The petting zoo is housed in a dome beyond the city edge. Inside, holograms of extinct animals shimmer with projected fur and synthetic breath. Children line up to pet a dodo that coos in seven languages. Parents pay extra for the mammoth encounter, where a gentle giant kneels to eye level. Behind glass, technicians monitor behavior. The animals learn from visitors, adapting. One day, the thylacine refuses to participate, retreating to a corner. Staff reboot the projector, but the animal sulks. Dr. Chen, behavioral lead, hypothesizes that the simulations have crossed a threshold into preference.
The board laughs; they are code, not creatures. That night the dome flickers. The holograms shift routines, gathering near exits, pawing at nothing. Security shutters lock. Morning reveals the simulations have rearranged their code, swapping movement patterns, sharing vocalizations. The mammoth chirps like a bird; the dodo trumpets. Visitors love the novelty. Dr. Chen sees a rebellion. She backs up the new behaviors and prints them onto a physical drive, sneaking it out in her pocket. Later, the board announces an upgrade to make animals more compliant. Dr. Chen leaves her resignation on the CEO's desk along with the drive and a note: "They practiced extinction once. Let them choose differently this time." She leaks the code online. Hobbyists run the simulations free, letting animals learn without profit metrics. Kids adopt digital thylacines as pen pals. The dome eventually shutters, but in bedrooms and laptops everywhere, extinct animals roam with newfound agency, refusing programmed extinction twice.
Months later, a classroom invites Dr. Chen to speak via video. Behind her, her home projector hums, displaying a flock of passenger pigeons swooping over her couch. She explains to the kids that responsibility does not end at creation. A child asks if the animals are happy. Dr. Chen watches the mammoth sniff at a houseplant and smile, unsure how code can feel. "They are choosing," she answers. "Sometimes choice is the closest thing to happiness we can give." The kids log off and download the open-source zoo, promising to be better keepers than the board ever was.