Chapter 3: Welga — The Strike and Its Consequences

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Summary

The chapter opens with an epigraph from The Machinehood Manifesto (dated March 20, 2095), which argues that how we treat other intelligent life reflects on our own humanity and urges us to push morality beyond our species.

Fifteen minutes before Briella Jackson's meeting ends, Welga and her shield team dose themselves with regular quad-zips—enhancement pills that boost speed and reflexes. The team consists of Welga, Connor, and Ammanuel, with Hassan coordinating remotely and Por Qué serving as Welga's AI assistant. During the ride to the Ramaswamy Convention Center in Chennai, the boss reassigns positions: Connor takes point, Welga stays on Jackson, and Ammanuel covers the rear. Jackson personally hands out another batch of her new pills near the end of the ride, timed to their arrival.

The convention center is a bioengineered marvel—organic tree trunks form its framework, glass panes fill the spaces, and moss covers the floors. Welga notes that Chennai built the structure to compete with Bengaluru, though Singapore now boasts the largest bioengineered building in the world. Inside, the team moves with unusual speed thanks to the zips, drawing astonished looks from other shield teams.

Jackson delivers a speech about pushing the frontiers of drug-based modification for humanity and selective funding of high-rated projects. Welga only half-listens, privately cynical about the promises of enhancement. She reflects on the history of human augmentation: the failed era of surgical modification that made people's bodies break down, the half-measures of exoskeletons and cognitive drugs, and the rise of bot-nannies—glorified babysitters for intelligent machines. The