Shenouda felt Ghaelvord’s presence hovering over her. As her eyes flickered open she felt his hand stroke her cheek. She dreamt about him constantly.

“I have saved only the best of the Aldenduenum for you, my dear. With these implants and the cytopathic effects of the virus, you will become something... more.”

Shenouda felt Ghaelvord making adjustments.

After a pause, he went on, “I have immersed myself in this internet of your time. I have learned much of your nascent civilization. Factions dominate your race and retard your progress. Your men of wisdom know enough to endanger themselves, but not enough to unite and to transcend their evolutionary stagnation. They mastered the conversion of mass to energy, but not energy to mass. They harnessed the power of the atom, but cannot control it. You, Shenouda, will be the catalyst for a new generation of supermen, a new step in an infinite forward progression, and I, well, I will lead the revolution and found a new empire.”

Shenouda’s vision blurred and she felt dizzy. She could feel the bones in her arm dislocating. Ghaelvord molded them, tested them, and gilded them. He installed pistons, pulleys, and levers. He rebuilt her infrastructure. She lay prone in a semi-conscious state. She felt thirsty. That familiar prickling sensation coursed through her body. She felt no pain. She felt only a longing to quench her thirst and assuage the prickling.

“In the new empire, Shenouda, Dahjaat and human will live together. We will form a powerful bond. Mankind will both serve and learn from us. In return, we will help them progress.”

Shenouda felt more adjustments. She could not speak even if she had wanted to. She heard everything in a daze.

The voice went on, “No longer will the Dahjaat toil in obscurity under capricious rules. No longer will we live within our reservations like caged animals. No longer will we tolerate arbitrary limitations on our abilities. We will take our rightful place, as the pinnacle race. But we will raise others up to our level. You, Shenouda. You are the first link in a new chain. You may become my Queen. You will be the first of a new order. You will intercede for the old kind with the immortal Dahjaat once they rise again.”

Shenouda’s head was spinning. She lost consciousness again.