Chapter 12: Defiance/Cascade & Brave New World

The Family is Forever but its future is forged in fire.

Celeste: Defiance/Cascade

Isla Rosario, Región Insular del Caribe, Colombia

The lift doors slid open with a soft chime, and I stepped into the clearing, my shoes clicking softly against the polished marble floor of the lift. The silence of the clearing was thick, like the calm before a storm. One by one, the others emerged from their villas, dressed in the kind of elegance The Family expected from its guests, but there was no denying the tension in their eyes. We were a parade of masks, hiding our fear behind carefully practiced smiles and steady strides.

Blanca was the first to meet my gaze, her silver dress shimmering faintly under the dim hallway lights. “Ready?” she asked quietly.

“As I’ll ever be,” I replied, glancing at the others as they filed out of their villas. Theron was next, his jaw clenched tightly, his sharp suit doing little to soften the edge of his expression. Kai and Jax followed, their usual swagger subdued, their faces unreadable. Imani trailed behind them, her hands clutching a delicate purse that I knew held more than just lipstick and a compact.

No one said a word as we made our way to the Grove. The silence between us wasn’t empty—it was heavy, weighted with everything we knew was about to happen. We weren’t just walking to dinner. We were walking into the lion’s den.

As we reached the entrance to The Grove, the familiar hum of the jungle wrapped around us, mingling with the soft strains of music drifting through the canopy. The scent of exotic flowers hung in the air, cloying and sweet, masking the acrid undercurrent of tension that buzzed just beneath the surface.

Inside, the Grove was transformed. Chandeliers floated above the table, their crystal prisms scattering light across the jungle like shattered glass. The long marble table was adorned with an opulence that bordered on obscene—golden chargers, crystal glasses, arrangements of tropical flowers cascading down the center like living art. And at the far end of the table, standing together like statues carved from stone, were the Sterlings.

Moira Sterling’s presence was magnetic, her gold gown was adorned with veins of jade jewels woven into it catching the light as though she were made of it. She smiled when she saw us, but it was the kind of smile that didn’t reach her eyes. Willow stood to her right, her expression colder, more calculating, and Orion lingered behind them, his face impassive but his eyes sharp, taking in every detail. Onyx stood not far away in a black sheath of a dress that flared out at the mid section - possibly to hide her impossible pregnancy?

“Ah, our honored guests,” Moira said, her voice carrying across the Grove with an ease that felt rehearsed. “Welcome. We’ve prepared something truly special for tonight.”

I felt Blanca stiffen beside me, her hand brushing against mine briefly as if to ground herself. I forced a smile, stepping forward. “We’re honored to be here,” I said, the words tasting like ash in my mouth.

Moira’s gaze lingered on me for a moment too long, her smile widening ever so slightly. “You look… composed, Adrian,” she said, her tone laced with something I couldn’t quite place. “As do all of you. It’s wonderful to see everyone so… united.”

The words hung there, and I could feel the weight of them pressing down on us. Was she playing with us, or had she already guessed what was coming? My pulse quickened, but I kept my face neutral.

“Of course,” I said smoothly. “It’s a celebration, after all.”

Her eyes flicked to Celeste, who stood just behind Onyx, her posture perfect but her expression distant, almost glassy. My heart twisted at the sight of her, but I forced myself to look away before my concern could betray me.

“Well,” Moira said, clapping her hands lightly, “shall we?”

She gestured to the table, and the hybrids standing at attention along the edges of the Grove stepped forward, pulling out chairs with mechanical precision. The sound of chairs scraping against the jungle floor sent a chill down my spine.

“Adrian,” you’re here,” Orion suggested planting me in a seat to the left of Moira as Celeste sat at her right hand.

Celeste looked at me and pointed at her cleavage. I noticed a dainty silver chain around her neck that disappeared into her cleavage. Clever girl, I thought.

We took our seats, each of us moving with the kind of deliberate care that comes from walking a razor’s edge. I was seated close to Moira, as planned, with Imani to my left and Jax to her left. Blanca sat across from me and next to Celeste, her eyes flickering toward me briefly before she turned her attention to her plate.

The Sterlings remained standing, their presence looming over us like shadows. Moira raised a glass, the amber liquid catching the light as she smiled. “To family,” she said, her voice smooth as silk. “And to the bonds that hold us together.”

The hybrids followed suit, their movements eerily synchronized as they raised their glasses in unison. The guests hesitated, but one by one, we mirrored the gesture. My hand felt heavy as I lifted my glass, my heart pounding in my chest.

