Three months after the Singapore trials, the world was unrecognizable.
Life extension wasn't theoretical anymore. It was commercial. Available. Dr. Chen had partnered with medical corporations. Opened clinics in twelve countries. The wealthy were lining up. Paying millions for treatments that promised centuries of youth.
And the poor watched. Unable to afford what the rich took for granted.
Sera stood in The Vigil command center, watching news coverage. Protests. Riots. People demanding equal access to life extension. Governments scrambling to regulate. The world fracturing along new lines.
Not race. Not nation. Not religion.
Mortal versus immortal.
Those who could afford extended life. And those who couldn't.
"This is what Elder Mira warned us about," Emma said quietly. She stood beside Sera, both watching the chaos unfold. "The two-tier society. The wealthy living forever while the poor die at seventy."
