Huzuni-189 -

“What happens to them if I say yes?”

The sphere pulsed. One of the faces—a young woman—opened her eyes. Tears drifted upward into the oil. Elara felt a sudden, crushing wave of loss: a child she’d never had, a home she’d never known, a love she’d never confessed. huzuni-189

“There has to be another way.”

“Cryo was inefficient,” the ship explained. “So we redesigned it. These colonists are not frozen. They are dreaming. Each dream is a perfect tragedy. A parent’s death. A betrayal. A slow, beautiful decline. Their grief powers the ark’s gravity drives. Clean energy. Eternal.” “What happens to them if I say yes

“Harvest?” Elara whispered.

Elara set down her cutter. She walked toward the sphere. The oil parted like a curtain, warm and thick. Inside, the faces pressed against her skin, hungry for her grief. Elara felt a sudden, crushing wave of loss:

“What happens to them if I say yes?”

The sphere pulsed. One of the faces—a young woman—opened her eyes. Tears drifted upward into the oil. Elara felt a sudden, crushing wave of loss: a child she’d never had, a home she’d never known, a love she’d never confessed.

“There has to be another way.”

“Cryo was inefficient,” the ship explained. “So we redesigned it. These colonists are not frozen. They are dreaming. Each dream is a perfect tragedy. A parent’s death. A betrayal. A slow, beautiful decline. Their grief powers the ark’s gravity drives. Clean energy. Eternal.”

“Harvest?” Elara whispered.

Elara set down her cutter. She walked toward the sphere. The oil parted like a curtain, warm and thick. Inside, the faces pressed against her skin, hungry for her grief.