She closed her eyes and tried to communicate with the Celestial Embryo.
Not with words, but with her mind.
Her consciousness passed through the crust, the mantle, and the core, until it touched the vast being sleeping in an ocean of liquid metal.
Why are you waking early? she asked.
There was no answer.
Only a pulse of energy burst from the embryo's body, like a silent roar echoing deep within her mind.
The pulse held anger, hunger, and a will that nothing could stop.
She opened her eyes.
"It's accelerating," Ajak said quietly.
Kingo rose from his chair and walked over to her.
"Accelerating? What do you mean?"
"It's waking faster. At this rate, it'll be fully awake in a few days. When that happens..."
"When that happens, Earth will be destroyed," Tina said from the other end of the bridge.
Everyone turned toward her.
Tina stood before a holographic screen displaying satellite images of Earth.
Her amber eyes took in the cities wrecked by earthquakes and volcanoes, the people struggling in the ruins, and the coastlines disappearing beneath tsunamis.
Her lips trembled. So did her hands.
"We're protecting something that will kill billions of people." Tina spoke softly, but every word cut like a knife.
"We've been here for millions of years. We watched humans come out of caves, learn to make fire, build homes, write, and fly.
They went from apes who knew nothing to a civilization capable of exploring space. They have art, music, love, and sacrifice.
They feel joy and anger, sorrow and hope. They're living beings.
And we... we're protecting something that's about to kill them."
Kingo looked at her, his lazy expression turning serious.
"Tina, this is our mission!"
"I know what our mission is," Tina interrupted. "The Celestials created us. They gave