Verdant Sprout

By: Dax Merrin

Narrated by: Joseph Fouke

Verdant Sprout: A Veridia Reclamation Story. In a city of chrome, the greatest act of rebellion is a single seed.

Veridia is a city that has forgotten the color green. Beneath its mirrored sky and artificial sun, every breath is rationed by the SyntheLife Corporation, and every circuit is programmed for perfect, sterile order. For Raina Solen, survival means scavenging the waste belts for parts that still have a pulse of utility.

But when Raina uncovers a cracked data-crystal—a relic of the forbidden "Verdance" project—she wakes a "living code" that refuses to obey the laws of the machine. Joined by Lyra, a pragmatic underground leader, and Jitterbug, a malfunctioning maintenance droid with a heart of "ninety-one percent" optimism, Raina must descend into the city’s forgotten archives.

As the city’s own systems begin to "grow" and recalculate toward compassion, Raina and her allies must decide if they are ready for the chaos of a world that breathes on its own. In a world of engineered obedience, they are about to discover that progress isn't found in precision—it’s found in the hands that maintain the hope of a garden.

©2025 Dax Merrin (P)2026 Dax Merrin