The laboratory's secrets now lay bare before Amara, but one piece remained elusive—the damaged data recorder mentioned in the whispers of the ocean. She searched through the detritus of science and ambition until her fingers closed around the cold metal of the recorder.

With bated breath, Amara played the last message. The voice that crackled through was filled with urgency and dread. It spoke of the algae's sentience, of its ability to feel and respond to the environment. The experiment had not just altered its biology; it had inflicted pain.

The song, the voice explained, was the algae's response to the trauma it had endured. It was a cry for help that had gone unheard, a plea for the agony to end. The researchers had intended to create a sustainable energy source, but instead, they had birthed a living being capable of suffering.

Amara sat in the darkness of the lab, the weight of the revelation pressing down on her. The song was not just a melody; it was a symphony of pain and a call to action. She knew what she had to do. The first step to healing was to acknowledge the harm, and Amara was ready to listen.