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Speaker 1: Hey, this is Annie and Samantha and.

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Speaker 2: Welcome to stephone never told your production of iHeartRadio, And

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Speaker 2: welcome to another edition of Sminty Fiction Terminus, Chapter eleven

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Speaker 2: point one. Because once again I'm really bad at controlling

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Speaker 2: my chapter link, which I've also discovered is a fan

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Speaker 2: fiction tag. Oh well, I like the introduction with that

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Speaker 2: voice like it was a specific like advertising. But yes,

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Speaker 2: I'm very excited I told you this chapter which did

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Speaker 2: get split into two. So this is part one of

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Speaker 2: chapter eleven. I am really really excited to talk about.

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Speaker 2: It's got a lot of issues, but we're going to

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Speaker 2: discuss them. So this is a once a month thing

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Speaker 2: we do. It is a bit more soundscaped, no, I

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Speaker 2: mean we don't generally soundscape, so it's more soundscape than

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Speaker 2: what we normally do, which is nothing. But Christina is

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Speaker 2: the one behind that makes it amazing. So to just

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Speaker 2: send the love to Christina, let us know, we'll pass

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Speaker 2: it along.

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Speaker 1: It's been doing so much good work, really has putting

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Speaker 1: up with all of our nonsense.

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Speaker 2: So yes, this is an ongoing thing and it is

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Speaker 2: based on a Nana Raimo National Novel Writing Month that

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Speaker 2: my first one that I did back in twenty ten.

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Speaker 2: It's not really edited. I like to look back and

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Speaker 2: see what was going on in my head in this

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Speaker 2: month that I wrote this.

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Speaker 1: But we're getting to some.

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Speaker 2: Of the good. The climax is coming. I'm very excited.

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Speaker 2: So content warning before we get into this. Just in

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Speaker 2: general child endangerment, not so much in this chapter, but

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Speaker 2: it's just hanging over the whole thing. There is slutshaming,

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Speaker 2: we'll talk about it, a discussion of infertility, wanting to

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Speaker 2: have a kid and being unable to, toxic jealousy, which

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Speaker 2: I don't know if it's a term, but I'm putting

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Speaker 2: it in here. Mentions of violence, inadequacy, insults around the

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Speaker 2: ability to be a mother, internalized ableism, shame and fear

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Speaker 2: around pregnancy. This chapter will make you mad. I put parentheses,

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Speaker 2: so that's fun.

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Speaker 1: That is there.

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Speaker 2: It is all right. So here's my recap. Humanity is

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Speaker 2: dying out due to a sex based disease. There's a

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Speaker 2: new government that has taken control as the population collapses

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Speaker 2: in on itself, and they are ruling, reigning alongside a

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Speaker 2: religious group named arm and they control everything that has

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Speaker 2: to do with conception and if a child is born,

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Speaker 2: they control everything about that as well. Our main character,

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Speaker 2: Tilda escaped with her infant son, Madison. They have now

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Speaker 2: been on the run for seven years. They are being

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Speaker 2: followed by the Enforcers who work for the government, and

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Speaker 2: they have had run ins with them.

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Speaker 1: Tilda was injured. She was shot. There was a car chase.

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Speaker 2: Tilda met a kind woman named Lynn, who helped Tilda

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Speaker 2: recover and told her about a resistance and a possible

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Speaker 2: cure for this disease that might be in Kansas City.

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Speaker 2: After a violent conflict with the enforcers that resulted in

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Speaker 2: a couple of fatalities, Tilda and Madison are saved by

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Speaker 2: members of the resistance and are taken to their secret headquarters.

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Speaker 2: That is where we left off, so let us get

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Speaker 2: right into it. How are you feeling? Tilda blinked to awareness,

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Speaker 2: fragmented memories washing up on the shores of her consciousness.

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Speaker 2: Zulika perched on the bed across from her. You've slept

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Speaker 2: for almost an entire day. I thought I'd better wake

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Speaker 2: you up and see how you were doing. Pushing herself

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Speaker 2: into a sitting position, she eyed the woman opposite her Critically.

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Speaker 2: On shore, Zulika held out a cup of water for her,

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Speaker 2: and she took it, sipping carefully. Madison pulled himself up

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Speaker 2: next to her, rubbing his eyes, and Tilda passed the

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Speaker 2: cup to him. He took it wordlessly. Zulika smiled at him.

