Chapter 136: Lumen

Wednesday. Creed of Truth Sanctuary, Brazil.

LUMEN RINSED THE LAST dish while the other two women continued to gossip. Tonight she and Max had their first family dinner with the others in their community tree. They all seemed like nice enough people on the surface, but a few had been Creedites for going on twenty years. That set off red flags for Lumen. Maybe someone could be around for a year or two, possibly five, without being aware of what else went on. But twenty?

They knew things, and they said nothing. They'd done nothing.

Aspen hadn't touched on the family tree structure, possibly because she existed outside of it. For Lumen it was easy to see that this system allowed the administration to keep tabs on everyone. She would be shocked if the very people hosting them for dinner tonight weren't also keeping notes on them.

She glanced through the window out on the patio.