Dr. Veyla adjusted her mask as she stepped onto the shifting sands of the ExoWomb—a vast artificial desert designed to accelerate evolution. Inside, time ran differently, compressing a thousand generations into mere months. Biologists like her monitored emergent species, guiding their development.
Today, something had changed. A colony of hexapodal arachnoids had begun carving intricate spirals into the dunes, synchronized like clockwork. Patterns too deliberate to be instinct. Veyla activated her translator drone, heart racing.
A single phrase resolved from the chaos of symbols: “Who made us?”
She hesitated. The ExoWomb was meant to simulate natural selection, absent of any guiding hand. Yet, faced with their innocent question, she felt the weight of her own. Were they merely reacting, or had they become something more?
She didn’t answer. Instead, she wiped her footprints away and left them wondering, as she always had.
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