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Speaker 2: His hair stood up on one side. I thought you

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Speaker 2: might like some food and then we could go onto tour.

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Speaker 2: Sound good? Tilda nodded, and Zu likea stood happily. Stay there,

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Speaker 2: I'll bring you a tray. I figured you might want

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Speaker 2: to eat in here. You probably aren't up to all

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Speaker 2: the questions you'll get from this lot. The woman left

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Speaker 2: Tilda stretched, vanishing the last vestiges of sleep. Madison passed

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Speaker 2: the water back to Tilda, pressing into her side, watching

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Speaker 2: the doorway fretfully. Neither of them spoke. Tilda didn't know

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Speaker 2: what to say, consumed with nervous anticipation, red splottering on

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Speaker 2: white replaying relentlessly in the back of her mind. So

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Speaker 2: you like a returned bouncing a large plastic tray? Could

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Speaker 2: you pull that table over for me? Tilda tugged the

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Speaker 2: metal rolling table over. She imagined it was designed for

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Speaker 2: people too ill to get out of bed, So you

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Speaker 2: like a slid the tray onto the table. There were

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Speaker 2: modest foods, but Tilda was happy to see them. Sliced apples, oatmeal, carrots, celery,

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Speaker 2: and a small cup of milk. You have milk, Tilda asked, dazedly. Yes,

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Speaker 2: Suke responded, dragging a chair over. We have a few

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Speaker 2: domesticated animals and a small garden. Our responsibilities are divided

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Speaker 2: to keep the place running, and we have a group

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Speaker 2: in charge of scaveching food, growing food, making sure there's

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Speaker 2: enough and so on. We don't have much milk, but

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Speaker 2: I thought, after all you've been through, you deserve some.

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Speaker 2: Madison held the cup in his hands as though it

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Speaker 2: were precious china. He'd never had milk before, at least

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Speaker 2: not memory. Drink it slowly, okay, Tilda instructed, quietly rubbing

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Speaker 2: his shoulder. It's amazing what you've done. Tilda looked up

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Speaker 2: at the woman, wary keeping from the enforcers all this time.

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Speaker 2: Tilda didn't respond, not seeing anything amazing about it. Taking

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Speaker 2: a bite of oatmeal, Tilda asked, do the enforcers know

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Speaker 2: you're here? Not precisely so, you like a scratched above

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Speaker 2: her eye, sighing. They know there are some of us here,

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Speaker 2: but not so many. I expect they think we're just

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Speaker 2: a group of stragglers, hold up together, lost causes, low priority,

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Speaker 2: so they don't know there's a resistance. Tilda found that

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Speaker 2: hard to believe, not one that could do them any

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Speaker 2: real harm. Pondering that, Tilda glanced over to Madison, who

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Speaker 2: replaced his now empty cup on the tray. She laughed,

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Speaker 2: you've got a bit of a mustache there, mouse, sheepish.

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Speaker 2: He wiped his mouth with a cup of his jacket.

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Speaker 2: Did you like it, he nodded enthusiastically, drawing a chortle

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Speaker 2: from Zulaika. We'll get you more later, Madison blushed, munching

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Speaker 2: on an apple slice.

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Speaker 1: Could you.

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Speaker 2: Tilda raised her eyes to meet zulikas, do you any

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Speaker 2: real harm? Zulika considered her for a moment, then turned

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Speaker 2: her a kitchen to Madison. Yes, she answered slowly. For

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Speaker 2: some reason, even though it was the response Tilda had

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Speaker 2: been hoping for, the tendrils of her boding itched at

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Speaker 2: the back of her brain. How many of you are there?

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Speaker 1: Not sure?

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Speaker 2: Couple of hundred. I guess you'd have to ask Mark

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Speaker 2: for the exact number. But Tilda was stuck on the

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Speaker 2: first part. Madison flabbergas did stuttered hundred. Yes, we've got

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Speaker 2: lots of us crammed in here, adults, mostly some children, children,

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Speaker 2: Madison exclaimed, while Tilda asked simultaneously, there are children here, yes.

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Speaker 2: Zuleika's voice was wistful, almost bittersweet. Not many, but a few.

