The scientist's words hung in the cold air like a blade suspended by a thread.
James stood motionless, his eyes fixed on the man who had just spoken. The room was silent, the hum of generators the only sound as the weight of the revelation settled over everyone present. Evolution. The Shepherd's true work had never been about control or power. It had been about something far more ambitious, far more terrifying.
"Evolution," James repeated, his voice flat. "What does that mean?"
The scientist stepped closer, his movements slow and deliberate. "The children were never the end goal. They were the beginning. The prototype. A proof of concept. The Shepherd believed that humanity had reached a dead end—a biological and evolutionary cul-de-sac. He believed that the only way forward was to acce
