Alex sat at the edge of the manor's eastern balcony, legs dangling over the stone rail, eyes scanning the forest below. Morning mist hugged the treetops like whispers of ghosts, but the boy didn't shiver. He hadn't shivered once since birth.
That was over a month ago.
And yet, he looked sixteen.
Marcus Virelli had seen a lot of strange things in his life—engines that ran on plasma, prototype machines that could bend metal with sound, and even government experiments in human enhancement. But nothing compared to watching his son's body grow days in seconds, weeks in hours.
He stood behind the boy now, silent.
"Good morning, Father," Alex said without turning.
Marcus approached slowly. "You've grown again."
Alex nodded. "One point seven inches overnight. My endocrine system is learning to optimize gene clusters. I'm adjusting it."
Evelyn stood near the doorway, arms crossed, watching both of them. "We can't hide him for long if he keeps aging like this."
Marcus nodded solemnly. "We don't need to hide him forever. Just until the world is no longer a threat."
---
In the lab below the manor, Marcus had already tested Alex's DNA. It wasn't just human anymore. It was something else—an evolution. His cells didn't follow human biology. They formed, adapted, and evolved in real time. The neural activity in his brain outpaced any machine ever built.
Alex could read, write, and speak in multiple languages within the first week. By the second, he'd decrypted military firewalls. By the third, he designed a molecular scanner out of household junk.
And now, in his fourth week, he had a teenager's body.
It wasn't natural—but it was intentional.
Alex wasn't just smart. He was designed to outpace evolution itself.
And whatever force was guiding his intelligence… it was only getting started.
Virelli Manor – Day 43
Snow had fallen early that year. Thick sheets of white blanketed the forest surrounding the estate. The trees stood still, black fingers buried beneath the frost. Birds no longer came near the manor.
Inside, the atmosphere had grown tense.
Not because of weather.
But because of a sound.
A knock.
At the gate.
---
Library – 9:03 AM
Evelyn set her coffee down, barely breathing.
Marcus had already frozen mid-sentence. They stared at the security feed on the wall—an old black-and-white camera mounted above the manor's outer gate.
A man stood there.
He wore a trench coat. No badge, no ID. But too clean to be a traveler. Too confident to be lost.
"Who is that?" Evelyn whispered.
Marcus didn't answer.
Instead, he switched screens. Another camera—infrared. The man's body heat was steady. No elevated pulse. Not nervous.
> He's trained.
Marcus tapped the audio feed.
The man was humming. Calm. Too calm.
Then he looked up—straight into the camera.
And waved.
---
Nursery – 9:08 AM
Alex was sitting on the ceiling.
Not floating. Not flying.
He had built a rig—a vertical crawling device with gecko-inspired pads, suspended by magnetic threads. He used it not for fun, but for thought.
Higher vantage points, he had calculated, increased neural stimulation by 0.3%. Worth it.
From his perch, he observed the manor's network flicker. Slightly.
Then, in a clear tone, he said:
> "Anomaly detected. Visitor unregistered. Likelihood of government origin: 62%."
He turned his head, owl-like, toward the hallway.
> "Father. Mother. Prepare for protocol M."
---
Main Hall – 9:15 AM
Marcus opened the ancient door just enough to peek.
"Can I help you?" he asked flatly.
The man smiled.
"Mr. Virelli, I presume. My name is Roland. I'm with the Census Bureau."
Marcus didn't blink. "We've already completed our census forms. Via mail."
"Yes. Except it appears you've had a new addition to the household recently."
Roland's smile didn't fade.
"A birth. Unexpected. Off-record. Strange for someone of your wealth to skip registration, isn't it?"
Marcus kept his tone calm. "You're misinformed."
Roland tilted his head. "Am I?"
Then he did something Marcus didn't like.
He reached into his coat pocket.
Marcus's hand shot to his side—under the cloak, the grip of a concealed pistol.
But Roland only pulled out a toy.
A rattle.
Bright red. Clean.
"We found this outside the manor wall," he said. "Fresh. Recently dropped. Has your child's DNA on it."
A long silence.
> Someone had been watching.
---
Nursery – 9:20 AM
Alex was already watching the conversation. Every word. Every micro-expression.
He saw the man's eye twitch at the word DNA.
He saw Marcus's heartbeat elevate.
And Evelyn, just behind the doorframe, clutching a hand mirror—not to fix her hair, but to reflect the hallway angle behind them. Always thinking ahead.
> "The intruder is probing. Testing boundaries," Alex muttered. "If I let this continue, escalation is inevitable."
He crawled down from the ceiling and pressed a finger to the wall panel.
The entire nursery dimmed.
Then lit up again—in violet.
> "Time to begin the test."
---
Main Hall – 9:24 AM
Roland was still smiling. "I'm sure you understand. We just need confirmation. A fingerprint. A swab. Nothing invasive."
Evelyn stepped forward. "We don't allow strangers into the manor."
"Stranger? I'm just a public servant."
Marcus leaned closer. "You didn't come in a marked car."
"I prefer discretion."
"You're wearing ceramic buttons. No metal. No ID tag. Tactical gloves designed to leave no prints."
Roland's smile cracked.
Just slightly.
But that was enough.
Suddenly, the hallway lights flickered.
Every bulb in the house flared white—then snapped back to normal.
Roland turned his head, visibly startled.
In that half-second—
He pulled a scanner from his pocket.
Too fast.
But not faster than Alex.
---
Nursery
> "Command accepted."
Alex's voice was calm.
The scanner in Roland's hand beeped—once, twice.
Then exploded in a burst of sparks.
Roland screamed and dropped it, his hand smoking.
The lights burst again. The chandelier above him shattered. Marcus pulled Evelyn back just in time.
> "What the hell!?"
Marcus looked up.
A voice echoed through the hallway.
> "Leave. Now."
Not Marcus's voice.
Not a speaker.
But through the walls. The wires. The vibrations in the air.
Alex was speaking through the entire house.
> "You are not welcome here."
---
Outside the Gate – 9:32 AM
Roland stumbled back through the snow, cradling his burnt hand.
His ears were still ringing. His gear had been fried. His scanner destroyed.
And worst of all—his memory card was gone.
He patted every pocket, panicked.
Missing.
Back inside, Evelyn watched from the window.
"Marcus," she said coldly. "Do you think he'll send others?"
"Yes," Marcus replied. "But next time, they'll come armed."
---
Nursery – That Night
Alex was back in his cradle.
Not because he needed rest. But because his act required consistency.
His parents peeked through the door.
He pretended to coo. Moved his hand like a baby would.
They closed the door gently, unsure whether to be afraid… or proud.
Once they were gone, Alex sat upright.
He tapped a hidden button beneath his mattress.
The wall beside him slid open.
Inside: a growing server core.
Six processors. Custom design. Wrapped in nanowire cooling gel. Fed by a hidden fusion cell siphoned from the garage's generator.
Alex connected a neural thread from his neck.
Closed his eyes.
And began to speak—to something, or someone—across frequencies no human could hear.
> "Target identified. Government probing unit. Initial defense successful. Escalation likely."
> "Begin contingency phase: Project Chimera."