[POV: Sofia Lanka]

"Step back, all of you, or I will authorize the orbital defense grid to vent the oxygen from this entire plaza. I am the President of this world, and I am the blood you claim to worship. If you truly believe I am your Goddess, then obey the first command of your deity and drop those pulse-rifles. You are desecrating the very peace we bled for, and for what? A child who doesn't even know your names? A legacy of ghosts that almost turned this planet into a cinder?"

Sofia’s voice was no longer just her own. It carried a strange, resonant frequency that made the bioluminescent...