Chapter One

XXIX 

*Watchers note: Though somehow reflected here in Elish Himself’s Bloom, my favorite naming convention is cumbersome. I am switching it for ease. - Brath 

29

What if we live in a Superdeterministic universe? 

Playlist: Studytime—don’t touch Derek!

Atrix: Derek Richard Agons

Through mountains and forests, across plains and deserts, a three-cart train rattled along an abandoned railway through the heart of the United States of America. Wheels screeching and smoke billowing, the little train chugged at a blinding speed. For most Thinkers of the age, the Wildband Express Train meant a Council sanctioned safe trek through the Dead Zones—the human cities where man congregated their lack of knowledge into intellect, commerce, and life. For humans the cities meant safety. For Thinkers the cities meant death. 

For Derek Richard Agons it meant he was almost home. 

The middle cabin of the train vibrated in a low hum as it rattled along. Like something out of an old timey western his dad loved the watch, the passenger cabin was a busted luxury suite fit for the pleated suits and puffy dresses of the past. Two chandeliers clattered along the ceiling. Sunlight bled through the circular windows, the world outside a racing blur through the blown-out wall along the west side of the cabin. A derelict bar complete with busted shelves and a cracked mirror behind it now sat repurposed into a garden. Nuts and fruits grew through the walls behind the bar, the shelves filled with dirt, stem, and leaf. 

More coming soon….