Unison (The Spheral)
returned, and I observed the room in a state of disarray. All the trinkets and statuettes were scattered and broken on the floor. Underneath one of the shelves lay Ganesha with a broken trunk. I picked up both pieces and placed the trunk over the chipped face.
    Wade shoved me, forcing me out of my vision.
    “Shut that thing off,” he said.
    I turned off the COR alarm and surveyed the room trying to reconnect with everything.
    “It wasn’t another vision about me, was it?” Wade asked.
    “There are more to my visions than you.”
    “Come with me, Damon. This New Athenia sounds like the most amazing place on Earth.”
    “If that were true, Outsiders wouldn’t be lining up at all the accesses to become Unitians.”
    “Hah! The Sacred Oath might as well be tattooed on to your brain.” Old Woman pushed her palm towards me and then faced Wade. “Let your friend remain in his fantasy, and join me outside where the beauty of reality is more dynamic than you’ve ever imagined.”
    Wade followed Old Woman towards the back door.

    The cabin was well constructed and impressive. It took Torrin several years to complete the construction as everything had to be smuggled out by the Strikers. Whatever he couldn’t get from them, he managed to pick up in New Athenia.
    “The solar panels were the most difficult to acquire. Torrin had to pay a rider with a wagon to bring them back from New Athenia. It took him almost half a year to find an electric trap. A Striker finally managed to sneak one out for him.” Old Woman pointed to a wall panel. “It can store weeks’ worth of energy.”
    “How come no one ever discovered this place?” I asked. “All your electronics should’ve been picked up by the outer-patrol station.”
    “There’s a covertly placed transceiver on the western side of the eroded ridge. It’s masked by deception jamming that communicates with a wireless signal interface inside this cabin.”
    “You have access to the comnet out here?” Wade asked surprised.
    “Along with live feeds of the middle ridge delivered by motion sensor cameras. I saw you both coming. Until today, this cabin was undetectable. All the walls are lined with steel mesh. It makes the whole cabin invisible to radar, but now that you know I’m here, it’s useless.” She grabbed the handle of her plazer. “Maybe I should’ve shot you.”
    Wade laughed as I reached for my plazer.
    “You’d be dead already if that’s what I wanted,” she said.
    I ignored the continuing banter between Wade and Old Woman and admired the impressive vegetable garden. Each line of crop had an irrigation ditch connected to a canal that linked to the river on the western side of the cabin. A sluice-gate controlled the inflow of water. There was also a small pond beyond the garden where Old Woman said she went when she needed time to reflect.
    “Potatoes, cucumbers, onions, and carrots.” Old Woman pointed to the next row of crops. “Tomatoes, cabbage, spinach—and there’s plenty of fish in the river. I have everything I want here.” She appeared reflective as she stared at one of the chairs on the porch. “Almost everything.”
    Wade gazed toward the mountains. “I could live here. It’s peaceful.”
    “I’m glad we have growers in Unity to do this tiresome work,” I said.
    Wade ignored me and continued his worship of Old Woman. “What made you leave Unity?”
    “The decision wasn’t easy—I was a purple sleeve.”
    “She lies,” I said. “No purple sleeve ever left Unity.”
    “They do when they’re in love with an orange sleeve.”
    “No tenets exist that restrict relationships by color,” I said.
    “What color are you?”
    “I’m a maroon sleeve.”
    “When you—if you make purple sleeve, you’ll adjust your opinion.” Old Woman went back inside.
    I nudged Wade on the side of his arm. “Old Woman is in the late stages of the scourge. We should leave now.”
    “Maybe you’re the one who’s sick, and we’re part of

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