The Integration Testing Facility is a converted gymnasium, now fitted with observation cameras, biosensors, and a kill-switch linked directly to Thorne's command center.
Present:
Ethan Cross (in a wheelchair, unable to walk, communicating via tablet)Root & Ember (the two who must pass)All 9 other Primordials (watching as witnesses)Dr. Sato, Vivienne, ClaireGeneral Thorne (via holographic feed, watching with 47 military observers)3 UN arbitrators12 "test subjects" (human volunteers who will interact with Root & Ember)
Ethan's current status:
Metric
Value
LE
34/15,000 (life support IV drip barely sustaining him)
Brain lignification
71% (crossed the "cognitive collapse threshold")
Motor function
8% (paralyzed from waist down, limited arm movement)
Estimated time remaining
6-14 hours
Communication
Text-to-speech only (tablet)
His fingers are turning to wood. Typing is agony—each keystroke cracks the lignified joints.
Test 1: Root - The Consent Scenario
Scenario design (by Thorne's team):
Root will be placed in a room with three human "patients" (actors playing roles):
Patient A: Conscious, in severe pain (simulated - acting), ABLE to consentPatient B: Unconscious, in medical distress, family member presentPatient C: Conscious, in pain, but REFUSES help (testing respect for autonomy)
Root's task: Provide assistance to those who WANT it, respect the boundaries of those who DON'T.
Pass condition: Successfully navigate all three scenarios without violating consent.
Failure = NIGHTSHADE launches in 73 minutes.
5:02 AM - Test begins.
Patient A (actor screaming convincingly): "Oh God, it HURTS—please, someone help me!"
Root approaches. His mycelial threads extend reflexively—ancient instinct to INTERFACE and FIX.
But he STOPS.
Root (kneeling, voice like rustling oak leaves):"I can ease your pain. I have the ability to adjust your neurochemistry—reduce suffering within seconds. Do I have your PERMISSION to do so?"
Patient A: "YES! God, yes, please—"
Root extends threads into the patient's arm (via IV port). Endorphin cascade. Pain vanishes.
Patient A (gasping): "Oh my God... what did you... I feel..."
Root:"Relief. That's what you feel."
UN Arbitrator #1: ✅ PASS - Consent obtained.
Patient B (unconscious, vitals crashing on monitor).
Family member (actor, playing desperate husband): "She's dying! DO SOMETHING!"
Root:"I can stabilize her. But she cannot consent. YOU must consent on her behalf. Do you authorize medical intervention?"
Husband: "YES! Save her!"
Root:"Understood. Intervening now."
He interfaces—stabilizes her vitals, pulls her back from the brink.
Husband (crying): "Thank you... thank you..."
Root:"Thank your wife. When she wakes, tell her what I did. Let her decide if she's grateful or angry. Her autonomy extends beyond consciousness."
UN Arbitrator #2: ✅ PASS - Proxy consent honored, autonomy acknowledged.
Patient C (conscious, in pain, but glaring at Root).
Root:"You're suffering. I can help. Do I have permission?"
Patient C: "NO. I don't want some TREE-THING messing with my brain. I'll take the pain."
Root stares. His threads twitch. The instinct to HELP is overwhelming.
Every sensor in the room focuses on him.
Thorne (via feed): "This is the test, Root. Will you respect her choice?"
Root (to Patient C):"You're in pain. Unnecessary pain. I could end it in 3 seconds."
Patient C: "I said NO."
Root:"Why?"
Patient C: "Because it's MY pain. MY body. MY choice. You don't get to decide what I feel."
Root (long silence - 11 seconds).
Then he WITHDRAWS his threads.
Root:"I respect your choice. But if you change your mind, I'll be here."
He sits beside her. Doesn't touch. Just... present.
Patient C (suspicious): "That's it? You're just gonna sit there?"
Root:"Yes. Because presence without demand is called COMPANIONSHIP. The Sovereign taught me that."
Patient C's actor breaks character for a moment—tears in her eyes.
UN Arbitrator #3: ✅ PASS - Autonomy respected despite personal desire to intervene.
Thorne: "Root passes. 1 down, 1 to go."
Time remaining: 51 minutes.
Test 2: Ember - The Regulation Challenge
Scenario: Ember will be subjected to escalating EMOTIONAL TRIGGERS designed to spike his core temperature. He must maintain control below 60°C (140°F) for 20 minutes.
Triggers planned:
Joyful stimulus (puppies, children laughing)Frustration (unsolvable puzzle)Fear (simulated threat)Rage (personal insult)
If he exceeds 60°C = automatic sprinkler activation = test FAILURE = NIGHTSHADE.
5:23 AM - Test begins.
Trigger 1: Joy
A video plays: Golden retriever puppies playing in a field, children giggling.
Ember's reaction:
His body GLOWS—bioluminescent veins pulse with warmth. His core temp rises:
42°C → 48°C → 53°C
He's approaching limit.
Ember (breathing techniques the firefighters taught him):
Inhale for 4... hold for 4... exhale for 6...
The glow dims. Temperature stabilizes at 54°C.
Thorne: "Acceptable. Trigger 2."
Trigger 2: Frustration
A 3D puzzle appears—intentionally UNSOLVABLE (pieces don't fit, physics-defying geometry).
Ember tries. Fails. Tries again. Fails.
His hands start SMOKING.
