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deliberated on each offering before agreeing it
would be nice to have someone in their tribe who could weave fish
traps and knap flint and work clay. The mood rose as the women
latched onto the hope Hess provided them.
    Elza pondered the question Hess had posed
the previous day. Why did no one besides Hess care about the
condition of the women? It was the question of a child too young to
understand that concepts such as fairness and justice were a
fiction created by doting parents. People always did what provided
them the most benefit in their circumstances. They raised children
with affection to ensure care in their old age. They cooperated to
maximize food and safety for all. They fought strangers to preserve
their own lives. In some tribes, like this one, they brutalized one
another to avoid being the victim.
    But Hess did not fit into this tribe. He
violated the natural order and survived. She waited until his gaze
crossed hers and spoke. “Do you have an answer to your own
question? Why is it that no one else cares what happens to us?”
    “I've been thinking about you, woman. What
is your name?”
    Her cheeks burned as she answered.
“Elza.”
    “You don't fit in with your people, Elza.
You are smart. You notice things.” His eyes darted to the other
women. “Don't you think things are better now than before? Imagine
if every person tried to make the world better. Life does not have
to be the way it is.”
    Elza noted the firmness of his voice
contrasted with his hunched posture. There was some conflict within
him. “You didn't answer the question.”
    “I guess I didn't. This probably won't mean
anything to you, but the answer to my question is that He made this
world wrong.” Hess placed a hand on her shoulder and spoke softly.
“I'm sorry, but the only help I can give is false hope. You would
make a fascinating study under better conditions.”
    After he departed, one of the women spoke to
her. “I think he may choose you as his woman.” Another nodded.
“This is a good time for a man to like you, Elza. He can protect
you from the others.”
    She tried to support their delusions with a
hopeful smile. They didn't know how to watch people. Hess didn't
see a woman. He saw a subject to study, the same as when she looked
at people. Elza had never expected to see it from one of them. What
caused such a thing to develop in a man? If she survived, maybe she
would have a chance to ask him. Of course, her observations would
be contaminated once she survived her execution.
    One of the guards came over to them. “What
did Hess say? Is he going to kill Kallig with his powers?”
    A woman hastily responded that Hess only
wanted to know if they had useful skills for the tribe. The guard
pondered that. “No one knows what Hess will do. The men are
frightened.”
    Elza frowned. “What powers does Hess have?”
This was something she had never encountered before.
    “Hess is older than my father's father and
cannot be hurt by weapons. They say he knows your thoughts just by
looking at you.”
    Elza stood slowly and faced
the direction Hess had gone. He sat on a rock nearby, looking in
her direction. His last words echoed in her ears. You would make a fascinating study under better
conditions. Everything turned surreal as
she realized something completely unexpected. Other Observers
existed –she was looking right at one.

Chapter 5 – Zack / Iteration 144
    Zack turned off his cell-phone when reporters
discovered his number, which was towards the end of his shift. By
the time Zack got home, the news had run not only the picture
Maggie snapped with her phone, but also the damning video from the
store camera, which someone had uploaded to the internet. The
confrontation with Lacey began the moment he walked through the
door and lasted for over an hour, only ending when Lacey began to
cry. Zack uttered false assurances that he was happy, did love her,
and thought life was great.
    They ate a dinner of tater tots and