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Speaker 2: Some were rescued by their parents and brought here. Others

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Speaker 2: were born outside of conception centers and came here for

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Speaker 2: protection and our resources. We even had one born here

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Speaker 2: a couple of years ago. The mother was pregnant when

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Speaker 2: she arrived. She wanted to go into hiding. Tilda felt

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Speaker 2: faint for a moment processing this. Madison gawked at Zuleika.

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Speaker 2: He'd never seen another child before. You can see them

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Speaker 2: later if you like, Zulika offered, we have a playroom

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Speaker 2: and a classroom. In her shock, Tilda momentarily forgot how

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Speaker 2: to swallow and almost choked on a bit of carrot.

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Speaker 2: Appetites forgotten, Zulika rolled away at the table, and Madison

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Speaker 2: immediately hopped down. Tilda realized she didn't have her pack.

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Speaker 2: It sat on the floor next to the bed. She

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Speaker 2: wondered if it had fallen off in the night, or

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Speaker 2: someone had removed it for her, seeing her hesitation. Zue

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Speaker 2: like I said, you can leave it here, no one

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Speaker 2: will steal it. So it went against her instincts. So

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Speaker 2: the last time she left her pack, her desperation for

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Speaker 2: supplies had led to their capture. The lingering soreness in

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Speaker 2: her lower back made the decision for her, and she

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Speaker 2: left it sitting next to the bed. Zu likea tore

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Speaker 2: to them around the underground complex, explaining its origins as

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Speaker 2: an underground war museum, how the resistance had started as

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Speaker 2: just a few people, some that had defected from the

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Speaker 2: state or conception centers, others just looking for some kind

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Speaker 2: of meaning. Why are you here, Madison asked innocently, eyes

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Speaker 2: wide as he stared at the rows of rooms, some

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Speaker 2: occupied and some not. Tilda chided him for the personal question,

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Speaker 2: but do you like to dismiss his apology? It's all right,

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Speaker 2: I thought. I thought I could change things, make them better,

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Speaker 2: have you? Madison took Tilda's hand, shying away from the

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Speaker 2: passing strangers, openly staring at him. I hope so again.

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Speaker 2: Tilda could detect something like melancholy in the woman's voice.

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Speaker 2: Are you ready to meet some of the other kids?

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Speaker 2: Excitement and apprehension played on Madison's features, but he nodded emphatically.

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Speaker 2: Tilda could feel his step quickened as you like had

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Speaker 2: turned it down a corridor that had two large rooms

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Speaker 2: on either side. We call this the children's corner. That's

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Speaker 2: the classroom. Madison stood on his tiptoes to see inside,

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Speaker 2: and this she indicated the room on the right. He's

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Speaker 2: the playroom. Inside there was an odd assortment of toys, puzzles, games,

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Speaker 2: and books on the shelves and littered on the floor.

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Speaker 2: The walls had been decorated with blades of grass, dragonflies,

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Speaker 2: and flowers, with stars and planets on the ceiling. Children

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Speaker 2: playing demanded all of Tilda's attention. Zulika called out, hello, children,

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Speaker 2: I want you to meet Madison. She pulled Madison forward.

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Speaker 2: He stumbled, stupefied Madison. This is Sophia, a girl with black,

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Speaker 2: curly locks of hair that looked a few years older

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Speaker 2: than Madison, smiled at him timidly, revealing a gap where

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Speaker 2: she'd lost one of her front teeth. Casey, a teenaged

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Speaker 2: looking kid with dark skin, nodded. And Phoenix, a red

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Speaker 2: head that Tilda placed at around three waves, happily at him,

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Speaker 2: Madison is going to play with you for a while, right.

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Speaker 2: Tilda clutched his hand impulsively, afraid to let him go.

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Speaker 2: He looked up at her, asking silently, forcing a smile

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Speaker 2: on her face. She released her grip by sheer force

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Speaker 2: of will, her fingers curling, aching to retake his hand

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Speaker 2: to keep him from leaving, but she let him go.

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Speaker 2: He approached tentatively, kneeling down next to them. They all

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Speaker 2: stared at each other, women stared at them. Sophia broke

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Speaker 2: the silence. Do you want to play a game? Madison nodded,

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Speaker 2: and she pulled him to a shelf where they perused

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Speaker 2: the games, Sophia giving basic rundowns of how each one worked.

