No one moves for several seconds after Varek speaks.
Not because we are calm.
Because something in the room has shifted into a state none of us recognize yet.
Rylan is still holding my hand.
But I can feel the tension in him now isn’t just anger.
It’s calculation.
Aria breaks the silence first.
“You’re talking about her like she’s divisible,” she says sharply.
Varek doesn’t look at her.
“Yes,” he says simply.
That single word lands heavier than anything before it.
Mara steps forward.
“No person is divisible,” she says.
Varek finally looks at her again.
“That is a philosophical position,” he replies. “Not a biological fact.”
Aria snaps, “She is not your experiment.”
Varek’s gaze shifts slightly.
“I did not say experiment.”
A pause.
“I said system.”
The air tightens again
