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mid-crow.”
    â€œYou should eat,” my mother said. “The food here is really good. They grow everything. Even the wild blueberries in the pancakes. They’re completely off the grid.”
    â€œThis is where I want to be for the zombie apocalypse,” Taylor said.
    â€œOr the Elgen one,” I said. I looked at Taylor’s mother. “How are you, Mrs. Ridley?”
    â€œThank you for asking,” she said. “I woke this morning thinking I had dreamed it all.”
    â€œSometimes I still do too,” I said. I took a bite of blueberry pancake. It was delicious.
    â€œTell us about Peru,” Mrs. Ridley said. “And this tribe you were with.”
    â€œYou should let him eat,” Taylor said.
    â€œIt’s okay,” I said. “I wasn’t with the Amacarra that long. But they were good to me. They saved me from the Elgen.”
    â€œI’d like to meet them someday,” my mother said.
    â€œYou can’t,” I said, frowning. “They don’t exist anymore. The Elgen and the Peruvian army wiped them out for helping us.”
    Her expression fell. “I’m so sorry. That’s horrible.”
    â€œIt’s hard to believe that their entire civilization is gone,” I said.
    â€œIf Hatch has his way that will be true of all of us,” Taylor said.
    Just the mention of Hatch’s name brought a cloud over the table.
    As we finished eating, Joel walked in. He greeted a few people, then went to the front of the room. “Excuse me, I have an announcement. For members of the Electroclan, we’ll be meeting in this same room at nine thirty, so you’ll have a little time to go back to your rooms or walk around the grounds before then, but please don’t be late. Thank you.”
    As soon as he finished he headed to our table. I again noticed the unspoken interaction between him and my mother.
    â€œGood morning,” he said to all of us. Then he turned to me. “Michael, before things get started, the council would like to meet with you.”
    â€œWhat’s the council?” I asked.
    â€œThey’re the leadership of the resistance,” my mother said.
    â€œThey’re waiting in the conference room right now,” Joel said.
    â€œThey’re waiting for me?”
    â€œYes. As soon as you’re ready.”
    I glanced at Taylor. “What about everyone else?”
    â€œThis time they’d just like to see you,” Joel said.
    I stood. “All right. Let’s go.”
    My mother and I followed Joel back to the Ranch House, then across the main room, through a doorway, and down the central wing. At the end of the hallway Joel opened a door for me. “Go on in,” he said.
    I stepped into a large, sparse room with a long, oval table with nearly a dozen people sitting around it. They all stood as I entered. Irecognized most of them from the night before, but with the exception of Joel and Sydney Lynn, I hadn’t known who they were.
    The man at the head of the table walked toward me. He was a little older than the others, handsome with graying temples. He extended his hand. “Michael, welcome. I’m Simon.”
    â€œYou’re not the voice,” I said.
    He shook his head. “No. I’m not. I’m the council chairman.”
    â€œYou’re the main guy?”
    He smiled. “I am here. The council runs most of the day-to-day operations of the resistance, but the overall leadership is elsewhere. The threat and power of the Elgen is such that it’s vital that we not keep all our eggs in the same basket. The council communicates with the voice, who directs operations from a confidential location.”
    â€œI’d just like to meet this person who keeps asking us to risk our lives,” I said. “I think it’s only fair.”
    â€œAnd so you shall,” Simon said. “When the time is right. Please, have a seat at the table.”
    I sat