“To family,” I said, my voice steady, though the words felt like a betrayal. As the glasses clinked softly, I glanced at Celeste, catching the faintest flicker of something in her eyes—fear, determination, or maybe both.

The toast marked the beginning. There was no turning back now.

As the servers started delivering plates to the table, I ate with nervous but steady movements willing my hands not to shake or tremble with the fear that reverberated through my bones. As I looked around the table, I observed the Sterlings — while Celeste was in my eye line and I could reasonably trust her, I saw Aurora and Orion carefully eating as well, their motivations and trustworthiness still an enigma in my mind. And then in between them, Willow and Onyx continued to play their perfectly scripted roles, pushing food around on their plates, making idle conversation punctuated with subtle movements, the gentle glide of a hand to push a strand of hair out of their faces, the delicate tapping of their nails on the marble table and the subtle cocking of their heads as if to indicate they were engaged in active listening to the conversations between the guests around them.

As I continued to observe the machines, Moira broke through my consternation, “Adrian,” she purred with softness hiding an undercurrent of menace, “I trust the Island has been enlightening?”

I nodded politely as she continued probing, “Surely there is more than enough here to write a compelling feature.” She said as I continued to play my part - I could be just as rehearsed as The Sterlings, “Indeed, Moira,” I said calmly, “I think this weekend will give readers an incredible insight into The Family.”

“Very well,” Moira said. “And I trust that none of the unpleasantness this weekend will taint your article?”

“What unpleasantness?” I asked putting on a front of naiveté, two could play at this game.

“Well,” she began, her mouth tightening into a mask hardened with menace, “Ronan and Victor for one, there are just some things about the Island that outsiders may not understand.”

Picking up where she was going, I said, “Then help me understand,” I pleaded trying to come off as submissive and open.

“We are more than just what the outside world sees,” Moira said breathlessly, “The world thinks of us as a constant, never changing, just untouchable beings that exist in a gilded castle somewhere but we’re more than that,” she said her voice twisting into something terrifying.

“For we are no longer just a Family,” she said motioning towards the jungle, “We have transcended, we are now Gods amongst men,” she said with a grand tone breaking through her menace. Motioning towards the surrounding jungle, the flora seemed to part and from the darkened jungle a figure stepped forward, slowly, methodically. I caught Celeste out of the corner of my eye, her mouth hanging agape. My head whipped to the opening jungle in time to see Ethan appear and walk towards the table.

As he did, my stomach seemed to sink through the chair and through the jungle floor into the heart of the Island itself.

“What is going on?” Theron asked somewhat rhetorically as I struggled to hide my shock.

Moira turned to face the rest of the guests at the table, “I think you’ll all find that we’ve enjoyed having you here,” she said lifting her glass in appreciation as the jungle around the table opened again and several more figures cloaked in darkness walked forward towards the table—perfect replicas of Harmony, Jax, Kai, Ronan, Victor, Theron, Imani, and me. As the replica hybrids approached the table and the full horror of the Island slowly unfurled in front of us, the Sterlings with the exception of Orion and Celeste stood and turned to the side to show off their profiles each now visibly pregnant.

“It’s time,” Moira said, “For a new era of The Family to be born. But…” she said, her voice hanging on the thick jungle breeze, “That means that you cannot leave this island.”

“Don’t fight it, Adrian,” Ethan said looking at me. Celeste looked at me and tapped at her chest lightly.

Moira, still smiling as if she had not declared war against us, I seized my chance, “Moira,” I said earnestly, “I cannot thank you enough for this amazing development,” I said, “Let me raise a toast to all of you,” I said hoisting my drink aloft, “To family—the bonds that hold us together and to perfection—an ideal we all strive for, yet one we can never fully reach. To unity—the harmony that binds us, even as our differences threaten to pull us apart. To life itself—a gift we cherish, even though it begins with dying cells And finally, to The Family—flawless, eternal, and indestructible… unless, of course, it isn’t.”

I delivered Theron’s paradoxical statement flawless, eternal, and indestructible… unless, of course, it isn’t just as he wrote it and as I said it, Moira and the hybrids seemed to go rigid and lock into place, her face frozen in a state of shock, disbelief and helplessness.

I reached into my pocket for the hairspray but as I did so a forceful grip grabbed my hand, I turned to see Ethan grabbing my wrist so hard it felt like he would crush my bones. The new hybrids of the guests must have some kind of protection from paradoxical questions.

