Wonder was forty-seven when the singulars split.
There were six hundred thousand revived singulars now. Six hundred thousand beings across seventeen species who'd chosen to restrict their consciousness. Who'd become bounded voluntarily. Who'd chosen limitation deliberately. Who'd revived extinct consciousness form because testimony had shown them it was beautiful.
But they disagreed about what being singular meant.
The disagreement started small. Started with philosophical debates about authenticity. Started with questions about whether revived singularity was truly singular. Started with arguments that wouldn't have mattered except they touched something fundamental about identity and choice and what honoring the original singular humans actually required.
