Thorne looked out at the rain-slicked ruins of the old world, then at the girl who was never cargo, never bait, never a donor. She was a ghost in the machine. And he was tired of being a monster.
She was a Breeder legend, a ghost story. Vess had been the lead geneticist on the original sterilization project. When it failed, she didn't seek a cure. She sought a workaround . If people couldn’t make babies the old way, she’d make them in vats. If the vats failed, she’d stitch viable tissue together into walking, breathing incubators. She called them Amalgams . The cartel called them her daughters. Everyone else called them monsters. breedbus
The destination sign flickered. Changed. Thorne looked out at the rain-slicked ruins of
“Gladly,” Vess purred.
Kaelen looked at the syringe. Then at Thorne. His eyes were tired, not cruel. That was worse. Cruelty had a pattern. Tiredness was infinite. She was a Breeder legend, a ghost story