oncrete floor. Vivian Thorne walked in, a smug, victorious smile playing on her lips.

obeyed instantly. Her father's pow

surface of my primary server bank. "Such a shame

hing from the loss. I felt a primal urge to protect my work

ckouts. Her fingers danced across the keyboard. On the main screen, a file directory

from her pocket and began the transfer.

" she said, her voice casual, as if discussing the weather. "Your secrecy, your possessivenes

made me choke. She was blaming me for her own cri

rtner, presenting my original thesis on neural plasticity as her own. She had won, of course, smiling for the cameras

vian?" I asked, my vo

e. She held the drive up like a trophy. "I want

most monstrous, profan

id, waving a hand dismissively. "The fetus. It was a boy. Strong gen

od ran

techniques. Then, we use your neural map to hardwire his brain for greatness from the moment of conception. We wouldn't just be r

rect my dead son as

c, learning matrix. It needs a human consciousness to grow with, to bond with. Fusing it to an artificially constructed genome... you wouldn't c

s," she

ed pale, his eyes darting between me and Vivian. He had heard her proposal. For a flicker of a seco

his voice uncertain.

. Your son. Not lost, but perfected. His legacy, your legacy, secured forever. He would be the start of a

s. I saw the conflict in his eyes die, replaced by a chillingly familiar,

or argument. "For the sake of national security, and for John's own legacy, you need to cooperate. The project is no

es now hard and distant.

ped my master password into a tablet one of the aides held out. I watched as the progress bar confirmed the

ed as a low chuckle, then grew into a full, unhinged laugh. It w

ry soured by my reaction. Vivian l

my laughter subsiding in

" I said, the words sharp and clear in t

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