"You're late."
"Sorry, I—"
"This way."
Chandra led me through hallways I'd never walked before in the building. We arrived at a grand hall, where she pushed open double doors, revealing a gigantic amphitheater behind them. A quiet audience of two or three hundred people had gathered there, some in white coats, others in black suits.
Already, I felt overwhelmed.
The last time I'd been in a meeting this big was on our graduation day, and I'd sworn I'd never find myself in a place like this again.
Thankfully, Chandra guided me to a seat next to hers in the front row. Having the crowd behind me helped a little, as well as identifying some recognizable faces on the center stage.
There was Malik, our director, and Henry, the City's Chief Biotech Officer, whom I'd met at other meetings.
Another man on the stage, one I vaguely remembered, shot me a dark look. I quickly looked away, raising my gaze to the words written above the stage.
Not by chance.
By design.
I frowned at it. What was this huge meeting even about? I thought I was going to hear about my next research project.
Thankfully, it seemed like it had just started.
"Distinguished colleagues, esteemed researchers, visionaries of science and survival..."
The man who had glared at me walked to the center of the stage. His voice got picked up by his glasses and amplified across the enormous auditorium.
"I welcome you, and I thank you for answering my call."
I leaned back against the cushions of my seat, scanning the room. What kind of research project could require almost every scientist from the research center to gather in one place?
"We are not here today to discuss a challenge. We are here to confront an emergency. Climate change is not coming... It is here already. It has been here for over a hundred years... And it is evolving faster than us."
Next to me, Chandra leaned forward, clearly captivated by the man. I, on the other hand, felt a knot in my stomach. Where did I know him from?
"Our crops are failing. Our cities are flooding," he continued with lots of charisma. "Our lungs inhale more plastic than air. Our bodies, built for an ancient world, are failing in this new one."
I tried to focus on his words, but my mind kept circling back to his face. Where had I met him before? Was it at a conference? A news feature?
Again, I looked around at the hundreds of attendees. What was this all about...?
"Evolution, our greatest tool for survival, is too slow. We do not have thousands of years to adapt. We do not even have hundreds."
He paused, letting the silence stretch.
"But we do have you. And we have the tools of tomorrow."
Behind him, the screen animated with more words and logos.
"Today, we officially launch Homo Fortis 2.0... Humanity's next leap forward!"
Not by chance. By design.
I blinked as these words appeared again.
"Homo Fortis, or the 'Strong Human' in our oldest tongue, will be born to breathe smog! Digest toxicity! And thrive in temperatures that would destroy us... This is no longer a theory. This is reality!" the man exulted.
I turned to Chandra, trying to get her attention, but she ignored me, still entranced by the man's words. Looking around, everyone seemed interested in whatever marketing speech that was.
"Thanks to Genetic Resilience Engineering," the man continued, the words flashing across the screen, "and Ectogenetic Gestation..."
It felt like an electrical shock ran through me.
Ectogenetic.
Gestation.
"Two breakthroughs you helped pioneer..." the man smiled, looking directly at me and confirming my worst fears.
I was immobilized, my blood running cold.
"We will create a generation of children engineered for survival. Their genes will not merely resist disease... They will be born pre‑adapted for a planet in collapse!"
The screen shifted again, showing data and graphs from my research project.
That was what took me out.
"Chandra, what—"
But already she shushed me away. In front of me, I kept looking at the man talking, feeling immobilized in my stupor.
"But such strength comes at a cost. The genetic material required for these children is too potent for traditional wombs. The maternal body, a miracle of evolution, has reached its limits. That is why all Homo Fortis births will occur via ectobirth: external gestation chambers designed to simulate, and surpass, the womb."
Sketches from my own notebooks appeared on the screen, animated like some real-life machinery.
"We are not playing gods," the man concluded. "We are protecting our species."
I took in a short breath, finally realizing what was happening.
"This isn't what we discussed—" I spoke loud enough so that Chandra couldn't ignore me.
A few heads turned toward us, but Chandra's eyes were still fixed on the man, her hand coming to squeeze around mine, hard enough to hurt.
My vision tunneled.
"Homo sapiens may not survive what is coming," the man declared in front of us. "But Homo Fortis will."
This couldn't be real.
"You are not just scientists. You are architects of the future."
Murmurs rippled through the amphitheater, slowly growing into applause.
