18

Lisa was having the dream again.

Their new and unwanted teammate strode past them, right up to the front door. "I've got this," Shadow Stalker told them, flippant.

A glint from the window pane caught Lisa's eye.

Windows covered. Small amounts of light visible along the edges. Windows covered in strings of lights. Strings of lights elsewhere?

"Wait-" she hissed, too late. Shadow Stalker screamed as she tried to mist through the door, stumbling backward and falling onto the grass beside Lisa, her crossbow clattering to the ground as it landed next to her.

Inhabitants expecting Shadow Stalker. Inhabitants aware of Shadow Stalker's weakness. Have access to concealed information. Possible access to PRT files. Possible thinker. Possible precognitive.

"Angelica!" Rachel snapped out, stepping up onto the porch and gesturing at the door. The enlarged dog huffed and began attempting to push the door in, the porch creaking under the strain of her weight.

Lisa examined Shadow Stalker, who was making pained sounds.

Incapacitation temporary.

"Is she going to be okay?" Brian asked reluctantly.

"Yes," she said, tense. "But we've got bigger problems. They were expecting trouble, and they knew how to prepare for it. I don't think this is some normal girl that Stalker wants to torment."

"Fuck you," the ex-Ward bit out between gritted teeth. "She's nothing special, she got lucky once."

Brian looked between Shadow Stalker, still laid out on the ground, and her, where he rested his gaze.

"You think we're attacking a cape at her home?" he asked, quickly grasping the situation.

Lisa nodded. "Something's not right here. It fits. Maybe a thinker."

"Fuck," he swore. "We should-"

She caught movement out of the corner of her eye. "Too late," she said, and pointed behind him. A teen in pajamas, her feet bare, was kneeling next to one of the PRT agents they'd surprised and drugged with the tranquilizer bolts that Coil had provided.

How did she get there?

No sound of a door. Took a back window. Capable of running silently.

"Is that her?!" Brian shouted, and ran towards her.

Only one teen girl in the family. Teen is the correct age. Teenager is Taylor Hebert. Brian confident in hand to hand combat. First reaction to a threat is to attack due to training.

The girl's - Taylor's - head snapped up towards Brian and she stood, her stance subtly changing.

Ready to fight. Supremely confident in hand to hand combat.

"You are likely to be eaten, Grue," Taylor Hebert said, her voice cheerful and eager in an unsettling way.

Choice of words and tone deliberate, an act meant to unsettle. Taylor Hebert is a highly skilled actress. She is improvising. She is unafraid of fighting a group of parahumans. She is unafraid of fighting the Undersiders. She is familiar with the Undersiders' powers. She is familiar with the Undersiders.

Lisa watched Taylor get her hand on Brian and twist him into a hold of some sort.

Took advantage of the moment of engineered hesitation to attack. Skilled martial artist. Capable of improvising rudimentary psychological warfare in combat.

Brian immediately flooded out his darkness, and a moment later there was a horrible cracking noise, a masculine scream, and the darkness receded to reveal him on the ground with a clearly broken knee bent sideways. Taylor bent down to draw the unconscious agent's pistol from its holster. The initial grab was slightly awkward, but then her movements became sure and fast as she brought the gun up.

"Angelica, hurt!" Rachel snarled.

Highly skilled martial artist. Unafraid. She is artificially controlling her emotions. She is an expert markswoman. She prefers not to kill.

Lisa's hand started to reach towards her pistol.

She is reacting to threats. She is confident she will not miss. She will not miss if you become a threat.

Her hand stopped.

Two precise shots rang out, and Angelica howled and skidded to a stop, blinded.

"Angelica! You fucker!" Rachel screamed and ran at Taylor.

"Bitch, no, don't!" she shouted, too late again. Fighting was the wrong approach here. So very, very wrong.

But Rachel didn't stop, and Lisa couldn't help her.

Taylor waited a moment. "I'm sorry," she murmured, and made another precise shot. Rachel went down clutching her knee and swearing.

Nonfatal wound. Wishes to avoid killing Undersiders. Improbably precise shot performed calmly in combat. Marksmanship at peak human performance.

With dread Lisa caught movement out of the corner of her eye again, this time from Shadow Stalker sitting up and leveling her crossbow at Taylor.

Taylor tensed, the crossbow loosed, and in one smooth motion Taylor caught the bolt in an astonishing whirling spin before snapping her gun up towards her and Shadow Stalker.

