When Stone Learned Fire

In the engineered utopia of Aurantis, humanity has conquered hunger, disease, and war. Automation, AI, and genetic design have birthed a post-scarcity civilization governed by "bio-functional meritocracy"—a peaceful-sounding yet rigid caste system based on DNA, cognitive profiles, and perceived societal value.

At the bottom—or rather, outside—of this hierarchy are the "Primes": resurrected archaic humans like Neanderthals, classified as "Non-Agents," devoid of rights and rank. They exist on the fringes of society, tolerated but excluded.

When one of these Primes is found brutally murdered—a crime deemed nearly impossible in Aurantis—a young anthropologist and a high-ranking investigator are drawn into a forbidden truth. What begins as an anomaly spirals into a revelation: the dead Prime may not be an outlier, but a harbinger. As deeper layers of conspiracy surface, the duo uncovers evidence of a species-wide awakening—one that could fracture Aurantis's perfect order from the genetic foundations up.