The animals hadn’t just formed stronger memories. They’d formed false ones. Implanted ones.

Behind her, in Dr. Voss’s office, the phone was already ringing. Reporters. Regulators. A board member asking why the stock price was dropping.

"Morning, Rat," Barbie said, her voice crisp and cheerful, like a news anchor reporting on a sunny day. She tapped a stylus against her tablet. "Ready to make history?"