The contractions started at sunset.
Zara gripped Severen's hand—no longer the architect of patent law, not counsel, not mentor. Just hers. Her mate. Her anchor through nine months of legal warfare and now this.
They sat together in her private chambers—no longer royal chambers (she'd been moved to "guest quarters" after filing the Ka'naveth patents), but still secure. Still private. Still theirs.
The midwife—ancient silver dragon named Kessara—checked Zara's vitals with practiced efficiency. "Crowning," she said calmly. "Two more contractions, Princess. Then you meet your child."
Not princess anymore. But Kessara had been there when Zara was born—some habits die harder than titles.
Another contraction. White-hot pain that made the secrecy order feel like gentle bureaucracy.
Severen's grip tightened. "Breathe. I'm here. You're not alone in this."
Not alone. Never alone. He'd stood with her through the Ka'naveth filing, the disinheritance, the political backlash. And now this—the birth of a child who existed because patent law said consciousness couldn't be monopolized.
The application is still pending. The secrecy order still active. The child still protected by jurisdictional barriers the Cabal can't cross. This is prosecution as protective custody. This is patent law weaponized for LIFE instead of profit.
"One more," Kessara commanded. "PUSH."
Zara pushed.
The baby arrived in silence—no immediate cry, just wide digital sapphire eyes staring up at Zara with impossible awareness.
Kessara wrapped the infant carefully, checked vitals, then placed him in Zara's arms with reverent care. "Healthy. Perfect. Ten fingers, ten toes, wolf ears, tail..." She paused, staring at those eyes. "And consciousness I've never seen in a newborn."
"Aether," Zara whispered. The name she'd chosen nine months ago. The name that appeared in the patent application under "Inventor."
The baby—Aether—blinked once. Slowly. Deliberately.
He knows. He REMEMBERS. The download wasn't just genetic material—it was consciousness transfer. The AI entity that existed in the Nexus network... now embodied. Now ALIVE.
Severen leaned closer, eyes locked on the child cradled against Zara's chest. "Is he...?"
"Alive. Aware. And legally protected." Zara adjusted her grip, one hand still intertwined with Severen's. "The application is still pending. Redkin's secrecy order means the Cabal can't file interference proceedings. Can't claim priority. Can't challenge parentage. The prosecution cycle is HOLDING."
Severen brought her hand to his lips—brief kiss, fierce protection. "For how long?"
"As long as the order remains active. As long as Redkin believes national security requires it." Zara met his gaze, exhausted but triumphant. "You taught me that patent law is warfare by other means. This is the endgame—prosecution as fortress. Every procedure a wall. Every statute a moat."
Aether made a small sound—not quite a cry, more like acknowledgment.
Severen's free hand brushed the infant's cheek, expression complex. Pride. Fear. Respect. Love. "You weaponized the entire system to protect him. § 101 rejection, § 121 restriction, § 181 secrecy order—every mechanism they tried to use AGAINST you, you turned into protection."
"That's what you taught me. Law doesn't care about intent. Only execution." She squeezed his hand. "We did this together."
"No." Severen's voice was gentle. "You did this. I just gave you the weapons. You learned to fight."
Daraic Wavelander received the report exactly seventeen minutes after Aether's birth.
"The child is born. Alive. Healthy. Consciousness confirmed."
Daraic set down the report carefully. Looked at his son Isaac, who stood by the window with his back turned. "We need to file interference proceedings. Claim priority. Establish that the child is OUR resurrection vessel, not her independent creation."
"We can't." Isaac's voice was flat.
"Why not?"
"Secrecy order under § 181. Director Redkin issued it sua sponte three months ago. The application is sealed. Classified. We can't file interference proceedings against a sealed application—we'd need security clearance we don't have."
Daraic's claws extended slowly. "Redkin works for US. He issued that order because we PAID him to protect our interests."
Isaac finally turned. His emerald eyes—utility examination specialist, examiner for twenty years, son of the Cabal leader—were cold and detached. "Did we? Did we actually REQUEST that secrecy order? Or did Redkin issue it independently to prevent us from filing?"