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Speaker 2: Tilda watched, transfixed and didn't shift her attention when Zulka said,

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Speaker 2: come on, the leadership of the resistance wants to talk

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Speaker 2: to you. But Tilda couldn't move. Madison had never left

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Speaker 2: her sight other than when she slept or for a

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Speaker 2: minute here and there. The thought of leaving him here

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Speaker 2: filled her with dread and panic. Her hands itching to

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Speaker 2: reclaim his fingers fastened around her bicep, and she jumped,

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Speaker 2: He'll be fine here, I promise. Tilda swallowed. Where shouldn't

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Speaker 2: they have a supervisor? Casey is old enough to watch

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Speaker 2: over them, Soulika assured in grants across the hall, He's

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Speaker 2: one of our teachers. Madison, your mother and I will

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Speaker 2: be back in a little while.

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Speaker 1: Okay.

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Speaker 2: Madison turned an uncertain gaze to them, but Sophia tugged

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Speaker 2: his arm and regained his attention. Tilda allowed Zulika to

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Speaker 2: lead her away, embarrassingly close to bursting into tears or

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Speaker 2: taking Madison and bolting. A part of her was missing,

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Speaker 2: a part she needed to breathe. She focused on drawing

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Speaker 2: breath normally as the rooms and halls blurred past. Eventually,

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Speaker 2: they came to a large dark room with a circular

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Speaker 2: table sitting in the middle, Mark, Taylor, Amelia, Adam, and

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Speaker 2: two other men. She didn't recognize that around it. Zulika

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Speaker 2: guided her to a chair and did the seat to

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Speaker 2: her right. Silence fell across the table. Tilda didn't notice

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Speaker 2: until someone broke it. This is Tilda Nohan. The others

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Speaker 2: regarded her steadily. Mark leaned forward, eyes on wavering from Tilda.

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Speaker 2: Can you tell us why you are a state priority

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Speaker 2: number one? Tilda shrugged, and responded hollowly. I didn't know

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Speaker 2: I was, nor was she entirely sure what that meant,

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Speaker 2: but she was too embarrassed to ask. It doesn't matter why,

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Speaker 2: Taylor asserted, with the air of someone continuing an argument

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Speaker 2: that got interrupted. All that matters is that they are.

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Speaker 2: From what I can tell. Adam put forth, it's not

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Speaker 2: her they want, it's the kid her. They just assume kill.

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Speaker 2: Why were they speaking about her like she wasn't here

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Speaker 2: packaged deal? Taylor sat back in her chair, crossing her arms.

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Speaker 2: That kid is not leaving her side willingly. That has

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Speaker 2: got a brainwashed pretty good. Tilda's mouth fell open.

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Speaker 1: Taylor.

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Speaker 2: Amelia censured warningly what Directing her attention to Tilda, she accused,

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Speaker 2: how old were you when you had him?

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Speaker 1: Twelve?

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Speaker 2: Tilda stared at her colored draining from her face. Shut up, Taylor.

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Speaker 2: One of the men Tilda didn't know cut in. You're

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Speaker 2: just pissed as hell that she has a kid and

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Speaker 2: you don't under the tables, you'd like to gave Tilda's

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Speaker 2: fingers a brief squeeze. Back to the matter at hands, please,

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Speaker 2: Mark scratched his scruffy facial hair. If we're going to

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Speaker 2: do this, we need to act quickly. To Tilda, he asked,

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Speaker 2: do you want to undermine the state's authority and put

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Speaker 2: power back in the people's hands. Tilda stared at him blankly.

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Speaker 2: Who talks like that? He threw his hands up in frustration.

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Speaker 2: I have to say, I was expecting more from a

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Speaker 2: damn priority number one. I thought they wanted you out

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Speaker 2: of the way because they were afraid you'd start a

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Speaker 2: rebellion or something. I'm telling you they want the kid.

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Speaker 2: Adam interrupted, but Mark waved him off. Why did you

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Speaker 2: come here? Tilda floundered before venturing I heard there was

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Speaker 2: a cure. She sounded so naive even to her own ears.

