Chapter 3 Five Years Later - Global Live-Streamed Paternity Ceremony
# Chapter 3: Five Years Later - Global Live-Streamed Paternity Ceremony
The United Nations General Assembly hall buzzed with anticipation. World leaders, diplomats, and press from 193 countries filled the chamber to capacity, their attention riveted on the imposing figure approaching the podium. Caesar Sims, now the seventh richest man in the world following Li Corporation's revolutionary advancements in genetic medicine, adjusted his titanium cufflinks with the practiced ease of a man accustomed to global attention.
"Distinguished delegates," he began, his voice commanding instant silence, "five years ago, I promised a new era in human potential. Today, I'm proud to announce that Li Corporation's regenerative tissue program has successfully treated its ten-thousandth patient."
Applause rippled through the assembly. On enormous screens behind him, footage displayed children running who once couldn't walk, elderly patients regaining youth-like vitality, and tearful families embracing loved ones snatched from death's door.
"We stand at the threshold of human immortality," Caesar continued, his charisma magnetic. "Our newest initiative, Project Prometheus, will extend human lifespan by up to fifty years within a decade."
As he reached the crescendo of his speech, the screens behind him flickered unexpectedly. A tech assistant rushed to the side of the stage, frantically working on a tablet.
"As I was saying," Caesar recovered smoothly, "mortality itself will soon become optional for—"
The screens went black, then abruptly switched to video footage that silenced the entire assembly. A hospital room. A woman screaming in labor. Nydia Schmidt, sweat-drenched and fierce-eyed, gripping the bedrails as she pushed.
"What the—" Caesar spun around, face contorting with shock.
The audio kicked in. "One more push, Ms. Schmidt! I can see the head!"
Caesar lunged toward the technicians. "Cut the feed! NOW!"
But the broadcast continued, split-screen now: on one side Nydia delivering what appeared to be twins, on the other a real-time comment section flooding with messages from viewers worldwide.
"Caesar, embryo storage fees past due: $1.2M plus interest!"
"Daddy duties calling! 😂"
"DNA test! DNA test! DNA test!"
The UN Secretary-General stood, signaling security, but the chaos was already complete. Caesar returned to the podium, attempting damage control.
"This is a criminal hack," he announced, voice tight with rage. "A desperate attempt to undermine today's announcement by—"
"By your abandoned baby mama?" called a voice from the back of the hall.
The assembly erupted in shocked laughter as the video on screen shifted to a well-appointed living room where Nydia sat composed and elegant, five years older than in the birth video, flanked by two extraordinarily poised five-year-old children.
"Hello, United Nations," Nydia smiled directly into the camera. "I do apologize for interrupting Mr. Sims' fantasy hour, but my children insisted on addressing the assembly regarding certain... ethical concerns."
Caesar gripped the podium, knuckles white. "Security! Trace that broadcast!"
The little girl, with Caesar's distinctive amber eyes but Nydia's determined jawline, leaned forward. Her voice was childish but articulate beyond her years.
"Hello, Daddy," she said, blinking innocently. "My name is Aurora. This is my brother Orion. You've never met us, but you made us in your laboratory."
The boy nodded solemnly. "You combined our mother's egg with your enhanced DNA and added computational neurology architecture to our embryonic development. Standard paternal stuff."
The global audience watched in stunned silence as the five-year-old girl held up a tablet displaying complex financial data.
"We need you to transfer 100 billion dollars to the account listed below," Aurora said sweetly. "It's for our college fund."
Caesar regained his composure, forcing a laugh. "This elaborate hoax—"
"It's not a hoax, Mr. Sims," Orion interrupted. "And we have the Hello Kitty video."
The color drained from Caesar's face. "What video?"
The screen split again to show security footage dated three years earlier. Caesar, wearing a pink Hello Kitty apron, spoon-feeding what appeared to be an infant clone in a high-security laboratory. His voice, unmistakable: "Who's my perfect little genetic masterpiece? Yes you are! Yes you are!"
The UN assembly erupted in unrestrained laughter. The Japanese ambassador was literally crying. The German chancellor had slid down in her chair, shoulders shaking.
"That's—that's clearly deepfake technology!" Caesar shouted, but his face had turned crimson.
Aurora smiled sweetly. "We have six more hours of it. My favorite is when you sing the DNA replication song with hand puppets."
Caesar lunged at the nearest technician. "Kill the broadcast!"
"We've tried, sir," the technician whispered. "It's simultaneously broadcasting on every Li Corporation server worldwide. Someone's hijacked our entire network."
On screen, Orion typed rapidly on a laptop that seemed too large for his small hands. "I've just accessed your Swiss account, Father. Your profile picture was too corporate, so I've updated it to something more personalized."
