This all happens a long time after a short story I wrote in the same universe where two scientists, a human and a Veridian, fall in love. Their story is nothing but sweet, and I imagine no one will suspect that, in my mind, their attempts to have a child leads to all of this mess...

Then a subsequent experiment resulted in a pathogen that lead to a stronger genome in the next generation but wiped a lot of incompatible people out, leading to a civil war.

And then the super deep lore that I will probably never say anywhere but here...?

Saying this out of context doesn't have the full impact of when she finds out, but her species is in fact a hybrid of humanity and a plant-based alien species. The initial experiment produced a genetic pool vunerable to certain diseases, birth defects, and long-term health conditions.

Ahahaha... spoilers in next posts 🤫

Yay progress 🙌 but also yay for you interpreting that distaste as meaning there's room to grow, rather than letting it dissuade you (as it has dissuaded me many times 😬)

It can be such a tricky balance!

Hooray spitefic 😆