Seeds for the Swarm


 Acknowledgments
 To all the beta readers who provided feedback on early drafts of this book—Hannah Roberts, Kyna Byrd, Nathan Kingery-Gallagher, Sydney Olson, Kevin Chen, Sarah Assenmacher Honore, Glen Deakin, Darby Cupid, and Aiden Feltkamp — you saw this novel when it was a messy behemoth and helped me find a coherent plot! 
 Thanks to Kerstin Wolf, the agent who fell in love with Rylla’s story, gave me a foothold in the publishing world, and taught me so much about plotting and tension — no soggymiddles! 
 Thank you Mariah Nichols, for taking this book out on sub, and finding it a great home at Stelliform Press. 
 To Selena Middleton, the most assiduous editor I have ever had the immense privilege to work with — thank you for pushing me to breathe life into every scene and to dig deeper into characters’ minds than I manage with my own! Thanks also go to Kristen Shaw for her exacting proofreader’s eye.
 Thank you to Isip Xin for this gorgeous cover design. 
 Thank you, Ramona, who exploded into this world and became the most glorious catalyst for me to quit my teaching job and write this novel. The first draft of this book was all written in snatches while you were napping. Thank you for those peaceful stolen half-hours when I was able to write and for changing my life in the most beautiful way. 
 Thank you, Lane, for rooting for me through the highs and lows of publishing and for being Team Edward (Teach) for life. 
 And finally, Ike. How can I envision this book or any part of my life without you? Thank you for believing in my dreams and making it possible for me to chase them. You’re the best alpha reader, BFF, co-parent, stand partner, and spouse in the world.
 48
 The Catalyst
 “I’m guessing you’re pretty angry right now.” Rylla snarled in agreement at Theo’s holographic face. “I’m betting Watt’s told you that I killed the Legionnaires on purpose, and I am sorry it came to that. I’m sorry about Alastair.” 
 “Fuck you,” Rylla hissed. Did he think his “apology” made up for lying to her and using her to murder her ex-boyfriend?
 “But don’t let Watt turn you against me,” he pleaded. “And don’t believe whatever bullshit she’s told you to explain away the Manifest.”
 “Why should I listen to anything you have to say?” Rylla asked aloud. The holovid was only a recording, but Theo responded as if he could hear her.
 “I know you won’t believe, though, so — just watch this. And listen close, because this message will delete when it’s done. I can’t risk Watt getting hold of it and tracing it to me.”
 Theo vanished. Suddenly she was in the center of a domed room, lined with arched windows looking out on a snow-covered pine forest, ringed by tall mountains. Somewhere north, then. She was surrounded by a conference table — the holovid must’ve been recorded from its hacked hologenerator. Around the table, a dozen people shouted over one another — grotesquely youthful people, with hydraulically enhanced movements. Kaylee Jaxx was there, and Tom Waltrip, and a bunch of other artificially preserved, ancient people she’d never seen before. The Board of Wingates. And all of them were furiously shouting at a slight woman at the head of the table in a brightly-patterned, flowing pantsuit. 
 When their clamor died down, Watt tipped her chin and spoke. “Yes, we’ve experienced a setback. And if you call for my resignation?” She spread her hands wide. “So be it.” 
 “Yes, our security was breached, but we are working rapidly to address these vulnerabilities. Yes, the Phirefly swarm was … regrettable … but we’ve recovered valuable data from that event.” Watt paced before the angry board members. “And yes, RID briefly fell into the hands of a hostile terrorist group, but the recovery mission was a complete success. What’s more, we were able to perform a live test on human subjects.” Watt sounded almost giddy. “And RID worked beautifully.”
 Bile surged up the back of Rylla’s throat. Watt thought Alastair’s death was beautiful? 
 “Quit trying to spin this, Alexandra,” Tom Waltrip bel­lowed. “Isn’t it true that the inventor of RID has left Wingates and turned against you?”
 “Regrettably, yes. Mr. Reyes left Wingates after destroying all digital records and prototypes of RID.”
 “And what if he uses it against us?” someone demanded.
 “We are developing defenses against RID implants which should be ready soon. In the meantime, I don’t believe he will use RID to kill again, or he already would have. After all, I’m still here.” She smiled ruefully. “And his research supervisors believe they can recreate RID in a matter of months — at which time, we’ll be closer than ever to achieving our goals.” 
 “Speaking of our goals.” Sergei’s voice dripped with deri­sion. “Didn’t he figure them out? Him and the girl — the cult leader’s girlfriend?” 
 “McCracken,” Watt said, nodding. Rylla’s blood turned to ice at the mention of her name. “Unfortunately, she learned about the Manifest too soon after completing the climate modeling course, and she put the pieces together. She and Reyes both learned too much too soon. That’s why we lost him. I still have hope we can win McCracken over to our plans.”
 “McCracken — this is the Ass is Hope girl, right?” Kaylee Jaxx blurted. “How many times do I have to say that we don’t need Dusty filth on our Manifest? That song wasn’t even good.” 
 Watt placed her hands on the table and leaned in, speak­ing with barely-restrained anger. “McCracken is one of our most valuable assets, Jaxx. Her brother now leads the Dust Nation. She’s Reyes’s closest confidant, and our best chance of recovering him. I want her on our side.” 
 “You’ve demonstrated you have no control over your stu­dents.” Waltrip scowled as he turned to the other board members. “How