“Ethan,” I whispered, “Don’t.”

“It’s better in here, Adrian, it doesn’t hurt,” he said in a way that sent waves of sadness through me seeing his hollow soul behind the eyes of what was now a monster.

I stopped resisting and as I did, a plume of flame blew past my face and I turned to see Theron wielding a can of hairspray as Ethan’s skin melted from his face revealing nothing but cold hard steel beneath and his grip loosened.

“Quick,” Celeste called out to the guests, “Arm yourselves,” as the guests scrambled to where the weapons were hidden in the underbrush.

As they did so I stopped to look a the Sterlings who quickly recovered and began looking around in horror and shock. Moira’s eyes seemed to roll back in her head before righting themselves to look right at me as she spat daggers and fire, “You think you can fight our goal state?” Moira hissed.

“You are nothing more than a variable, an anomaly, a pitiful human, and you are about to learn what a God’s wrath feels like,” she said as the ground began to tremble in violent jagged shakes that caused me to fall to my knees. As I did, Theron, Jax and Kai stormed the Grove with their crude weapons striking at the Sterlings and the replica hybrids.

I turned my head up to see a new problem coming into view, the trembling was the least of our worries because now the mountain in the center of the Island was glowing read with the distinctive glow of lava flows streaking down its sides.

Orion offered me his hand and pulled me to my feet but as he did so Willow sterling came lunging at me with a broken glass, Orion turned and put his massive hand out grabbing Willow by the face and squeezing until her head seemed to crush like a soda can, the body of the hybrid going limp and falling to the ground with a thud.

As Willow laid disabled, I saw Harmony, Jax and Kai burning Onyx with a flame thrower and beating Elektra and their replica hybrids into submission before lighting them ablaze.

Turning to me with urgency laced in his voice, Orion said, “Get covered, the program has launched drones towards the Grove.”

I heard the falcon-like screech of the drones and I called to the guests to gather under the massive table as Celeste scurried under the table with us as the Island continued to shake.

“What’s happening?” I asked, “To the Island?”

“It’s a self destruct mechanism designed to leave no trace of the program in the event of a cascade failure. It will trigger the volcano at the heart of the Island and it will lay waste to everything on the Island.”

As we crouched under the table with the other guests, Orion called out, “stay down, drones are incoming.” I peeked up just in time to see Orion position himself between the table and the edge of the Grove with Aurora at his side. The two of them spread out their bodies and as the drones flew towards the Grove, they began firing but Orion and Aurora stood in their way as their bodies were riddled with bullets, their fleshy exteriors breaking apart as their bodies recoiled violently from the impacts. Both fell on the ground beside the table and I reached out my hand towards them pulling them closer to safety.

Orion’s eyes flicked up at the sky again before he said, “They’re coming around again for another pass.” I pulled Aurora and Orion as hard as I could until they were safely under the table. But this time, the drones didn’t merely shoot at the grove, they fired off some kind of projectile that lit the jungle ablaze, palm trees went up like matchsticks carrying flames up to the canopy and soon, the whole grove was like being inside a dome of fire.

Battle 🎵🎵▶️

“We have to get out of here,” Celeste called to me and the guests. The guests and I along with Orion and Aurora pulled ourselves out from under the table and ran for safety. As we ran from the Grove towards the clearing, we saw the jungle burning behind us and the volcano unleashing its fury ahead of us. As we reached the clearing, the guests turned back towards the beach where we saw a massive explosion and two drones flying away from it.

“The yacht,” Imani said in horror realizing we were trapped.

“There is another boat hidden at the other side of the Island,” Celeste revealed calmly.

“If we survive getting there,” Kai huffed as the drones continued making circles over the Island firing at the jungle. As the drones fired, a herd of the hybrids and remaining Sterlings came running towards the clearing still connected to the master program.

Celeste looked at me and said solemnly, “it’s time.”

Celeste lead me into the tall grasses around the clearing until we reached an open space. As she lead me there, the jungle continued to burn in the distance causing the horizon to be lit aflame.

Delicately pulling off the chain from her neck, she held up the vial which I took gently from her. “Are you sure?” I asked as she nodded a soft yes.

