Mo Chen went back to The Forge, but her intent was different. She summoned Dr. Aris and her materials scientists.
" I don't want to just protect the ecosystem," she told them. "I want to integrate it into our defense."
They looked at her, baffled.
She explained her vision. The iridescent moss could be engineered to release a potent neurotoxin upon detecting foreign DNA signatures not registered in The Aerie's citizen database. The Phoenix Oaks could be modified to have root systems that acted as seismic sensors, detecting any underground approach. Their falling leaves could be laced with micro-explosives.
She was proposing turning life itself into a weapon. A garden that would fight for her.
Dr. Aris was horrified. "This is an abomination! You would pervert the very essence of life, turn beauty into a trap!"
" Beauty is a luxury," Mo Chen countered, her voice hard. "One we cannot afford. The Directory will come for us. They will see your garden as a weakness. I will not let them use the life you created to destroy us. I will make that life our strongest shield."
It was a terrible choice. The final corruption of her purpose. Was she a creator or a destroyer? Could she be both?
In the end, the memory of the explosion, of Julian's cold eyes, decided it. Survival was the only morality.
She gave the order. The Garden of War began its grim, silent growth. The Phoenix's nest was now lined with thorns. The Aerie was no longer just a nation or a home.
It was a living trap, waiting for a god to be foolish enough to reach inside.