“These people are already dead,” said Armin. “Leaving them alive is no mercy, for they’ll only be killed by someone else, and yet I can’t abandon them. I’ve played my part in their destruction, don’t think I’ve forgotten that. Don’t think I’ve forgiven myself. But Jerry has set the stage for a new beginning. And when the snows melt and the sun returns and the world erupts in young green leaves, I will make sure that someone’s there to see it. I will make sure there are eyes to behold it, and minds to understand it, and voices to carry on our story. You are breaking yourself in pieces to give a dying man a few more seconds of life. I’m going to take that man’s blood and build a child and a future and a legacy that will last for another five billion years. To cover the Earth and reach out into the stars and fill the universe with poetry and laughter and art. To write new books and sing new songs.”

Kira felt unable to look away from the Ivie’s body and everything it represented. Too much blood. Too much loss. “You’re going to build a new species.”

“Human and Partial will be no more,” said Armin. “There will only be one species, one perfect species. I’ve done it before. I’ve unlocked the human genome and arranged it in perfect order, like notes in a symphony. I’ve honed the genetic template for the human form through dozens of generations of Partial technology, and you know that better than anyone. Because you’re the final result.”

Kira looked up, meeting his eyes, and he smiled.

“You,” he said, “my daughter, built on the model of my own DNA, polished and refined through countless drafts until I had eliminated all trace of flaw or imperfection. I had hoped some of the late-model Partials had survived, for they would be the ideal starting point for this new world, the first brushstroke on our new, blank canvas.”

“Okay,” said Marcus, stepping forward to place himself between Armin and Kira. “This whole conversation has been freaking me out, but that last sentence took it down a whole other path.”

“You want my DNA too,” said Kira. “My blood in a jar to take back to your lab.”

“I want you,” said Armin. “Your body and your mind.”

“I won’t go with you.”

“You don’t have a choice.”

“There’s always a choice,” said Kira. “I learned that from someone who was more of a parent to me than you could ever be.” She drew herself up as tall as she could. “If you want my blood, you’re going to have to take it.”