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Speaker 2: Mark studied her for a moment, leaning back in his chair. No,

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Speaker 2: Tilda's heart dropped, but his next statement had her jerking

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Speaker 2: her head up to meet his cool gaze. But there

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Speaker 2: is a vaccine, a vaccine. Her lips were numb, her

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Speaker 2: mind racing as she computed what having a vaccine meant. Yes,

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Speaker 2: Amelia said, or there was one? Tilda mouth was and

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Speaker 2: Mark picked back up. A few scientists in Chicago developed

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Speaker 2: one a few months back. Don't know why, but the

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Speaker 2: enforcers destroyed the lab about a week ago. But we

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Speaker 2: have reason to believe that there was a second lab

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Speaker 2: when the enforcers didn't know about. There was an underlying

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Speaker 2: current in the conversation that Tilda didn't understand, but they

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Speaker 2: will find it soon. They're searching. So we need to

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Speaker 2: leave now if we want to have a chance at

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Speaker 2: getting there first. Tilda glanced repstitiously around the ta, trying

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Speaker 2: to get a read or why Mark would be addressing her.

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Speaker 2: He'd already made clear she was a massive disappointment. Why

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Speaker 2: everyone was staring at her. Her confusion must have shown

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Speaker 2: on her face. Mark specified, we want you to come

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Speaker 2: with us if anything. That baffled her even more. But

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Speaker 2: you said, think about what a vaccine would do. You

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Speaker 2: could protect Madison, your son from HSV five. We could

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Speaker 2: start to have children again. We could rebuild, We could

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Speaker 2: have hope. Don't you want to be part of that.

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Speaker 2: None of this made sense to Tilda. You don't even

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Speaker 2: know me, she pointed out weakly. And you want to

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Speaker 2: take me to help. Mark's eyes shuddered. Yes, Tilda was

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Speaker 2: shaking her head without even realizing it. She subconsciously looked

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Speaker 2: around her for Madison from beside her. As you like

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Speaker 2: I said, I'm sure this is a lot you can

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Speaker 2: think about it. We don't have time, Taylor snapped. If

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Speaker 2: she's too scared to get a vaccine for her son,

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Speaker 2: she's even more worthless than I thought. Smacking her hand

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Speaker 2: against the table, She stood abruptly and left the room.

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Speaker 2: Ignore her to you, like untoned, raising her voice to

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Speaker 2: address Mark, We won't be ready to move until at

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Speaker 2: least a day. Merlin and Holly are still out getting

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Speaker 2: vehicles and weapons. She can think about it. Tilda was

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Speaker 2: still trying to grasp what happened. You better make your

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Speaker 2: decision fast and the kid, Adam reminded Mark in a

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Speaker 2: low voice, we have to take the kid. No, Tilda disagreed, hmently,

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Speaker 2: I'm not taking him near enforcers. Oh so now you

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Speaker 2: want to play responsible parent, Adam sniped. Riled, Tilda retorted instinctively,

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Speaker 2: you shot two men dead in front of him. We

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Speaker 2: saved him and you, Adam argued, we protected him when

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Speaker 2: you couldn't, till to ground her teeth, simultaneously outraged that

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Speaker 2: he judged her when he hadn't been there during the

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Speaker 2: years of evading capture and agreeing with him and taking

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Speaker 2: him into a battlefield is the responsible thing. We're going

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Speaker 2: to get him a vaccine, Mark interrupted, the first one.

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Speaker 2: Your son will be the first of a new generation rebirth.

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Speaker 2: We could bring the vaccine to him. Tilda argued, failing

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Speaker 2: to comprehend how this idea made any semblance of sense.

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Speaker 2: Why were they looking at her like she was the

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Speaker 2: unintelligent one. Tension swelled in the room. Mark propped his

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Speaker 2: elbows on the table. The enforcers won't kill Madison. They

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Speaker 2: want him alive. Something in her mind shifted and fell

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Speaker 2: into place, a shadow like disgust dawning in the back

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Speaker 2: of her mind. Her mouth fell open, and she forced

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Speaker 2: it back shut with a click. Sighing, Mark said, think

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Speaker 2: about it. He swiveled to face one of the other

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Speaker 2: men in the room. Any updates on that broadcast? No,

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Speaker 2: The man a redhead ran a hand through his hair.