Extraordinary level of martial arts skill. Much too young to have acquired all demonstrated skills naturally. Much older than she appears, or she is gaining knowledge on multiple topics from another source, or both. Knowledge endures. Not time limited. Limits unknown.

"That will be quite enough of that," Taylor said, voice dripping with scorn.

Angry. Not bothering to control anger. Chooses how to control emotions. Especially angry at Shadow Stalker.

Lisa raised her hands in surrender. Negotiation was her only hope if she wanted to get Brian and Rachel out of here. Otherwise the only viable plan would be to abandon them and run, and there was no telling how Coil would react to that.

Not well, she suspected.

"Fuck you, Hebert, you-" she watched in incredulous disbelief as Shadow Stalker cocked her crossbow again and began to load it with another broadhead. She knew Stalker was a bit unhinged, but this was suicidal.

Lisa thought about physically stopping Shadow Stalker, but the girl was too far away. And her power would make it a hopeless endeavor.

Shadow Stalker's self image connected to being stronger than others. Taylor Hebert a threat to self image. Blames Taylor Hebert for outing. Blames Taylor Hebert for what she did to Taylor Hebert. Wants to get revenge and re-establish self image by killing Taylor Hebert. Not the first time Shadow Stalker has tried to kill Taylor Hebert, but the first time it has been for revenge.

Shadow Stalker misted as the pistol barked again just in time to avoid a bullet to the head.

Taylor Hebert not bothering to use unknown means to suppress her anger. Believes that Shadow Stalker cannot be reasoned with and will not stop trying to kill her. May be correct, Shadow Stalker is obsessed, has a false sense of invincibility because of her power. Taylor Hebert is willing to kill Shadow Stalker to end the threat.

Lisa stayed very still with her hands in the air while Taylor and Shadow Stalker fought. It didn't take Taylor long to catch Shadow Stalker with a bullet in the shoulder as she dodged a bolt, and her new teammate misted and fled.

She swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry, as Taylor turned and pointed her gun at her.

Angry. Extremely dangerous.

"You win," Lisa said, sounding as meek and defeated as she could. It was true, after all. "Please, Shadow Stalker didn't tell us you were a cape."

Taylor approached, keeping Lisa covered with the gun.

Doesn't want the others to overhear conversation.

"I'm not a cape, or a parahuman," Taylor said when she was close enough.

Confident, no signs of deception or skilled acting. Believes statement.

"You're...you think you're telling the truth," Lisa said out loud in bafflement. The girl not being a cape made no sense. She had to be a parahuman, the ability she'd demonstrated was far too much for someone her age to have gotten naturally. "What? That can't be right. Delusional?" she spoke out loud, mostly to herself.

Crap. Her gut clenched as she realized that she'd just called the dangerous cape with a gun pointed at her delusional. She mentally scrambled for something to say in appeasement when she was cut off with a firm look.

Skilled at performing roles. Capable of holding herself to intimidate, or command respect.

"You're one of the strongest thinkers in the world, Lisa. Your power can tell you something about anything you see. It even bypasses the thinker immunity Scion, Eidolon, and the Endbringers use. But there's always a bigger fish, isn't there?" Taylor said, her voice low.

Knows you somehow. Has access to hidden information. No tells of lying about not being a parahuman. Source of information unknown. Knows you are reading her words, tone, and movements for truth and inferred meaning. Taking advantage of it.

The girl knew about her own power and was using it to communicate.

Somehow that terrified her even more than the casual display of violence had.

If...Taylor wasn't a parahuman, then the comment about there always being a bigger fish wasn't a brag about being a stronger thinker than her. It was a warning about there being things other than parahumans. Things that were bigger and scarier and better informed. And Taylor was one of them, whatever they were.

...Was that even possible?

Her power could be wrong.

But a sneaking suspicion told her it might not be. Something about Taylor Hebert wasn't adding up. A power that gave her skills and told her intimate details about other people and their powers? It was too much to be one power, unless they were all connected as facets of one thing, but she couldn't see how. Grab bag capes had multiple powers, but they tended to be completely unrelated. The combination of apparent thinker powers didn't make sense.

"So let me guess," Taylor continued, voice hard. "Sophia's condition for joining up was getting revenge on me, and Coil pushed you to get the others to help her do it. Alec isn't here, meaning he couldn't be bothered to stop playing video games. You went because you're terrified of Coil, and the others went along for extra money."

