Lucien's eyes fluttered open to a sterile hum and the mechanical hiss of ventilators. His vision swam before focusing on the curved glass canopy overhead. Wires and tubes fanned out from his chest, snaking to a sleek console at his bedside. Eve Larkin sat beside him, her fingers brushing over the saline drip running into his arm. Mira, swaddled in Eve's lap, slept peacefully in a small crib nearby.
“Lucien?" Eve's voice was soft, laced with relief. “You're awake."
He tried to speak, but his throat felt raw. A gentle pressure around his torso reminded him: they'd undergone the final reconciliation. He caught sight of the extracorporeal membrane and the slender Recursion Chip interface connected to his collarbone. His heart pounded not just with blood but with the shared neural link they h
