PROJECT: CAYRO

Dr. H. M. Zaraki:

September 5, 2025

04:36 CST

The Autumn

45,000 feet over Copano Bay TX.

I stood over the operating table, staring at the young man lying unconscious before me. Thirteen years ago, this same boy had lain on a similar table, and now here he was again—only this time, it was his choice to be here, his decision to risk everything for a girl he barely remembered—a girl who loved him more than she could ever know. That girl was my daughter, Star, the one I had sworn to protect at all costs, even if it meant erasing the memory of the boy she was destined to love.

Star had always loved Cayro, even before I had to block her memories of him. That decision still haunts me. I remember her young voice, asking over and over where Cayro was, why she couldn’t see him anymore. They had grown up together, bonded by a connection so strong it terrified me. If I hadn’t intervened, she would have left the Autumn long ago, driven by that bond straight into the hands of those who would have used them both. The pull between them was too powerful, and it would have led to their capture far sooner than anyone expected.

What Captain Bracton and I did back then—what we created—was a violation of nature. The thing that lay before me wasn’t just a boy. It was an abomination, a living testament to the lengths Bracton was willing to go to achieve his goals. If the world ever discovered what we had done, there would be chaos. And if humanity learned how to replicate it, the result would be a war like nothing we had ever seen. Cayro, and my daughter too, would become nearly immortal beings, destined to witness the world change over countless lifetimes. They would be forced to live outside the boundaries of humanity to protect themselves from a world that would never accept them. They would have to dwell in the darkness that I had inhabited for so long—a place I had always hoped to shield them from. But that hope was gone. All I could do now was guide them and hope that they could find some measure of happiness—a happiness that had always eluded me.

“Doctor, are you okay?” Andrew’s voice cut through my reverie, pulling me back to the present.

“Yes, I’m okay,” I replied, though the words felt distant, as if spoken by someone else.

“Do you regret what was done all those years ago?” he asked, his voice laced with the same regret I saw in his eyes.

“In many ways, yes,” I admitted, the weight of the past pressing down on me. “What we did saved my daughter’s life, but the hardships she and Cayro have faced so far will be nothing compared to what they’ll endure in the future.”

Andrew nodded, but he didn’t know the full extent of what I had done—what Bracton and I had set into motion. Andrew had never wanted this, not really. He had followed orders, played his part, but it was Bracton who had driven the project forward with ruthless determination. Only I knew the lengths I had gone to, the steps I had taken to ensure Bracton’s vision was realized. Once this augmentation was complete, it would trigger the dormant DNA grafted into Star and Cayro, unleashing changes far beyond mere strength and speed. It would transform them in ways that only I truly understood—ways that would set them apart from the rest of humanity forever.

I exhaled slowly, looking down at Cayro. The boy he had once been was gone. In his place lay a young man who had made a choice, a choice that would shape his life—and my daughter’s—for eternity. It was time for me to put aside my regrets and step into the role I had played in this from the beginning: the guide who would see this through. I looked up from Cayro to Andrew, my old friend, who had been dragged into this nightmare by Bracton’s ambition.

“Let’s begin,” I said, my voice firm as I prepared to do what needed to be done.