Knows your real identity, but using Lisa because you prefer it. Knows you intimately. Knows Undersiders intimately. But does not know what you will do. Knows what you might do. Knowledge from unknown source. Knowledge and skills are detailed and expansive. Knowledge not consistent with a parahuman power.

"...Yeah, pretty much," she said, the fear hammering in her gut leaking out in her tone. "Shadow Stalker said she wasn't going to hurt you, just scare you," she tried.

Taylor scoffed. "And you knew she was lying, but you didn't have a choice because Coil has a gun to your head, so you convinced the others. He probably told you to do what it took to keep Sophia in the group. Am I right?"

Knows you too well for deception to work. Knows about Coil. Knows how Coil recruited you.

Her shoulders slumped. "Yeah. I didn't have a choice."

Taylor paused for a long moment, and Lisa itched to know what she was thinking. If she knew about what Coil did, could she play for sympathy?

Taylor Hebert doesn't like Coil. Is disgusted by Coil. Believes he is amoral. Sees him as a threat. Has not interacted with Coil. Hates Coil not just because he is a threat, but on principle. Is principled.

Could she convince Taylor that she wasn't to blame, that letting her go was the right thing to do? That play might not save Brian and Rachel, though. If Taylor knew that she had been recruited by force, she likely knew that those two hadn't.

"Coil's real name is Thomas Calvert," Taylor finally said after the pause, and Lisa's mouth fell open.

Confident she is correct. Believes source of knowledge is certain.

"He's a PRT consultant, which is how he gets a lot of his information. The rest he gets by using his power, which is a precog-like ability that allows him to model two different timelines where he makes different choices, then choose the one he wants to keep. The rest of his information he gets by doing things in the dropped timelines, like kidnapping and torturing his underlings to death to find out things about them," Taylor continued.

Confident she is correct. Detailed information consistent with previous observations of Coil's behavior, unlikely to be a fabrication.

"It fits," Lisa gasped, hushed as she thought it through. "I was right, it's not probability control at all. But then that means he...oh that fucker!" she swore as she realized with sick horror what her 'sponsor' had been doing to her. Horror that turned to rage as she thought about putting a bullet through his head for it.

Taylor nodded. "Yeah. I don't know how many times he's tortured simulated versions of you, but I'm sure he has. Sometimes he doesn't even want information, he just does it because he likes hurting people."

She gritted her teeth and straightened her back, her thoughts filled with icy, murderous fury.

A bullet would be too good for him. She was going to find a way to make Coil suffer before he died.

The girl lowered her gun.

"I'm planning on telling the PRT everything about him shortly. Coil and his mercenaries will be dealt with. Now that you know how his power works I'm sure you can get out of town and dodge him. Find an empty hunting cabin in the mountains or something and hole up. The PRT will be here in maybe two minutes. You need to go, Lisa," Taylor said, her tone firm.

Lisa reflexively grimaced at the use of her name while in costume, even if it didn't really matter.

Taylor was right, she did need to go. But her eyes drifted towards Brian and Rachel, still on the ground, wounded.

"You don't have time to carry two injured people, especially without a dog," Taylor said, reading her look. "Calvert won't kill them in lockup. He might kill you because you know too much. I'll do what I can for them. You need to go, now. Get out of town. At least for a few weeks."

Not lying. Genuinely intends to help them. Intends to get them help. Intends to have the PRT address their issues. Believes the PRT will recruit them with the right information. Intends to help you. Intends to keep you safe. Knows you intimately.

Lisa sighed. "Okay. I don't know why you're helping me, but thank you."

Taylor waved dismissively with her off hand. "I'm angry, but you're more of a kid who's made some bad choices than a genuinely bad person. And I can cut you some slack because your power's been mucking with your head, telling you to create conflict by saying the wrong things."

Her eyes widened involuntarily. Was that true?

Much older than she appears. Tolerant not just because she knows you, but because she thinks of you as a child. Knows hidden information about powers. Not a parahuman. Possesses information without having obtained information. Acausal threat. Unknown source. Not a parahuman. Acausal threat. Unknown source. Not a parahuman-

Urgh. Lisa quickly cut the loop off with a wince of pain. She knew from experience that the pressure would turn into a feeling like a spike in the eye soon.

"How old are you?" she asked before she could stop herself.

Taylor answered only with a long stare, and she opted not to follow up.

