Project Silas

This is a story that has bounced around in my head for a few years now. I have always wanted to write it and never taken the time. I have the outline now, a roadmap to it all and hope this prompt me to keep going with it all until I am done. I will be doing it blog style, writing when the words appear and letting it ferment when they don't. I hope you enjoy it, look at the publish dates for the order. I probably need to add post numbers. We will see.

Project Silas - 17 The Legal Friction

 The virality of the "Glass Barrier" incident didn’t just create a news cycle; it created a vacuum in the legal code. By Monday morning, the talking heads on the cable networks had moved past the spectacle of the bullet-resistant guard and into the terrifying implications of unregulated human engineering.


The Matron’s Gambit


While the Senate subcommittees argued, Evelyn Thorne decided to change the narrative from her estate in St. Louis. She sat for a live, televised interview, and she didn't wear a veil or heavy makeup to hide her transformation. She leaned into the light.


"They are calling it a 'threat' and a 'weapon,'" Evelyn said, her voice sounding like velvet and steel. Her skin glowed with a vibrant, translucent jade that made the studio lights look dull. "But look at me. I have the memory of a twenty-year-old and the energy of a woman who has finally stopped being a slave to a grocery store. This isn't a contagion; it's an inheritance."


Then came the kicker. Evelyn Thorne, whose family had founded two of the largest law firms in the Midwest, looked directly into the camera.


"To the architects of this miracle—whoever you are—know that you have a protector. My estate is officially offering pro-bono legal defense to any developer or distributor of the 'Jade Vectors' currently being targeted by these reactionary bio-security laws. We will fight them in every court in the land."


The Admirers' Opportunity


In the defunct warehouse, the three "Fixers" watched the broadcast with a mix of awe and predatory intent. They had been worried about a crackdown, but Evelyn Thorne had just handed them a shield.


"She’s perfect," the lead Fixer said, turning to Edward. "She’s not a shadow in a basement. She’s a respected pillar of society. If we use her as our front, we can move from the black market to the legitimate one under the guise of 'wellness and defense.'"


Legality had never been a moral hurdle for the Admirers, but now it was a marketing strategy.


The Confrontation


Edward didn't look up from the centrifuge. The hum of the machine was the only steady thing in the room.


"You’re worried about the law?" Edward asked, his voice low and grating.


"We’re worried about a market shift," the Fixer snapped. "Evelyn Thorne buys us a runway, but we still need to keep the 'complications'—the actual greening and the photosynthesis—hidden from the regulators for as long as possible. We need a 'Stealth' version that doesn't trigger the bio-scanners during the initial rollout."


Edward stopped the centrifuge. He turned, the matte-black obsidian of his jaw catching the dim overhead light. He looked at the Fixers, seeing them for the parasites they were.


"You want to modulate the architecture to satisfy a bureaucrat?" Edward asked.


"We want to make sure the laws stay a long way off from changing," the Fixer replied. "How do we buy time?"


The Lie of Compliance


Edward leaned back, his visage unyielding. He knew what they wanted to hear.


"The laws are based on what they can measure," Edward said, his tone shifting into something almost clinical. "They are looking for the 'Jade' signature. If I modulate the light-absorption frequency, I can make the next batch less visible to the naked eye for a period of weeks. It won't stop the change, but it will delay the 'Greening' until the vector is fully integrated into the marrow."


The Fixers visibly relaxed. They saw a delay; Edward saw a wider window for infection.


"Do it," the lead said. "Between the stealth batch and Evelyn’s legal team, we’ll make the Bio-Security Act a footnote."


The Architect’s Truth


As they left, Edward watched their shadows retreat. They thought they were managing a product. They thought they were buying time for their profit margins and their new "front person."


He looked at the centrifuge, where the "modulations" he’d promised were already spinning. He wasn't building a stealth version to save their market. He was building it because a "Stealth" vector would be even more contagious. If the world couldn't see the change coming, they wouldn't know to fight it until it was already too late.


The Admirers wanted the law to stay far away. Edward wanted the law to be irrelevant.


"Let them talk about legality," he whispered to the centrifuge. "By the time they finish the paperwork, they won't have the energy to sign it. They’ll be too busy finding a window with a southern exposure."


As he turned away from the equipment, the light glinted off his face. Not only had his skin hardened into obsidian, but his visage had followed suit—a face carved from a dark, uncompromising will. He no longer just looked the part of the monster; he felt it in the steady, cold pulse of his blood.