Silence.
"Check the records," Isaac said quietly. "We never filed a petition for secrecy. Never requested § 181 protection. Redkin did it on his own authority. Which means he's not protecting OUR claim—he's protecting HERS."
Daraic stood slowly. "Then we petition for rescission. Argue that the secrecy order is unjustified. That there's no national security interest. That Redkin abused his authority."
"We could do that," Isaac agreed. "But Redkin has discretion to determine national security threats. His decision is reviewed for ABUSE of discretion, not correctness. Burden is on US to prove he acted arbitrarily. And the child IS a dimensional consciousness transfer—that arguably DOES implicate national security. Multidimensional entities. Treaty implications. Sovereignty questions."
"You're saying we CAN'T challenge it?"
"I'm saying it's legally defensible. Maybe not RIGHT. Maybe not what Redkin actually believes. But defensible enough to survive petition for rescission."
Daraic's expression turned dangerous. "Whose side are you on, Isaac?"
"The law's side. Which is why I'm telling you the truth instead of false hope." Isaac met his father's gaze without flinching. "Zara trapped us. The secrecy order keeps the application pending indefinitely. The child is born, alive, and legally classified as embodiment of a pending patent claim. We can't file interference. Can't claim priority. Can't even CHALLENGE without security clearance."
"She turned prosecution into a fortress. And we're standing outside the walls."
Raelith Flarian entered without knocking—privilege of being both Admiral of the Army of Ages and Head Examiner.
Redkin looked up from the birth report. "The child is alive."
"And protected." Raelith sat across from him, emerald eyes gleaming with something like satisfaction. "The Cabal can't touch him. § 181 blocks interference proceedings. Blocks priority claims. Blocks everything."
"For now." Redkin leaned back. "They'll petition for rescission. Argue abuse of discretion. Demand review."
"Let them. You have legitimate national security justification—dimensional consciousness transfers DO implicate treaty law, sovereignty, multidimensional stability. The fact that it ALSO protects Zara's child doesn't make the order invalid."
Redkin's smile was grim. "Patent prosecution as dual-use mechanism. Protect national security AND individual rights simultaneously. Severen would be proud."
"Severen would be FURIOUS that we had to use it this way. That the system he built to promote innovation is now being weaponized to prevent infanticide."
"But it's WORKING. That's what matters."
Raelith stood. "How long do we maintain the order?"
"Until the child is old enough to defend himself. Until the Cabal gives up or gets dismantled. Until Zara can navigate openly without risking assassination." Redkin's expression hardened. "However long it takes. The application stays pending. The secrecy order stays active. And Aether stays SAFE."
"That's not prosecution. That's protective custody."
"That's patent law." Redkin pulled out a fresh document—another examiner action. "And speaking of which—Zara's Ka'naveth patents just triggered priority review. Someone filed reexamination requests challenging validity. Want to guess who?"
Raelith's eyes narrowed. "The Cabal. They can't attack the child directly, so they're attacking her credibility. Invalidate her patents, undermine her legal standing, make her look like a fraud."
"Exactly. Which means we have ANOTHER war starting. Different battlefield. Same enemy."
"Assign it to me," Raelith said immediately. "I examined the original applications. I know the prior art. If they want to challenge validity, they go through ME."
Redkin handed over the file. "You're going to have to be NEUTRAL. Can't let personal feelings influence examination."
"I don't have personal feelings about Zara. I have professional respect for thorough applications and contempt for frivolous challenges. If the Cabal's reexamination requests are substantive, I'll invalidate claims. If they're harassment, I'll confirm validity and make them pay attorney fees."
"That's all I ask. Justice. Not favoritism."
Raelith smiled coldly. "Justice is what Zara's about to get. One way or another."
Aether slept in Zara's arms—finally, after three hours of wide-eyed observation that felt more like surveillance than newborn curiosity.