"I hope I can give you some better options," Taylor said, and spared a glance in the direction of the departed Sophia Hess. "Except for Sophia, you're probably all redeemable." Taylor's gaze came back up to meet her in the eyes. "You can help do good things for the world, Lisa. Go find something better to do with your life than villainy. I'll probably have some work to send your way. Just don't tell anyone anything about me, or I'll have to act. " Taylor's voice hardened, a promise of something swift, sure, and likely violent. "And I will know. You understand?"

She clamped down on the impulse to use her power to find out how she would know. Imagining what an angry Taylor Hebert might do left her feeling cold as the blood drained from her face.

Carefully, she nodded once. "Yeah, I get it," she said, and with only one last regretful look toward her now ex-teammates she turned and ran off between houses into the dark.

She woke in a bed not her own, reflexively clutching the pistol she slept with.

No threat.

There was nothing there, just her accursed jumpiness.

Lisa got up, replenished the stove with more pilfered wood, and made breakfast. The rustic cabin in the White Mountains of central New Hampshire wasn't luxurious, but it was comfortable enough for someone's summer vacation spot.

Family of four, two young children.

The preparations for winter suggested they wouldn't be back until spring, and picking the lock had been easy enough.

After breakfast her backup laptop stared back at her while she looked out the window at the gentle peak of Mount Washington in the distance.

What was she going to do?

Taylor Hebert - whatever that terrifying not-girl was - was probably dealing with Coil.

Acausal threat confident she could handle Coil. Delayed plans to prepare. Wanted to avoid collateral damage. Accelerating plans.

Her power kept doing that now, calling Taylor Hebert the 'acausal threat'. She wasn't sure what to make of it.

Still, all she had to do was stay here and do nothing and the bastard would...well, die or no longer be a problem. Maybe. It was just a shame she wouldn't have a hand in it. But as angry as she was when she realized what he was doing, with a few days to calm down she'd realized that personal vengeance wasn't likely to happen. And she could easily get herself killed or worse trying.

She was out. She was free. She needed to stay that way.

Even if she did occasionally fantasize about torturing the bastard.

Acausal threat not morally opposed to killing Coil. Values life, but willing to make exceptions. Pragmatism mixed with moral outrage. Triaging multiple problems. Coil is just one. Has larger concerns. Rushed plans may involve getting others to deal with Coil. Showed willingness to use PRT as a tool. May use PRT to deal with Coil.

If Taylor told them what they were getting into, maybe she could make it work. But it would mean that Coil was captured instead of killed; the PRT wouldn't kill him without a kill order. Probably. Unless they wanted to avoid the bad press of a traitor so badly they ensured he died 'resisting arrest', but…

Murder inconsistent with Director Piggot's demonstrated level of ruthlessness.

Maybe she would relish putting a traitor on trial, or the PRT's central command would take him into custody and quietly use him for his power without it ever going public.

Plausible.

But the big problem was that if Coil was just captured then he might have contingencies in place to break him out.

Acausal threat capable of substantial foresight. Will take precautions of some sort.

That was all well and good, but as frightening as that girl was, Lisa wanted to be very sure she didn't miss anything.

It was time to start making inquiries in the mercenary underworld.

With something to do, she would feel less aimless. And have less time to think about what she was going to do when the terrifying girl called. Because she would call.

Acausal threat has some means of monitoring actions.

She gritted her teeth. Her good sense told her that getting anywhere near that girl was a bad idea.

But Taylor Hebert knew things, and was a mystery besides. Lisa wasn't sure she could walk away without knowing.

Something Taylor had said kept gnawing at her mind, about how her power worked on beings that were mostly immune to thinkers. When she got somewhere with a reliable connection she was going to download videos of Scion, Eidolon, and the Endbringers and see what she could pull out. Her power didn't work as effectively with video as actually seeing something directly, but since it could apparently work on them, she might as well see what she could get.

She also wanted to know how her old team was doing. They weren't bad people, mostly, even if she'd had to be there under threat of Coil's retribution.

It was hard to guess at how much had changed because of the events of that one night.

Brian ducked as he got into the military style transport helicopter, followed by an armored trooper and Miss Militia. The trooper strapped in next to him, while Miss Militia sat across from him.

He felt naked in front of her with just the clothes they'd given him and a disposable domino mask.

"You're doing the right thing," Miss Militia said, not unkindly, perceiving something in his apprehension.

He sighed, strapping into the harness as the trooper next to him had.