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Speaker 2: The signal as strong as hell. We've pinpointed the point

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Speaker 2: of origin at arms headquarters in DC. But as far

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Speaker 2: as hacking into it, he excelled heavily, I think remote

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Speaker 2: is out of the question. Don't get me wrong. We're

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Speaker 2: happy to keep at it. Maybe boosting our own signal

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Speaker 2: will help, But as of now I think it has

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Speaker 2: to be done manually at the main hub. He licked

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Speaker 2: his lips. We'd have to infiltrate ARM and jack the

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Speaker 2: signal that way. Silence fell as everyone digested that Tilda

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Speaker 2: only half listening and aching helplessness flourishing within her damn

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Speaker 2: Mark hissed. The redhead stared at his hand and as

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Speaker 2: palms flat against the table.

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Speaker 1: I know.

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Speaker 2: We have to get the message out there, Mark exclaimed.

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Speaker 2: The people need to know there's a vaccine. We'll keep trying.

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Speaker 2: We could start looking at training someone for infiltration, Adam suggested.

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Speaker 2: Amelia protested. They'd have to get into ARM headquarters, the

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Speaker 2: most heavily guarded building left, find out where the system is,

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Speaker 2: how to work it, send out the message, which, by

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Speaker 2: the way, would give them away immediately if they managed

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Speaker 2: to make it that far undetected. Sometimes sacrifices must be made,

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Speaker 2: Mark countered an eclipped voice. No one responded to that,

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Speaker 2: All eyes fixed on the tabletop in front of them,

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Speaker 2: unwilling to speculate on which of them may end up

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Speaker 2: with that task, Waiting for someone to volunteer or to

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Speaker 2: be volunteered. Tilda couldn't shake the overbearing sensation of feeling

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Speaker 2: young and naive. Why hadn't she realized it would be

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Speaker 2: like this? Keep working, Mark instructed, in the meantime, we

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Speaker 2: need to focus on getting the vaccine and finding some

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Speaker 2: way of replicating it. Does anyone have anything else? No

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Speaker 2: one made a move to speak, so Mark adjoined the

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Speaker 2: meeting soil To practically jumped out of her seat, striding

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Speaker 2: down the hall, only barely keeping herself from running, instinct

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Speaker 2: leading her to Madison. That brings us to the end

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Speaker 2: of this eleven point one chapter of Terminus. I did

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Speaker 2: want to my address a couple of things in this one, okay,

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Speaker 2: So first of all, yes, there was slut shaming. It

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Speaker 2: was very purposefully done. It's not something that I read

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Speaker 2: back on and was like, oh, I didn't know that

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Speaker 2: was slutshaming. I knew it was slutshaming when I wrote it,

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Speaker 2: and that was when I was thinking about this world

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Speaker 2: and how it would exist in this especially the religious

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Speaker 2: part of it that I just thought would rise up.

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Speaker 1: I feel like there.

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Speaker 2: Would be slutshaming of anyone who got pregnant outside of

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Speaker 2: a conception center, because it would be seen as like

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Speaker 2: you couldn't control the old self. And heavy quotes, so

359
00:23:29,119 --> 00:23:31,840
Speaker 2: it was purposely done, and I just wanted to acknowledge

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Speaker 2: that it's horrible and toxic and gross. And when I

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Speaker 2: was reading it, I was getting really mad and that

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Speaker 2: character because I know I said in the last edition

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Speaker 2: of this that I choose names very purposefully. I just

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Speaker 2: want to also say that character is not based on

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Speaker 2: Taylor Swift, even though she kind of is described looking

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Speaker 2: like her and her name was Taylor.

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Speaker 1: That is not where that came from. Oh my, yes,

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Speaker 1: that is not it. But also.

