Day 44 | 9:00 AM | Emergency Council Session
Present:
Ethan Cross (Sovereign, looking like death)General Marcus Thorne (via secure video link)Dr. Vivienne Sato (Network Science lead)Claire Donovan (Verdant Liaison)Ambassador Chen (UN Observer)3 Verdant Representatives (holographic projection)
Ethan's opening statement:
"General Thorne. I know about NIGHTSHADE."
The Accusation
Silence for 4.7 seconds.
Thorne (calm, almost bored): "I have no idea what you're referring to, Mr. Cross."
Ethan: "Operation NIGHTSHADE. Military strike on the Nurseries. Execute before Day 60. Thermobaric ordinance. GPS coordinates already acquired via illegal Network infiltration."
Thorne: "That's a serious accusation. I assume you have evidence?"
Ethan plays the audio recording—Kiera Navarro's encrypted transmission.
Thorne listens. Doesn't flinch.
Thorne: "Interesting. Let me ask you something, Mr. Cross. How did you obtain this recording?"
Ethan: "Network surveillance. Standard security protocol."
Thorne: "Standard protocol doesn't include illegally accessing classified military communications. You just admitted to espionage against the United States Armed Forces. That's treason, son."
Ambassador Chen (interrupting): "General, with respect, the Treaty grants the Sovereign authority to—"
Thorne: "The Treaty grants authority over Verdant networks. Captain Navarro used human equipment on human frequencies. Mr. Cross hacked a military operation. That's a federal crime."
Ethan feels the trap closing.
Thorne's Counterattack
Thorne: "But let's set legality aside. Let's talk about the Nurseries."
He pulls up a holographic display.
Slide 1: Primordial #1 (deceased)
"This one killed 47 civilians before Mr. Cross stopped it. It had been 'alive' for 6 hours."
Slide 2: Statistical projection
"We have 47 more Nurseries maturing over the next 31 days. Probability assessment:
Best case: 10% become hostile (4-5 incidents like Primordial #1)Worst case: 30% become hostile (14 extinction-level entities)Expected casualties: 2,000-15,000 humans, depending on response time"
Slide 3: Lira (Ethan's "first disciple")
"Mr. Cross has successfully 'domesticated' one specimen. Congratulations. That's a 2% success rate. Would you board an airplane with a 2% safety record?"
Ethan (struggling to form words): "Lira... isn't a statistic. She's... proof of concept. We can—"
Thorne: "You can what? Train 46 more in 17 days? You can barely stand, son. Dr. Sato's reports say you've got 3-4 months before total cognitive failure. You don't have time to save them all."
The Honest Lie
Thorne leans forward.
Thorne: "Here's the truth, Ethan. I don't want to kill those Nurseries. I genuinely don't. But I've got 340 million Americans who didn't ask to share their planet with weapons of mass destruction. You're asking me to gamble their lives on your ability to domesticate 46 entities you barely understand."
Pause.
Thorne: "So here's my offer. Prove me wrong."
Ethan: "What?"
Thorne: "You've got 17 days until Day 60. That's when Wave 1 Nurseries mature—12 specimens. Successfully integrate all 12 into human society. No casualties. No incidents. No 'close calls.' Twelve for twelve."
"If you do that, I cancel NIGHTSHADE. The remaining 35 Nurseries get to live."
**"If you fail—even one hostile Primordial—I execute the strike. Non-negotiable."
The Verdict
Ambassador Chen: "General, this is extortion—"
Thorne: "This is conditional clemency. Mr. Cross wants to save them? Fine. Prove they're worth saving. Show me Primordials can coexist without killing us."
Verdant Representative (translated via Ethan):"This violates the Treaty. Article 7 guarantees—"
Thorne: "Article 12 overrides Article 7 in cases of existential threat. My lawyers have already filed the brief. The strike is legal."
Claire: "You son of a—"
Thorne: "I'm giving you a chance, Ms. Donovan. Most generals wouldn't."
Ethan's choice:
Option A: Reject the deal, fight NIGHTSHADE politically (likely fail—Thorne has legal grounds)
Option B: Accept the deal (12 Primordials in 17 days = nearly impossible, but possible)
Ethan (voice barely above whisper): "I accept."
The Terms
Thorne: "Excellent. Here's the rubric:
Success criteria for each Primordial:
Non-aggression: Zero hostile actions toward humans/propertyCommunication: Demonstrate ability to understand and follow human social normsAutonomy: Prove capacity for independent decision-making (not just 'programmed obedience')Integration: Complete 72-hour supervised coexistence with human population
Fail any one criterion = strike authorization."
Ethan: "And... if I succeed?"
Thorne: "Then you'll have proven the Primordials are people, not weapons. And I'll spend the rest of my career defending their right to exist."
He almost sounds sincere.
Thorne: "But Ethan—if even one of them goes rogue, I won't hesitate. I'll burn all 47 Nurseries to ash, and I'll sleep like a baby afterward."
"Don't make me do that."
Aftermath
9:47 AM - Meeting adjourned.
Ethan collapses in the hallway.
Dr. Sato's scan:
LE: 340/15,000 (meeting stress drained him further)New fractures: 2 more lignified neural clustersSpeech centers: Now 71% lignified (his voice is getting "woody"—literally sounds like creaking wood)
Vivienne: "Seventeen days. Twelve Primordials. You can barely train one in a week."
Ethan: "Then... I'll have to... work faster."
Claire: "Ethan, you're dying. You can't—"
Ethan: "I'm dying... anyway. Might as well... die useful."
The Math
Current status:
Metric
Value
Days until Day 60
17
Primordials to train (Wave 1)
12
Time per Primordial
1.4 days average
Ethan's current LE
340/15,000 (critical)
Brain function remaining
46% human / 54% lignified
Estimated training LE cost
~8,000 LE per Primordial = 96,000 total
Ethan's max LE capacity
15,000
Survival probability
~8% (per Dr. Sato's model)
Claire: "There has to be another way."
Ethan: "There isn't. Thorne... out-maneuvered us. The strike... is legal. Only way... to stop it... is prove him wrong."
Vivienne: "And if you can't?"
Ethan: "Then... forty-seven children... die because I... wasn't good enough."
He coughs. Sap drips from his lips.
Ethan: "Get me... Lira. And prep... Nursery #2... for early maturation. We start... tomorrow."