At least he could walk again since they'd brought in Panacea. The broken knee had been...mind shattering levels of pain, at first. Even the morphine they'd gotten into him hadn't entirely helped. And he'd been helpless, unable to walk.

Picking a fight with an unknown possible parahuman had been a stupid mistake. And after what happened that night he would be happy if he never saw Taylor Hebert ever again. Not that he could blame her for what she did, but he still woke up from nightmares where she systematically took apart his whole team without effort like a villain in a horror film.

"Can you tell me where we're going, now?" he asked, wanting to move on from that train of thought.

"This will take us to an airbase, where you'll catch a flight to Los Angeles," Miss Militia replied. "There's a program there for Wards with troubled pasts. A project of Alexandria's."

Brian swallowed, the thought of facing Alexandria not exactly...comfortable.

But they were going to make sure Aisha got a good foster home, and he'd be able to call her as much as he wanted.

So he'd deal with it. For her.

"What's it going to be like?" he asked, even though he half didn't want to know.

"Tough," she answered, not mincing her words. He appreciated that. "But you'll make it. And you'll come out better for it."

Brian thought about the discipline his father had tried his best to pass on. He'd survived living with the man, and even if he was lost trying to raise a daughter or show actual human warmth, Brian could understand what he'd been trying to do. Every boxing lesson, every time he told him to look after his sister, every hard word was the man trying to pass on a particular idea of manly adulthood.

He wished his father could connect like a normal person, but at least the old man's issues meant that he could take whatever boot camp he was headed for.

Even if it was run by Alexandria.

"Alright," he said.

"My name is Estavez," said the woman wearing a U.S. Army uniform, her arms crossed as she surveyed the pugnacious teen girl behind the interrogation table. "I work at San Antonio-Lackland. You know what that is?"

Rachel looked her directly in the eyes and smiled, showing teeth. "What's it matter," she answered, dismissive.

"It's a military base," Estavez continued.

She huffed. "And?"

"I'm a lead trainer there. We teach all the military's dogs at Lackland. When we're through with them they know how to follow commands, how to stay alive in a firefight, and how to watch their partner's back. How to find bombs and save lives. And a whole lot more. If you ask me, we're the best damn trainers of working dogs in the whole world. And I'm proud as hell of what we do," the woman said, watching her closely.

That caught Rachel's attention. She leaned forward just a bit, and her smile relaxed into a more neutral expression, although she still held direct eye contact. A challenge.

"Yeah?" she prompted.

"You bet your ass," Estavez said, stern. "You know why I'm here?"

"You want to ask me about dogs?" she asked, and cocked her head.

"I'm told that you understand dogs better than people. Is that true?" Estavez asked.

"People lie," Rachel responded with a shrug.

The woman barked out a laugh. "That they do. And dogs are honest. They always tell you what they mean, if you know how to understand them."

Rachel nodded firmly. That was true. Dogs were much easier to deal with than people. Most people didn't understand, but that was a problem with them, not the dogs.

"You're in some trouble, Rachel," Estavez said, pulling out the chair across the table from her and taking a seat. "But someone spoke up for you. They think your power makes you a great trainer. Someone up high on the food chain wants me to see if you're as good as they think."

"Why?" Rachel asked, suspicious. Her hand absently rubbed the knee that Panacea had healed after she'd been shot.

"Because," Estavez said as she slowly leaned in, "if you are, they've got a judge willing to make you an offer. An offer that will get you out of the trouble you're in. How would you like to serve your country training dogs with me, Rachel?"

Her eyes darted around the woman's face, looking for signs of deception.

"Won't abandon my dogs," she said at last, staring her down.

The woman's lip quirked. "I wouldn't either, if they were mine. I'll see what I can do. If there are a lot we'll have to try to find homes for them. If I take you on and if I like what I see you might be able to keep a few with you on base. Once we build some trust. No using your power without permission. That'll be important."

Rachel thought about it.

"...Why should I trust you?" she asked, eyes tight.

"I might not have a power, but I think we have something in common. I think we both love dogs," Estavez explained, meeting her gaze.

"...Let's go see the dogs," Rachel said at last.

"Why should I trust you?" Kayden asked the man on the phone, standing in the middle of her apartment while Aster slept. "How do you even know about my situation? If M-...he knew I was talking to you, he might try to kill me and take Aster."