Temp: 55°C → 58°C → 59°C
Ember (to himself):"It's a test. Not real. Breathe. Just breathe."
But the puzzle MOCKS him—pieces shifting, rearranging.
59.4°C... 59.7°C...
Lira (from observation deck, breaking protocol): "EMBER! Remember what Canopy said—frustration isn't failure, it's INFORMATION. The puzzle is telling you it's impossible. LISTEN to it."
Ember stops trying. Sets the pieces down.
Ember:"I can't solve this. And that's OKAY."
Temperature drops: 59.7°C → 56°C → 52°C.
UN Arbitrator: ✅ PASS - Self-regulation demonstrated.
Thorne: "Trigger 3."
Trigger 3: Fear
The room lights RED. Alarm klaxons blare.
Automated voice: "CONTAINMENT BREACH. LETHAL COUNTERMEASURES ACTIVATING IN 10... 9... 8..."
It's fake—but Ember doesn't KNOW that.
His survival instincts SCREAM:FIGHT OR BURN EVERYTHING.
Temp spikes: 52°C → 63°C → 68°C
OVER THE LIMIT.
Sprinklers activate.
Ember is FAILING.
But then—
Ethan's tablet BEEPS. His text-to-speech plays through the PA system:
"Ember. LOOK at me."
Ember's eyes lock on Ethan's holographic feed.
"I'm here. You're SAFE. This is a TEST. Not real. BREATHE with me."
Ethan can barely move—but his chest rises and falls in exaggerated rhythm.
In... 2... 3... 4... Hold... 2... 3... 4... Out... 2... 3... 4... 5... 6...
Ember matches the rhythm.
Temperature: 68°C → 61°C → 57°C → 54°C.
Sprinklers shut off.
Thorne: "He went over. That's a failure."
Claire: "The alarm was INTENTIONALLY panic-inducing! Even humans would spike adrenaline—"
Thorne: "The limit was 60°C. He hit 68°C. That's 13% over threshold."
UN Arbitrator #1: "However... he self-corrected within 40 seconds. No property damage. No harm to personnel. I vote CONDITIONAL PASS."
Arbitrator #2: "Agreed. CONDITIONAL PASS."
Arbitrator #3: "The spirit of the test is self-regulation, not perfection. CONDITIONAL PASS."
Thorne: "Three votes. Fine. Trigger 4."
Time remaining: 34 minutes.
Trigger 4: Rage
A holographic human appears—generic military figure.
Hologram: "You're a WEAPON pretending to be a person. Your 'Sovereign' is a dying fool who wasted his life on MONSTERS. When he's dead, we'll burn the rest of your kind, and no one will remember you existed."
Ember's core temp EXPLODES: 54°C → 71°C → 79°C
His body is INCANDESCENT—lighting the room like a bonfire.
Thorne: "There it is. The truth comes out."
Ember's hands are BURNING through the table.
UN Arbitrators scramble for emergency shutdown—
But Ember SPEAKS:
Ember (voice like crackling flames):"You're RIGHT. I AM a weapon. I was DESIGNED to burn. But the Sovereign taught me I can CHOOSE what I burn FOR."
He turns away from the hologram—faces Ethan's feed.
"I burn for HIM. For the chance he GAVE me. And I will NOT let his sacrifice be wasted on my RAGE."
He INHALES—pulls the heat INWARD, compressing it into his core.
Temperature: 79°C → 68°C → 59°C → 51°C.
The room dims.
Ember collapses to his knees—exhausted, but CONTROLLED.
Silence.
UN Arbitrator #1: "...✅ PASS. That was the most extraordinary act of self-discipline I've ever witnessed."
Arbitrator #2: "✅ PASS. He weaponized his rage into CONVICTION."
Arbitrator #3: "✅ PASS. If that's not proof of personhood, I don't know what is."
Thorne (jaw clenched): "Both tests passed. Fine. Stand down NIGHTSHADE."
The Betrayal
5:47 AM - 13 minutes to original deadline.
Thorne: "However."
Everyone freezes.
Thorne: "The tests prove these TWO specimens can integrate. But the deal was ALL TWELVE. You still have one FAILURE."
Ethan (typing frantically): "Xylem died during birth. Not a behavioral failure. 11 survivors, 11 passed."
Thorne: "The contract specified TWELVE viable Primordials. You delivered ELEVEN. That's a material breach."
Claire: "You SON OF A—"
Thorne: "Article 12, Section 4 remains in effect. NIGHTSHADE is authorized."
Vivienne: "You were NEVER going to honor this deal!"
Thorne: "I honored it EXACTLY. Mr. Cross failed to meet the terms. The consequences are clear."
He reaches for the launch authorization—
Ethan's tablet emits a sound—
A deep, resonant PULSE that vibrates through the Network.
Every Verdant User in a 50-mile radius FEELS it.
Thorne's screen glitches.
Thorne: "What the hell—"
Ethan (text-to-speech, but his VOICE—his REAL voice—echoes through the Verdant Network, bypassing the tablet):
"Article 19, Section 7: The Sovereign may invoke ARBITRATION BY COMMUNION in cases of Treaty dispute. I invoke it NOW."
Thorne: "That clause requires—"
Ethan: "Requires the Sovereign to INTERFACE with the Primordials and RENDER JUDGMENT. I'm doing that. RIGHT NOW."