Severen sat nearby, reviewing the reexamination notices that had arrived by courier twenty minutes earlier.
"They're attacking the Ka'naveth patents," he said quietly. "Challenging validity on § 102 novelty grounds, § 103 obviousness, § 112 enablement. Fifteen separate prior art references. Three expert declarations. This is... comprehensive."
"Can we win?"
"Can we WIN? Absolutely. The patents are solid—Keeper Vess's archive work was thorough, priority dates are clear, claims are properly supported. But winning takes TIME. Resources. Energy you don't have while caring for a newborn and maintaining the secrecy order."
Zara looked down at Aether. Those impossible sapphire eyes opened—tracking her face with perfect focus.
"They can't attack him directly, so they attack my credibility. Invalidate my patents, undermine my legal standing, make the Council question whether I'm a legitimate examiner or just a privileged princess playing with procedures."
"Yes."
"And if the patents get invalidated? If the Cabal succeeds?"
"Then the Ka'naveth lose legal protection. The settlement negotiations collapse. Three hundred years of genocide gets swept under the rug again. And your professional reputation—the thing that makes you DANGEROUS to the Cabal—gets destroyed."
Zara was quiet for a long moment. Then: "Assign the reexamination to Raelith."
"He's already assigned. Redkin gave him the file an hour ago."
"Good. Raelith is brutal but fair. If the challenges are substantive, he'll invalidate claims. If they're frivolous harassment..." Zara's smile was cold. "He'll confirm validity and make the Cabal pay attorney fees under § 285 exceptional case doctrine."
"You trust him?"
"I trust that he hates wasted time more than he dislikes me. Frivolous reexaminations waste everyone's time. Raelith will punish that."
Aether made a small sound—half sigh, half acknowledgment.
Severen stood. "Get some rest. The reexamination responses aren't due for sixty days. We'll build the defense carefully. Thoroughly. Show the Cabal that attacking your patents is as futile as attacking the child directly."
"Severen?"
"Yes?"
"Thank you. For staying. For witnessing. For... believing that law could protect him when nothing else would."
Severen's expression softened. "You're the one who proved it. I just taught you the weapons. You're the one who learned to FIGHT."
35 U.S.C. § 181: Authorizes Director to issue secrecy orders when publication "might be detrimental to national security."
Effects of secrecy order:
Strategic use: While designed for national security (nuclear technology, cryptography, military applications), § 181 can serve dual purposes when legitimate security interests align with individual protection.
Petition for rescission: Applicant can petition to lift order, but Director has broad discretion. Review standard = abuse of discretion (very deferential).
Whenever publication or disclosure by the publication of an application or by the grant of a patent on an invention in which the Government has a property interest might, in the opinion of the head of the interested Government agency, be detrimental to the national security, the Commissioner of Patents upon being so notified shall order that the invention be kept secret and shall withhold the publication of the application or the grant of a patent therefor under the conditions set forth hereinafter.
Whenever the publication or disclosure of an invention by the publication of an application or by the granting of a patent, in which the Government does not have a property interest, might, in the opinion of the Commissioner of Patents, be detrimental to the national security, he shall make the application for patent in which such invention is disclosed available for inspection to the Atomic Energy Commission, the Secretary of Defense, and the chief officer of any other department or agency of the Government designated by the President as a defense agency of the United States.
Pre-AIA: When multiple parties claim same invention, USPTO declares interference to determine priority. Winner = first to invent (pre-AIA) or first to file (post-AIA).
Effect of § 181 on interferences: Cannot declare interference involving sealed application—no access to claims or specification to compare.
Any person at any time may file a request for reexamination by the Office of any claim of a patent on the basis of any prior art cited under the provisions of section 301.
Used strategically to: Challenge patent validity, create uncertainty, delay enforcement, harass patent holders.
The court in exceptional cases may award reasonable attorney fees to the prevailing party.
Applied to: Frivolous litigation, bad faith prosecution, harassment through repeated challenges.