“You began this work long before the empire started creeping in. So tell the truth. You want to discover immortality. Everything else is an excuse.” Lady Hong sighed. “Can’t it be both, darling?” “It can’t.” Phoebe stormed forward. Her mother didn’t stop her from snatching the clipboard on the shelf. From flipping through out of a vehement need to see what was hiding right in front of her. “You either birthed us as people capable of individual thought, or you birthed us as components to be used. It can’t be both.”
