Chapter 29 29
But Dr. Shen called me directly and asked me to attend, saying my presence was necessary for what they were about to discuss.
The council chamber in Geneva was colder than I remembered. Or maybe I'd just forgotten how it felt to sit in a room where decisions affected millions of people.
"Alexios's movement has grown to approximately fifty thousand active members across Europe," Dr. Shen began, projecting numbers onto the wall. "We estimate another hundred thousand sympathizers who haven't formally joined but support the ideology."
Fifty thousand. That was more than I'd realized.
"We also have reports of weapons acquisition," another council member added. A woman named Catherine, who oversaw enforcement. "Nothing massive yet, but enough to indicate they're preparing for escalation."
"To what end?" I asked. "What does Alexios actually want?"
"Separation," Catherine said bluntly. "He wants designated supernatural territories where human law doesn't apply. He wants autonomous governance, separate economies, independent military forces."
"That's not inherently unreasonable," I said. "Some of those demands have merit."
The room went quiet. I could feel the shock that I would say such a thing.
"You're suggesting we negotiate with him?" Catherine asked carefully.
"I'm suggesting that if we dismiss all his demands as illegitimate, we make it easier for him to radicalize more people," I said. "If we can separate the reasonable demands from the dangerous ones, we might be able to reach a settlement before this becomes violent."
"We've already tried negotiation," Dr. Shen said quietly. "Through back channels. He rejected it. He wants nothing less than complete supernatural autonomy."
"Did you offer autonomy?" I asked.
"We offered limited self-governance within the Accord framework," Dr. Shen said.
"So no," I said. "You offered control within your system. He wants actual autonomy."
"Which would fragment the entire integration project," Catherine said. "If we allow supernaturals to establish separate territories, we're admitting that integration has failed. We're going back to a segregated world."
"A segregated world is better than a world at war," I said.
"Is it?" Catherine challenged. "History suggests that segregation is just a precursor to war anyway. We're just delaying the conflict and making it worse."
She had a point. I hated that she had a point.
"So what do you want to do?" I asked. "Arrest him? That will turn him into a martyr."
"We want to dismantle his organization from within," Catherine said. "We want to infiltrate the movement, identify the key leaders, and remove them before this escalates further."
"That's a recipe for escalation," I said. "The moment he figures out you're infiltrating him—and he will—he'll accelerate whatever he's planning."
"We don't see another option," Dr. Shen said.
I stood up and walked to the window. Below, Geneva looked peaceful. People moving through the streets, living their lives, unaware that their government was debating whether to spark a conflict that could tear society apart.
"I need to talk to him," I said, turning back to face them. "Let me go to Alexios and have a real conversation. Not a negotiation. A conversation. Let me understand what he actually wants and why people are following him."
"Absolutely not," Catherine said immediately. "You're too valuable. We can't risk—"
"I'm stepping back from the Accord," I interrupted. "Remember? I'm not valuable to you anymore. Let me be valuable to something else."
Dr. Shen and Catherine exchanged a look.
"If we authorize this," Dr. Shen said slowly, "and something happens to you, it will look like we sent you into danger deliberately."
"I'll make sure that's not how it looks," I said. "I'll go as a private citizen. You can deny any connection. I'll document that this is my choice, made against your advice."
"Why would you do this?" Catherine asked. "Why risk yourself for a movement that's explicitly opposed to the Accord?"
"Because I want to understand it," I said honestly.. "Because maybe Alexios is right that we haven't built the system we should have. And because understanding opposition is the only way to build something better."
They debated it for another hour, but in the end, they agreed. They gave me access to Raven's intelligence files on Alexios's movement. They gave me a communication protocol so I could reach him safely. And they gave me seventy-two hours.
"If we don't hear from you in seventy-two hours," Dr. Shen said, "we're coming to find you."
"I'll be fine," I said.
I wasn't sure that was true.
Finding Alexios required going through channels I hadn't used in years.
Alex made a call to an old contact. That contact made a call to someone else. Through a chain of supernatural networks, a message reached Alexios: Mia Wisely wanted to meet.
The answer came back quickly: tomorrow night, a location in Prague.
Alex drove me there, despite my protests that he shouldn't be seen helping me.
"If you're going to do this," he said, "I'm going to make sure you get there safely. That's not negotiable."
Prague was beautiful and dangerous in equal measure. The city felt alive with possibility and threat.
Alexios had chosen a nightclub in the old city—the kind of place where supernatural and human mixed together freely, where the chaos and noise meant nobody would notice a private conversation happening in a corner booth.
He was waiting when I arrived. Alone. Which told me he was either very confident or very stupid. I was betting on confident.
"I didn't expect you to come," he said when I sat down.
"I didn't expect to either," I admitted. "But the Accord is thinking about doing things that will make everything worse. And I want to understand if there's an alternative."
"The alternative is what I've been saying," Alexios said. "Supernatural autonomy. Separate societies built on our terms, not human terms."
"Why?" I asked. "Not the ideology. The actual reason. Why do you care so much about this?"
He was quiet for a long moment.
"Because I watched my brother lose himself," he said finally. "He had power, real power. And then he gave it away to serve human masters in a different suit. He called it evolution. I call it surrender."
"And you think reclaiming old power structures is the answer?" I asked.
"I think claiming new power structures based on what we are, not what humans think we should be, is the answer," Alexios said. "Your integration? It requires us to become more human. To hide what we are, to suppress our nature, to apologize for existing. I'm offering a different path. One where we don't have to apologize."
"You're offering to rebuild hierarchies," I said. "The exact same hierarchies that created the research networks."
"No," he said sharply. "I'm offering to rebuild communities. Family structures that actually work. Leadership models that respect power and strength instead of pretending everyone is equal."
"Because people naturally unequal," I said. "Some stronger than others. Some with more authority. So we should just accept that and build around it."
"Yes," he said. "That's exactly what I'm saying. Your integration tries to pretend hierarchy doesn't exist. It pretends power doesn't matter. That's a lie, and everyone knows it's a lie. I'm just willing to say it out loud."