Sera's Pov
I read it twice.
Phase Two: Extraction or Termination.
The second time I read it I was making sure I had read it right the first time. I had. The words did not change between readings, they did not soften or rearrange themselves into something less precise. Extraction or termination. Two options on a list, clean and bureaucratic, written by someone who had typed my existence into a document the same way they would type a supply order or a meeting agenda.
I set the document down on the table in front of me, face-up, so the words were still visible. I folded my hands on top of my knees.
The room was very quiet.
"They were always going to kill me," I said. I said it the way I said things I had finished processing. Not a question, not a performance of shock. Just the fact, spo
