28

You awaken the next morning in your own little house. A circular reed construction with a thatched roof, it's identical to the other houses in the village from the outside, but its interior is filled with modern equipment and projects.

"Crowchar." It's Chief Kothis, his golden pectoral shining in the red-gold light of dawn. He smiles at you in a fatherly way. You wonder if he's thinking of Keimia. Then the sun rises fully, and the world turns silver. The chief's golden pectoral looks dingy in the gray light, like a dusty stage prop, and you see how much gray streaks his black hair.

"Come on," he says. "Control says it's time."