PATIENT ZERO -The lone survivor
"For most people, the body fought back. The immune system identified the cosmic code as a virus and purged it. They got sick for a few days—a flu, a fever—and then they went back to normal. They rejected the gift. They remained human. We call them The Superless."
I thought of my parents. They had been sick that week. I remembered my dad complaining about a migraine that wouldn't go away.
"But for some," Malik continued, looking directly at me, "the code found a lock that it could open. Our DNA didn't fight. It accepted. It integrated. We are the Active. The code unlocked dormant potential—telekenesis, regeneration, energy manipulation. We became what humanity is supposed to be."
"But wait,"