Story 1255: Echoes of Experiment X

The moment Juno made her choice—to become—the Genome Root began shifting.

Not violently. Organically.

Vials receded. The chamber lights dimmed to a soft gold. The cryostasis of Dr. Leira Mira sealed tighter, entering permanent lock. A pulse spread from the chamber floor like a ripple through water—activating dormant systems.

And then, on every surrounding screen: one word.

EXPERIMENT X: RESURGENCE

Shade stepped back, unease in his voice. “This wasn’t just about immunity.”

H-13 nodded, focused. “No. This was the real reason the cure never made it outside Blackout. They didn’t want to fix the outbreak. They wanted to evolve it.”

Juno watched the console flicker to life, cycling through decades of buried logs.

Audio played.

A voice—shaky, older. A researcher at the edge of sanity.

“Project X began with one subject. Not infected. Not human. Something between. We didn’t find it. It came to us.”