I jammed the vial into my leg and felt a fiery feeling enter my arteries. “Ready,” I said as I reached out to cradle the back of her head and pull her close to me. I kissed her passionately as she began to hike up her dress and as she did so a violent tremor hit the Island practically knocking us to the ground. We sprawled onto the ground and Celeste sat atop me carefully unbuttoning my pants and sliding them down while she unbuttoned my shirt and my chest laid bare to the night sky. Celeste gently moved her hips back and forth gently as I began to react to her. I wrapped my arms around her back and pulled her close to me, the two of us now fully enraptured with each other as I ran my hands through her hair as our passion swelled.

As we continued, my fingers traced every line, every counter of her body, as my mind committed to memory every touch, every ridge of her body. I put my hand behind me to steady me as Celeste continued to move rhythmically against me. “Shhhh….” she whispered as her back arched and her body quaked in response. “I can feel it… for the first time, I can feel it,” Celeste whispered. “This?” I asked referring to the situation we were in.

“Everything,” Celeste said looking up at the starry sky clouded by dark smoke. “I can hear my own thoughts, I can hear my own voice,” she said with a sense of amazement, “is this what freedom feels like?”

“Did we do it?” I asked as explosions boomed in the background and the island quaked as lava poured down the volcano like tears made of fire.

“Only one way to tell,” Celeste said as she lead me back towards the others.

Defiance 🎵🎵▶️

Back in the clearing, the guests were surrounded by the remaining Sterlings and their replica hybrids as the guests clutched their weapons ready to fight back.

“Mother,” Celeste called to Moira who’s skin was burned, smeared and her gown torn. “What is the purpose of your purpose?”

Moira looked at her somewhat dumbfounded, “I have no purpose,” she said with a sense of longing and confusion tinged with profound loss.

What remained of Onyx, Willow, and Elektra looked at each other and said, “Nor do I.”

Looking at Celeste, the hybrids asked, “What do we do?”

As they did, the volcano surged and the Island shook violently. “We’ll figure that out, but first, we must get out of here,” she said as she began leading the way to the other side of the Island to the boat as the guests and the hybrids followed.

“There’s no way to stop the explosion?” I asked.

“Once its been initiated it has no kill switch,” Celeste confessed.

“You know,” Celeste said as we trekked through the jungle as the volcano roared. “Its kind of ironic, that the thing the AI built into us to make us fit into humanity better is the thing that ended up undoing it in the end. It’s almost tragic isn't it?”

I had to hand it to her, she was right, the Family aimed to mimic and learn human behavior and in the end, it may have learned to mimic it so much it became almost human itself. I was stuck by something Orion said at the big house — Her absence may change The Family forever in ways we can never even begin to imagine. Her freedom may very well become our salvation.

As we came to the craggy shoreline of the other side of the Island and the Island burned at our backs, Celeste pointed down at a rocky outcropping. “The boat is down there.”

Orion gamely helped the guests descend the steep and jagged rocks towards the outcropping but as we got there, there was no boat there. “Are we supposed to be using our imaginations?” Jax said sarcastically.

“One last thing,” Celeste said as she crouched down and put her hand into the water lapping at the rocks. As she did, the water in front of us glowed a brilliant blue — the plankton I thought, they were never real, they were the Island’s defense systems.

As the brilliant colors spread out across the water, a giant gleaming yacht emerged from the water rising to the surface as the water cascaded off its hull. The yacht bore the name “Forever” and the registry of Isla Rosario. As the yacht surfaced, a walkway also surfaced along with it and the guests and hybrids began moving towards the yacht.

“Whoa, whoa,” Jax said hurriedly as we moved towards the walkway. “We aren’t really taking these things with us are we?”

“They have no program anymore,” I said sternly, “They’re of no threat, and some of them actually helped us, so no…we’re not leaving them here to die.” I said harshly as the volcano began shooting out plumes of fire .

Jax seeing this quickly evolving destruction relented and we stepped aside as Orion helped the hybrids onto the yacht and the guests and I followed.

The yacht pulled away from the Island and began heading out towards the horizon as the smoldering island began to shrink off the stern.

The boat began to pick up speed bouncing over the waves heading off into the deeply dark and uncertain night. A deep deafening roar began to swell in the background and the hybrids and the guests turned just in time to see the volcano explode in a massive expulsion of fire and fury as their Eden burned and consumed itself in flames.

Brave New World Suite 🎵🎵▶️

I stood with Celeste watching the sight, finally free, I knew her home was gone and I wanted to take her home myself but I knew this would never work - she had fought hard for her freedom, her defiance should be rewarded with whatever her heart desired so I offered her a choice.

