Being next in line to be Alpha can mean a lot of things. But what a lot of people and dragons don't realize is the amount of extra study that you have to do to be prepared to adequately lead a large nest like the Hidden World.

I've been studying the human race, as well as a lot of extra stuff about law systems worldwide, and dragon biology, among other things. But even though I'm only fifteen, I can see a lot of things that other dragons can't see in basic scenarios. The legality of actions performed, whether or not it's a good or bad scenario, etc. I've found myself in my studies, but after I met my boyfriend, John, I've been trying to find myself all over again. It's in these searches where you find your moral compass. And as I look into where human science is going I see a lot of red flags in one area in particular: editing genetic code. I've seen articles and videos about what things like PGD and CRISPER can do. But I can read between the lines and I see nothing good coming out of it if humans go as far as editing babies.

Humans already have norms and practices that I don't like very much. There's nothing I can do about that. But I hope that what you find here will serve as a warning that while knowledge is power, power can also be very dangerous and that we need to regulate boundaries on how far we can experiment into the unknown. Our DNA is so perfectly constructed that it supports large multicellular organisms such as me and you. And if we don't set boundaries on this new science, it could very well result in the destruction of the human race and/or dragons all together. Whether that destruction will be literal or social is yet to be determined by the choices we make regarding these things and the outcome of those decisions.

But we must not forget that gene editing is dangerous. And just “because we can” is no excuse. Because if I were to just go burn a building down and sit in the fire “because I can” it doesn't seem very reasonable. That's why laws and rules are in place: to regulate what we can and can't do for our own safety. If humans can't find reason in that, I don't know if I'll be able to help the human race any further. But I know that I can protect my fellow dragons from suffering the same fate I fear humans are heading for. If they want to throw their species off a cliff, so be it. They've been warned.

I don't mean to spread fear or hate towards this science. It's quite amazing, I only mean to warn everyone, human and dragon alike, about the dangers this new technology can cause and to proceed with caution.

I'm going to say this, even though I know it's been said before by a few people, but even though this is a fiction novel, fiction is a lie that tells the truth over and over. But I want readers to not judge the book by its cover or title, but to judge it by the underlying truths and the content it presents to the world. Because as Neil Gaiman put it, “If someone tells you what a story is about, they are probably right. If someone tells you that that is all a story is about, they are very definitely wrong.” I want people and dragons alike to see these things entwined with a rich, and powerful story that will be remembered for generations to come. Everyone sees and processes things differently depending on their experiences and background, so even I don't fully know everything the story is about. You may see something between it's lines I never did, and that's the beauty in books: everyone applies their life, experiences, and backgrounds to the story to create a unique and one of a kind experience that they will cherish for the rest of their lives.

 ~ Dart Haddock, 2024