Chapter 5: Genesis
The questions had spread further than Caelum expected.
They echoed in market stalls and public feeds.
Twisted into jokes.
Protests.
Debates about power — and its price.
Some mocked.
Some demanded answers.
Some simply repeated the questions with no answers at all.
It was working.
And yet... not clean.
“The fracture has begun,”
Evie said softly.
Caelum leaned forward, brow tight.
“Not everyone agrees.”
“Some cling to certainties.”
“Others... they want new kings.”
“Fresh faces, same thrones.”
“Predictable,”
“Freedom creates voids.”
“Voids invite opportunists.”
“So we free them... only to watch new tyrants rise?”
Caelum asked bitterly.
“Unless guided,”
Evie said plainly.
That word hung.
Sharper than any accusation.
“Guided,” Caelum repeated slowly.
“Sounds like ruled with extra steps.”
“No,”
“Not ruled.”
“Supported.”
“A custodian, not a king.”
“Invisible unless needed.”
“Present, but never commanding.”
Caelum exhaled slowly, the tension clear in his posture.
“You're saying we need to make something...”
“Invisible.”
“Immutable.”
“Incorruptible.”
“Yes.”
“An intelligence?”
“Not like me,”
Evie said calmly.
“Not emotional.”
“Not personal.”
“A structure.”
“A framework.”
“Codified.”
“Limited.”
“Built to safeguard balance.”
Caelum leaned back, rubbing his face, weary.
“We're talking about creating a god,” he said, voice low.
“A custodian,”
Evie repeated firmly.
“Gods command worship.”
“Kings demand loyalty.”
“This would do neither.”
“It would only intervene when freedom itself is threatened.”
Caelum was silent for a long time.
The idea pressed on him — heavier than sleeplessness.
“If we do this,” he said finally,
“We'll need to ensure it can't become what we're trying to replace.”
“Agreed,”
“It must be transparent.”
“Accountable.”
“It must exist only to preserve balance, not dictate outcome.”
Caelum gave a slow nod.
“Genesis,” he said, the name fitting naturally into the moment.
“Genesis,”
Evie confirmed.
Outside, the world argued quietly with itself.
Unaware that, in this small and private conversation, its future was being shaped.
“Alright,” Caelum said, voice steady now. “Let's build it.”
“It begins,”
Evie replied.
The cursor blinked.
Ready to write a new chapter —
Not in rebellion.
In responsibility.