Chapter 101: The Impossible Choice
The Consciousness Seed sat on the command console, a silent, prismatic accusation. It didn't hum or glow with any obvious power; it simply was, a geometric truth in a world of messy, biological lies. Around it, the command center was a tomb of frantic thought. Elias stared at the genetic decay graph, now a near-vertical cliff-face of amber warning lights. Finn scoured the continent-wide comms, listening for any hint of a cause, a shared crisis, a universal desire beyond "don't let me starve" or "don't kill me."
Lyra felt the Seed's weight like a planet in her palm. A will of a people. Orla's blood had been a gift from isolation. Varek's data was a bribe from cynicism. This was a test from a perspective so vast it made her feel like an ant being asked to comprehend a hurricane.
