A sudden flare of light illuminated the man’s scar with vivid clarity. There, eclipsing the damaged flesh was a secondary mark.
“A capital ‘R,’” I whispered. Etched upon the man’s skin was the same marking that had been on the imitation humans with one stark difference—while the machinery all held the lowercase version of the letter, his featured the bold stroke of an uppercase one.
“What does it mean?” I asked, leaning in closer to the man.
A choked-off gurgle was my only reply as the man struggled to breathe past the gag binding his lips. Swiftly removing the fabric, I tried asking again. “What’s the difference between the lowercase and uppercase letters?”
