And she hadn’t for all the weeks leading up to her journey to the station. She’d suffer pain as long as it led to fulfilling her mission. The dakini think like me. I’m not going to convince them to turn against Ao Tara for the good of the station, not until people here start dying, and maybe not even then.

After the fourth procedure, Nirodha began her physical training. Her body had the same proportions as before, but every organ had changed. They toughened her skin against radiation with modified DNA. To compensate for density loss, they laced her bones with lightweight carbon and titanium. They added new signaling to her muscles, allowing her to be faster and stronger—enhancements that wouldn’t fade as long as she remained active. Her lungs shrank. Inorganic components, including an artificial stomach, would take up the extra room. She could live on grains and break down plant matter if she had to, as long as she had the right microbes.

The dakini named Suvara taught Welga—with Por Qué’s assistance—how to fend off hackers. The dakini had built-in antennas and transceivers. They could access all current network types, which meant they were vulnerable in multiple ways. Suvara also trained Welga to regulate her motions, her immune response, and her cardiovascular system. Welga now relied on the immense background processing of her agent to stay alive. Terrifying thought: she could kill herself by holding her breath long enough. No longer would her brain stem take over and save her. No wonder the dakini she’d captured—Khandro Ekoyi—had been amused by Welga’s fear of her accidentally exploding.

Welga’s emotions rocketed from elation to doubt. She felt invincible, but she could never call herself human again. Station residents treated her with respect, as they did with the other dakini. The majority of them were regular humans, too old to try out this modified way of life. She recalled her jealousy at Jady Ammanuel’s newer tech. The people on Eko-Yi appeared content with their natural bodies, not resentful that they couldn’t share in the dakini’s abilities.

She couldn’t help a stab of guilt at the thought of Eko-Yi residents dying because of her. On the one hand, they supported the station council and its actions on behalf of the Machinehood. They shared the blame for the death and destruction on Earth. But they were also living harmoniously on the station and treating her with kindness. If she blew this place up, how would she be any better than the people who’d killed her squad in Marrakech? The citizens of Eko-Yi hadn’t attacked her. They’d saved her life. She didn’t want to hurt them, but she couldn’t let them continue on their path. She needed a way to stop Ao Tara that didn’t involve destroying the entire station.

WELGA