In the dim light of the bunker, they moved quickly but methodically.

  Everyone felt their nerves fray as they waited for the inevitable clang of intruders, but no one felt it more than the subject on the operating table guiding them.

  “Check the coordinates again, if it isn’t set to transfer to my own body there’s no way to predict what will happen.”

  “I’ve read you the test results three times already, we don’t have time. Lie down and relax so the anaesthetic can do its job.”

  He was reassured, but with it came a pang of guilt. It shouldn’t have come to this, that question endlessly circled as he focused on the future. What could they have done differently, to avoid laying their lives on the line, and how many variables would have to be changed? There was only one way to find out.

  The already dim light barely illuminated the volunteer anaesthetician as they monitored the patient on one side, and he let go of any regrets together with his consciousness. Now one person down, the other occupants performed their role in silence, implanted the chip and waited.

  This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

  Only when it showed the desired output did they let out a sigh of relief. The chip had synchronised with every cortex and was ready to send to its target host. But their relief was short-lived and as the clanging against metal finally signaled the end, they rushed to finish the transfer without even thinking of escape. They had already accepted their deaths.

  Just as they prepared to lay down their lives, the banging suddenly stopped. Outside, there was a soft thud of bodies hitting the ground before the shutters creaked open and a single person entered. The new occupant cut their initial surprise short without a struggle as blood spattered, but with no one around to finish the job, the chip was reprogrammed to point to a new destination. With the chip finally activated, the remaining person injected a syringe, laid down and the last signs of life vanished.

  The plan which everyone had given their lives for was rewritten and the one carrying everyone’s hopes for a better ending was intercepted, leaving behind nothing but a room full of corpses.