Chapter One
February 21, 2231, Ross 128, New Pacifica, Aurora, Private Residence of Julia Caldo
When every minor reversal is repaid with glorious fortune, it can instill curious thoughts in a woman—blasphemous, by some accounts.
Foremost among those was the idea that something providential—divine, even—must be guiding her path, a sort of blessed destiny.
Julia no longer cared if such thoughts passed into arrogance because the truth should never be ignored. Her successes in the last couple of years vastly outstripped her failures.
She was the chosen one.
There could be no doubt, and this day in human history would eventually go down as the dawn of a new era, even if only a small number of people were there to witness it.
The key to Julia’s destiny looked messy and unassuming as she c
