Page 209 - TruthAboutLyingFinal

Nicholas Boothman
“Dead either way if we fail at Graduation. At least with Extraction, some of us survive. At least she survives.”
“That’s not survival,” Henry said. “That’s continuation. Your daughter grows up knowing humanity abandoned ninety percent of itself. What kind of species does that make us?”
“The kind that lives,” Logan said. But he didn’t hang up. “I need you to tell me I’m wrong, Henry. I need you to tell me that we can actually pass this test. Because right now, all I see is a father trying to save his child, and you’re asking me to gamble her life on a species that just spent the last month trying to destroy itself.”
Henry closed his eyes.
“I can’t promise we’ll pass. But I can promise that if we choose Extraction, we’ll deserve to fail. Your daughter will grow up in a universe where humanity proved it couldn’t be trusted with power. Where we chose self-preservation over everything we claim to value.”
Silence on the line.
Then:
“I’m coming to whatever meeting you’re organizing. But I’m bringing the Extraction numbers with me. If we can’t build something better in seventy-two hours, I’m voting to save who we can.”
“Fair enough,” Henry said.
“And Henry? I hope you’re right. I really, really hope you’re right.”
The line went dead.
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