"Humanity as you know it is over!" the man shouted, raising his hands to the crowd as it exploded in loud clapping now. "The next generation will not be chosen by chance... but by code!"
I lurched to my feet, my heart pounding.
No, I couldn't be a part of this madness.
Before I could move, two men in grey uniforms seized my arms.
I thought they were going to force me back to my seat, but instead, they pushed me forward.
"Let the age of Homo Fortis begin!" the man thundered from the stage. "But first, let us thank the scientists who made this possible..."
The guards shoved me up the steps, into the blinding white lights of the stage.
Applause exploded around me, the crowd roared, and I remained frozen in place. Next to me, Chandra, Malik, and Henry appeared by my sides, smiling widely for the public.
"What—"
The lights were too bright. I raised my hands to shield my face, dizzy from the noise, the heat, the cheering. The air felt too thick to breathe. More people came onto the stage, faces I half-recognized.
Then everything blurred.
The sound dulled to a single ringing note in my ears.
I closed my eyes, trying to steady myself, to return to reality.
When I opened them again, the applause and crowd had faded around me. We seemed to be backstage now, in a dimmer, quieter space filled with people and the faint clink of glasses.
Chandra handed me a flute of champagne.
"What is this all about?!" I hissed behind her shoulder as she poured drinks for the others.
She turned slightly, a strange smile on her face.
"The solution to all your worries," she said, as if that explained everything.
I grabbed her arm, forcing her to look at me.
"Chandra, my research conclusions were clear. Ectobirth is not ethical. The risks to emotional and neurological development are too high."
She tried to pull away, but I held on.
"Ectoborns may struggle with attachment... with emotion recognition... or even compassion!" I pressed. "They might never form real bonds, real communities! What kind of world would that be? This isn't evolution!"
"You're correct."
The voice came from behind me.
I turned.
It was the man from the stage.
And in that new light, I finally recognized who he was.
"This is not evolution," the Chief Administrator of the City said, his smile cold and calculated. "This is a revolution."
He stepped forward slowly, confidence radiating off him like heat. His words hang in the air, and he glanced at the crowd of scientists who had gathered around us, eager to hear more from him.
In their eyes, I saw something terrifying.
Admiration.
A good slogan, a grand project... that was all they seemed to care about. It didn't matter if it burned the world, as long as they were remembered for it.
"Are you going to share this innovation with the world?" I asked, though I already knew the answer.
The Chief Administrator of the City considered me for a moment, a small smile curving his thin lips. Then, slowly, he extended a hand toward me and took the flute from my fingers, the one I'd instinctively accepted from Chandra but hadn't taken a sip from.
"I think you've had enough to drink already, Doctor V," he said smoothly, almost playful, tilting his chin forward as he took the glass away.
He turned toward the small crowd gathered around us and winked. A few polite chuckles rippled through the group.
Then he exchanged a quick look with Chandra, and in that silent stare, she seemed to receive an order.
"V, what are you doing?" she said, slipping her arm around mine and pulling me away from the others.
"What am I doing?" I stared at her, stunned. "You mean—what are you doing? What is this all about?"
She led me to a quieter corner, her hand still gripping my arm.
"Don't you understand?" she whispered loudly, as though confiding a secret. "This is an immense opportunity for you."
I looked at her like she'd lost her mind. Destroying the natural order of the world didn't sound like an opportunity to me.
"They need you," she pressed with that strange light flickering in her dark eyes. "They'll give you whatever compensation you want—"
I tore myself free from her grasp, shaking my head, disgusted that she thought I could be bought.
"—and all the material you need."
I froze.
The air caught in my chest.
Her voice dropped, quieter now.
"Sade has been taken away."
For a second, the world tilted. I reached for the wall to steady myself, my vision blurring.
"No."
I could barely breathe.
"No— I should never have let her go—" I blurted out, feeling like I was drowning.
Chandra grabbed my arm again, her voice trembling now, even more urgent.
"This is your chance to fix everything, V. Don't you see? This is your chance to have her forever."
🗓️ Next chapters: this Monday, October 20th 🗓️
Just needing a bit more time to finish these LAST two chapters ❤️
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Thank you for being here ❤️ We're about to enter the last weeks of updates (I will post more chapters every time) and your support since early July matters a lot to me 🥺 Thank you, thank you, thank you.