light on the monitors represents a life, an identity, a deception to be orchestrated. When Elena Fermi's light flashes in Val Seriana, the operators realize something is cracking: an affection persists, a connection refuses to be tamed. Matteo, her most fragile and powerful bond, becomes an anomaly that could compromise the coherence of the system.
Valenti, with the coldness of one who governs invisible pawns, initiates the "Orpheus Protocol": move the clone, saturate reality with random events, prevent their eyes from truly meeting. Every choice is calibrated like a surgical maneuver, every obstacle appears natural, yet constructed to divert attention. While the servers hum and the screens trace invisible trajectories, Matteo makes his decision: not to surrender to a cold message, but to pursue the truth until he looks it in the eye.
It's a subterranean game, made of maps that change trajectory, programmed storms, and engineered accidents. But above the strategies, a question remains that no protocol can contain: how long can a heart resist when tested by the doubt of loving a shadow?
Between pulsating maps, programmed avatars and invisible deviations, the fate of Elena and Matteo is decided in a war of logistics and silences
Stories. The Mysteries of Oltrecolle. Chapter 21: The Orpheus Protocol
The avatar control room was at the end of a windowless corridor lined with screens. The air smelled of ozone and hot plastic; the servers shook like beehives, a constant vibration that seemed to keep time with every thought. The map board ran along the north wall: a living cartography, dotted with microlights that flickered on and off in a hypnotic rhythm. Each light was an avatar. Each avatar was a conduit.
At 7:42 PM, a warning light came on in the upper left corner of the Alpine foothills, in the province of Bergamo. The light wasn't the usual one: it pulsed at a double frequency, like a beating heart.
"Alert in L12, Val Seriana cluster," said the operator on duty, a wiry woman with her hands steady on the trackball. "Category A2: healthcare professional. Successful crossmatch: psychiatrist. Avatar name… Elena Fermi."
The words choked the air. Two technicians raised their heads, the echo of the fans becoming louder, as if the servers were holding their breath. On the opposite side, behind opaque glass, a figure slid by: Valenti.
He entered quietly, closing the door behind him.
"Timeline?" he asked, already near the screen, his glasses halfway down his nose."Alert active for forty seconds. Origin: Oltrecolle, residential micro-cell. Pattern of close contact: repeated number, same device, stable origin. Presumed partner. Possible physical convergence within 48 hours."
Valenti didn't even nod. "Triangulate."
Three chasing circles opened on the display. The operator stared at them. "Cross-reference with clone diary: the Fermi clone is in high utilization mode. Last three days: twelve hours of average activity, four enabling contacts, two preparatory transfers. All compliant."
"Emotional contact?" asked Valenti.
Male. Matteo R. — Oltrecolle. History of high closeness, increasing intensity. Last call: today, 12:16 PM. Semantic anomaly: the clone used ward language devoid of usual affective markers. The other side detected a discrepancy and proposed physical contact. The clone declined. Probability of the interested party attempting a visit over the weekend: 61%.
In the background, a technician whistled softly. Valenti glared at him. "Level the noise, please."....
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