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Speaker 2: It's fascinating to me reading back over this because this

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Speaker 2: is a thing that sometimes breaks my heart in a

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Speaker 2: lot of media I read or write or see now

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Speaker 2: and I think it's I mean that in a way,

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Speaker 2: a good way, like in the in the Nicole Kidman

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Speaker 2: theater way where she's like, this is where heartbreak is. Okay,

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Speaker 2: some people don't know what I'm talking about her, like

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Speaker 2: what is going on? But I mean that in like

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Speaker 2: a good story way. I don't mean that in a

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Speaker 2: bad way, but where you think like you're going to

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Speaker 2: get to this resistance, you're going to get this cure,

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Speaker 2: You're going to like here's your hope, and it's just

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Speaker 2: not what you thought it was, and that disappointment and

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Speaker 2: that let down, and not only that in this case,

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Speaker 2: not only is is it not what Tilda thought? She's

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Speaker 2: kind of being villainized by everyone for having a kid.

385
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Speaker 2: Not everyone, some people are definitely on her side, but

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Speaker 2: it's also too kind of the real it's very sad

387
00:25:03,520 --> 00:25:07,760
Speaker 2: looking back at this of the Madison never having seen

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Speaker 2: another child before. That was his first time seeing other kids,

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Speaker 2: which all of their names. I was like, oh, I

390
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Speaker 2: know who I named this after.

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Speaker 1: But yeah, it was cool. It was cool and sad.

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Speaker 2: And this is also where I tried to write romance,

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Speaker 2: and it's clear I did not care about it at all.

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Speaker 2: So if you were picking up on some strange vibe,

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Speaker 2: that is what it was.

396
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Speaker 1: I like it as even better awkward romance. Oh so awkward,

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Speaker 1: and I knew exactly who it was.

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Speaker 2: And I would love listends to write in who you

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Speaker 2: thought it was, because I'm not going to say, because

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Speaker 2: when I was looking back over it, I was like,

401
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Speaker 2: there's nothing romantic about this, And this is in fact

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Speaker 2: kind of a like antagonistic.

403
00:25:53,000 --> 00:25:55,760
Speaker 1: Relations Is it like a second grade romance?

404
00:25:56,160 --> 00:25:59,960
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, exactly, like pulling the hair and then run away, yeah, runaway.

405
00:26:00,240 --> 00:26:01,119
Speaker 1: Yeah, no it is.

406
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Speaker 2: I mean it's not even like I remember thinking it

407
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Speaker 2: was going to be romance. But when I read back

408
00:26:06,680 --> 00:26:09,720
Speaker 2: over it, I would be shocked if anyone else who

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00:26:09,760 --> 00:26:11,399
Speaker 2: read this thought there was going to be a romance.

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Speaker 1: It was like, no hints at all. He's just kind

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Speaker 1: of mean to her.

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Speaker 2: But anyway, perfect Looking back, I'm now like, yeah, you

413
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Speaker 2: probably were asexual back then, dude, I just didn't realize

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Speaker 2: did not care about any of that. But yes, I

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Speaker 2: hope that you enjoyed this chapter, even though it probably

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Speaker 2: really frustrated you and made you angry.

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Speaker 1: It did me too. And we'll be back with part

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Speaker 1: two uh next month.

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Speaker 2: But in the meantime, if you have any thoughts, any theories,

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Speaker 2: any guesses, or any suggestions for other fiction things we

421
00:26:42,680 --> 00:26:44,399
Speaker 2: could do that are in the public domain, that'd be

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00:26:44,400 --> 00:26:46,840
Speaker 2: really cool. You can emailus atep Media mom Stuff at

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00:26:46,880 --> 00:26:50,159
Speaker 2: iHeartMedia dot com. You can find us on Twitter I

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00:26:50,160 --> 00:26:54,200
Speaker 2: guess uh mom Stuff podcast. You can find us on

425
00:26:54,280 --> 00:26:57,480
Speaker 2: Instagram and TikTok at stuff I've never told you. We

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Speaker 2: have a tea public store with some merchandise uh, and

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Speaker 2: we have a book that you can pre order at

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Speaker 2: stuff you should read books dot com, both as a

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Speaker 2: physical book and an audiobook things. As always, to our

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Speaker 2: super producer Christina who makes.

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Speaker 1: This happen, thank you, thank you, thank you, Yes.

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Speaker 2: Our executive producer Maya and our contributor Joey also thank you, Yes,

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Speaker 2: and thanks to you for listening stuff I've never told

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Speaker 2: you the production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts in my

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Speaker 2: heart Radio, you can check out the heart Radio app,

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Speaker 2: Apple podcast, or

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Speaker 1: Wherever you listen to your favorite shows,