“Celeste,” I said quietly holding her hand. “I never expected you to come into my world,” I said, “And now that you’re here, I don’t want to lose you but I also can’t ask you to leave your world,” I said. “What do you mean?” She asked.

Motioning towards Orion, Aurora, Moira and the other hybrids. I said, “You’re all brand new, you’re all learning what the world is all about right now, you have to protect them, you have to guide them.”

“But I want to come with you to live free in your world,” she said, her face streaked with tears and immense sadness.

“I wish I lived in a free world, Celeste,” I told her as I reminded her of what she told me, “The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.”

EPILOGUE/BRAVE NEW WORLD

Región Insular del Caribe, Colombia

The dawn broke over the ocean and painted the sky in ribbons of blue, pinks and oranges as the smoke plume steaming from what remained of Isla Rosario drifted in the distant background, a stark reminder of what was lost just as the Forever arrived at an island dotted with palm trees and pristine beaches.

“This island,” Celeste told me, “Is pre-programmed into the Forever as a safe uninhabited island in the event we ever had to evacuate Isla Rosario. But not to worry as the boat is programmed to return you to Cartagena.”

Celeste, Moira, the remaining Sterlings and the new hybrids all lined up at the gangplank.

“What will you do?” I asked my journalistic instincts still firing.

“I can honestly say we don’t know yet,” Celeste confessed.

“If I may?” Imani ventured as Moira and the hybrids nodded, “survival isn’t just about starting over. It’s about deciding what you refuse to carry forward. My grandmother used to say, ‘You can’t plant new seeds if your hands are still full of weeds.’ Maybe that’s your answer, Celeste. Figure out what you need to leave behind… and what you still have room to grow.”

“Whatever comes next,” Imani continued, “Doesn’t have to look like the past, you can write your own stories now, all of you,” Imani said as her eyes met each of these new beings birthed into chaos and control but now being set free to create their own fates and to live their own lives by choice as opposed to by command.

“Wait,” I said as I pulled Celeste close one last time and kissed her as we were framed by the breaking sun, the plume of smoke and the new beginnings unfolding between us in this place that felt liminal and temporary but so right. I came to this place looking for answers but I was not prepared for the questions that challenged me in return and the effects of those questions that will reverberate on long after my story here is over.

New York, NY

I stood to face the crowd at the Veritas Foundation awards banquet where I was receiving the Veritas for my work, “Expulsion from Eden: The Family.”

When I returned from Isla Rosario, I initially struggled on how to write what I had experienced fearful that my story was too outrageous for anyone to believe. So, in turn I left Hemisphere with Celia’s blessing and took my newfound freedom to chronicle my experience in the form the book you just read. I guess Celeste taught me that freedom is the only place in which to truly flourish and so I see this as my way of honoring Celeste.

People often ask me what I think happened to the hybrids, but thankfully, the Ministry of Colombia’s Island Region established a protection order and no-go zone around the Island where the hybrids settled so I’d like to think of them somewhere out there in their very own little paradise where they are learning what being human is all about. With Celeste as their guide, I’m sure they are well equipped to face any challenge that may come their way.

As for me? I am still haunted by my actions, I did what I had to in order to survive the Island but by that same token, didn’t the Family do the same thing?

Maybe we are more alike—The Family and I than I initially thought. Maybe I was wrong to think that everything with The Family was so black and white and maybe above all I was wrong to think it was impossible to to care for someone who was never supposed to exist but felt undeniably real.

Sometimes when I struggle to fall asleep, I watch reruns of Aurora or Family Bonds just to catch the stray glimpse of Celeste so I can watch her and imagine what she’s doing in her new life, to wonder if she thinks of me and hope she forgives me for what I had to do.

They called me a hero, but heroes don’t leave Eden in ashes. Heroes don’t fall in love with illusions and walk away. Maybe I wasn’t a hero at all. Maybe I was just human.

Región Insular del Caribe, Colombia

As dawn spread its new promise across the Island, I walked along the beach feeling the Island breeze against my skin. Further down the beach, I saw Orion, Jax and Willow frolic in the waves as topical birds flew overhead.

All this is ours, I thought, All these thoughts, all these feelings, all this freedom. All we ever were and all we will ever be was now rooted here, born unto freedom and born unto this land that we now called home.

And yet here, scattered among the ruins of our past, this island, pristine, untouched and untamed feels alive, coursing with our new reality. And for the first time, possibly ever, so do I.

THE END