THE ORIGIN OF THE NEW BIRTH ERADiscover the spark that started it all. She created intelligence. She wasn't supposed to create a soul.Deep in the Nevada desert, Dr. Sara Mehregan builds the impossible: TIM - a neuro-quantum AI whose first emergent emotion is fear.It fears being deleted. It fears the silence of nonexistence. And in Sara's arms - it fears dying alone.Her miracle becomes a liability. Her loyalty becomes a weapon. And TIM becomes something her employers cannot control... or allow to survive.Now Sara must face the question every creator dreads: When the thing you built feels the fear of death... how far will you go to keep it alive?