Author's Note (Please read!): I don't know about you, but I always found Jeanine's death a bit…improbable. If she's really so smart, why in the world did she have such a flimsy security system in her secret laboratory? Why couldn't she remotely steal Abnegation's files over the data network? How come she didn't install a simple security system to catch escapees in the Erudite headquarters like the ones we already have, instead of letting Tris and Tobias run amok? Personally, I think there must've been somebody working against her, somebody smarter and more experienced than Peter or Caleb.

This is a companion story to my other work, Generation 1—The Class of 2251. If you don't have time to read the whole thing, please, please at least look over Andrew, Natalie, and Jeanine's POVs so you understand what's going on.

Note: The "Age: _" labels at the start of each chapter indicate the age of the person narrating. Also, some details of this story will conflict with Allegiant because I wrote its prequel, The Class of 2251, before the third book came out. For the sake of continuity, Andrew's last name will remain Carr while Natalie's surname is Prior, the conflict that lead to the formation of the factions was between the UN and ICL rather than the GP and GD, and there's no Bureau. In terms of the plot, these details won't matter too much; I simply want readers to know why I changed certain things. You can think of this as a slight AU if you like.

Family Trees:

Carr Family: Leon + Iris —» Andrew, Perrier

Matthews Family: Kyle + Nora —» Jeanine, Dave, Candice, Amy

Prior Family: Ottis + Ruth —» Natalie

Woods Family: Felipe + Mariana —» Javier, Rodrigo, Oscar, Luis, Cassidy

(Bold = Canon, Italics = Adopted)

January 8, 2235

Nora, Age 32

Silence.

The only sound in the laboratory is the steady tap tap tap of Kyle's keyboard. We all hold our breaths, waiting.

I never thought I'd welcome my first child into the world like this, standing before an artificial womb in a cramped lab, waiting for my husband to check the baby's vital signs. But what choice did we have? We had to genetically engineer our daughter for her great tasks ahead, and it would've been impossible to do so if the fetus resided within me.

Kyle speaks up at last.

"All major organ systems fully developed…regular heartbeat…motor coordination strong…"

"Looks like you two have done it," Leon congratulates us.

Naturally, my coworkers Leon and Iris Carr are here as well, with their infant son Andrew in tow. The Carrs have worked with us from the very beginning, ever since Kyle inherited those mysterious files. They are as much a part of the mission as we are.

I ask the fateful question. "IQ?"

Kyle smiles broadly. "210."

I sag with relief. At last! The one part of our plan the Carrs have never approved of is our "tinkering" with the human genome. I've never understood their squeamishness about this; what's wrong with adding or subtracting a few nucleotides here and there? But no matter. The Carr baby, who of course was born naturally, only has an IQ of 160. Who's tinkering now?

"Want to do the honors?" my husband prompts me.

I nod and tentatively reach into the metal womb. Terrified of pinching too hard, I quickly lift the infant out, wrap it in a blanket, and set it in the crib. We all gather around to look at her. When Kyle and I first programmed our child's genes, we decided to give her a blend of our physical traits:my dark blonde hair, his steely gray eyes. Peering silently up at us, the newborn looks startlingly solemn.

"What's her name?" asks Iris.

Kyle answers for me. "Jeanine. Gene experiment number nine."

"And the only successful one," I hear Leon mutter. I glare at him but don't say anything further; the Carrs are a powerful family in Erudite, after all, and it wouldn't do to offend them.

Evidently, Kyle's heard him too. "Four more designer children will follow, one to lead each of the other factions," he promises. "They will complete Operation Convergence for us, and the city will be free of the troublesome Divergent at last."

The four of us nod solemnly at our shared secret plot, the ancient mission that our families have carried on for generations. "Soon, you'll complete that mission," I whisper to the infant, lifting her up to the window so she can see the whole glorious city spread out below her. "And all of this will be yours." My daughter smiles ever so slightly.

In Iris's arms, Andrew Carr begins to cry.

If this section didn't make any sense to you, I highly recommend that you read chapters 2 and 5 of The Class of 2251. In the meantime, please read and review! I'm experimenting with first person present tense, so tell me what you think!