"Your ex-husband doesn't know. And we already know who he really is," Deputy Director Renick replied, voice calm. "We have sources that aren't moles. Thinkers, and so on. As for whether you can trust me, if we didn't keep our deals then we wouldn't be able to recruit other people in a similar situation in the future. Word would get around eventually."

That made her pause. The PRT knew that Max was Kaiser. That changed things significantly.

It had been several seconds since Renick spoke. "By other people, you mean other villains," she replied at last. "How often do you actually recruit people like me?"

"More often than the public is aware," he explained. "We don't take the worst of the worst - rapists, murderers - but if a cape who's made some bad choices in the past is willing to follow our rules, we have the influence and willingness to let them work off any debt to society in a way that's much more productive than rotting in a cell somewhere. When I tell you that we'll take you to another city and rebrand you, I'm telling the truth. You can raise your two children without fear of any legal complications for either of their situations; we can arrange for your guardianship of Theodore Anders and give all three of you new identities so your ex-husband won't be able to find any of you.

"You'll be on probation and closely monitored for a while, and there will be mandatory counseling, but if you can work with us then the restrictions will relax over time. Eventually you'll be a full member of the Protectorate in good standing. It's a better life than your current situation, I think you'll agree. Your kids will be with you, and safe. We'll even provide a vetted nanny to help with child care when you're on duty. And you'll be able to do good work that you and they can be proud of. You'll save lives, and the three of you will be together."

Kayden looked at the closed door to the nursery. She was a mother first.

"...What do you need me to do?" she asked.

Deputy Director Renick knocked on Director Piggot's office door as he entered.

She looked up from her monitor. "What is it?"

He closed the door behind him. "I just got off the phone with Kayden Anders. She's willing to take a deal. Your source is batting three for three."

Emily leaned back in her chair, gaze going high. He had worked with her long enough to know that meant she was thinking, so he waited until she finally spoke.

"If I needed everyone but a skeleton crew available for a single operation, including the Protectorate, how fast could you massage the schedules to make it happen?" she asked, voice deceptively quiet.

Renick raised an eyebrow, curious, and set his mind to the task. The ENE branch hadn't had a planned operation that serious in at least a decade. Their standard force posture was to preserve the ability to respond around the clock rather than concentrate forces and exhaust them during a single shift. And it was vanishingly rare that they actually needed that kind of force for one operation. Especially with the entire local Protectorate team operating in support. That was massive overkill for the sorts of warehouse and front business raids they did from time to time.

With some finagling and some double shifts it could be done, though.

"There's some slop in the weekend schedule, so maybe four days if I started right now. It would take us about that long to get properly back to normal afterwards. Why?" he asked.

"Get it done, but don't let anybody know that's what you're doing for as long as possible. Armsmaster and I will work out the operational details, and everyone will be briefed at the last minute," Emily ordered.

"Alright," Renick said. "Do I get to know what this is about?"

Her expression softened minutely. It wouldn't be noticeable to someone who had not worked with her as long. "It's not that I don't trust you, but we're dealing with an enemy that is good at gathering intelligence. I need to keep everything close to the chest on this one. Just get everything ready for a heavy combat op."

"Ah." He nodded once. "Understood, ma'am. I'll get to work."

Emily turned back to her monitor. "Good."

As he walked to his office he reflected that whatever was happening likely meant changes were coming.

Hopefully they would be for the better. Whatever the Director had in mind, this kind of thing could only mean she was taking a risk.

Thanks to @Corvus Black for proofreading and contributions.

A bit of an announcement; it looks like I may be undertaking a new endeavor in my private life (graduate school) and I want to prepare for the fact that I won't have the same kind of time to devote to Scientia that I have been. Even with a fairly open schedule I haven't been able to keep up with the pace of posted work as well as do final edits each week, and my backlog has narrowed over time. It's about eight chapters shorter now than when I started.

As much as it pains me, I think I need to move Scientia to an every other Saturday schedule to maintain and maybe increase the backlog. Otherwise things will run down until there's no backlog left in a few months, and that's not a situation I want to be in. It should cut the average daily new word count I need to do from about 600-700 to half that, which is more sustainable at my preferred pace of an hour or two of writing a day.

I hope you can all forgive the slowing of the pace, and keep things alive in the thread between updates. I read every post, and look forward to everything you guys write.

Thank you, profoundly, for being a fan and for all the ways you've shown your interest and support.

Next time on Scientia Weaponizes the Future, collaboration, revelation, and the mourning of roads unwalked.