The screens displayed a banking interface with Caesar's account information, his profile picture now a cartoon caricature labeled "Deadbeat Dad of the Century."
Caesar's security team surrounded him, urgently whispering contingency plans, but the broadcast continued relentlessly.
"You have thirty seconds to initiate the transfer," Aurora said, examining her small manicured nails, "or we release your genetic modification patent applications—the illegal ones you've hidden from regulatory authorities."
The UN Secretary-General approached Caesar. "Mr. Sims, perhaps we should adjourn this session until—"
"This is extortion!" Caesar hissed, before turning back to the screen. "Listen to me, you genetically enhanced brats—"
"Ten seconds," Orion counted down, finger hovering over his keyboard.
Cameras captured the exact moment Caesar broke. With a strangled growl, he grabbed a security officer's tablet and furiously authorized the transfer.
"Transaction confirmed," Aurora announced cheerfully. "Thank you, Daddy! We'll send a Father's Day card next year. Maybe."
The children high-fived each other as Nydia moved back into frame.
"Now that financial matters are settled," she said calmly, "perhaps we should address the ethical implications of creating genetically modified children without consent?"
Caesar had recovered enough to counter. "You signed consent forms, Nydia. Comprehensive ones."
"Under duress, with a pen I later stabbed into your doctor's neck," she reminded him with a tight smile. "Not exactly legally binding."
"The courts will decide that," Caesar snarled. "Those children are Li Corporation intellectual property."
The assembly gasped collectively. Even Caesar's supporters looked uncomfortable.
"Did you just claim your own children as property?" Nydia asked incredulously.
Before Caesar could respond, he suddenly clutched his chest, face contorting in pain. He collapsed to the floor as medical staff rushed to his side.
The broadcast continued uninterrupted as paramedics worked on Caesar, attaching monitoring equipment. When they activated the heart monitor, its distinctive beeping pattern appeared on screens throughout the assembly hall.
One of the paramedics frowned, adjusting the equipment. "This can't be right..."
The heart monitor wasn't showing normal cardiac activity. Instead, it displayed the distinctive pattern of a fetal heartbeat monitor.
"Mr. Sims," the paramedic said, confusion evident in her voice, "according to this reading... you're pregnant."
The assembly hall went completely silent, then erupted in chaos.
On screen, Nydia looked directly at the camera, a knowing smile playing at her lips. "Surprise medical issues, Caesar? How unexpected."
The paramedic continued her examination, growing increasingly bewildered. "Sir, there appears to be... movement... in your abdominal cavity."
Caesar, pale and sweating, struggled to sit up. "That's impossible! What did you do, Nydia?!"
Nydia's expression remained serene. "When you stole my eggs five years ago, did you really think I wouldn't notice? That I wouldn't retaliate? You wanted my genetic material so badly—I simply ensured you got more than you bargained for."
Orion looked up from his computer. "The nanite embryo transfer completed successfully, Mother. All vital signs stable."
"Nanite... what?" Caesar gasped, clutching his abdomen.
"Remember those nanobots you used to track me?" Nydia asked. "I reprogrammed some of them. They've been dormant in your system for years, carrying a special package, waiting for the activation code."
Aurora beamed proudly. "I wrote the activation algorithm! It triggered when you authorized the fund transfer."
The paramedic's scanner beeped urgently. "Sir, there's definitely something with a heartbeat inside your abdominal cavity. We need to get you to a hospital immediately."
As security began clearing the hall and medical staff prepared to transport Caesar, Nydia delivered her parting shot.
"Don't worry, Caesar. Pregnancy only lasts nine months. Though with the accelerated development modifications you're so fond of, who knows? Maybe less."
The broadcast finally cut out, replaced by the Li Corporation logo. But the damage was done. Within minutes, "Caesar's Pregnancy" was trending globally, with memes spreading faster than the company's PR team could contain them.
In a secure location thousands of miles away, Nydia closed her laptop and turned to her children.
"Well done, both of you," she said, hugging them close. "Phase one complete."
"Do you think he'll actually have a baby?" Aurora asked, giggling.
"No, sweetheart," Nydia replied. "The nanites will dissolve harmlessly once they've taught him their lesson. But the next few weeks of medical examinations should keep him thoroughly distracted."
Orion looked up from his computer. "Mother, Aunt Vera is calling. She says the clone collective is ready to proceed with phase two."
Nydia nodded, her expression turning serious. "Perfect timing. Caesar will be too busy explaining his 'condition' to notice when we infiltrate his primary research facility."
She gazed out the window at the setting sun, one hand absently touching her abdomen where the twins had once sent her Morse code messages.
"The game is just beginning," she whispered. "And this time, I'm the one making the rules."
