Abby looked taken aback, which was fine with Lauren. She wanted to convey who was in charge.

“I’m taking the train. They said it was the easiest way.”

“Who is ‘they’?” Lauren asked brusquely.

“The…program people. Lauren, have I done something wrong? In the jungle when we decided to go to another village, we just got up and—”

“What program people?”

“There’s a…program. Global Sunrise.”

“You’re going on Global Sunrise?” Lauren practically shrieked.

Abby crossed her arms in front of her. “They invited me to speak to them about my life in Papua New Guinea. Is that a problem?”

Lauren collected herself, walked over, and sat on the opposite end of the couch from Abby. She managed a smile. “No, dear. It’s just that…I was concerned about your safety. New York is such a big place for someone new to the country.”

“I’ll be fine. Sabin’s going with me.”

“He is?” Lauren could feel her face tense further. “Well. Perhaps tonight we can discuss your interview.”

“I think they’re just going to ask me questions about my life in the jungle. They seemed quite interested in it.”

Lauren nodded. “I’m sure. They might ask some other questions as well, though. Perhaps it would be good to prepare in advance. They may ask you about your religious faith, for instance. It’s best not to say too much about that.”

Abby frowned. “I plan to talk about my faith, Lauren. That’s why I want to go.”

“Yes, of course. But it might help if I coach you a bit.”

Lauren rose and walked toward her bedroom. Abby on Global Sunrise, flaunting her religious fanaticism for all the electorate to see. That could be a political disaster. She opened her bedroom door and spotted Sabin at the bathroom sink. She closed the door behind her.

“Sabin, we need to talk.”

“Dr. Sampson, I apologize for the delay in getting back to you with your lab results. We had some equipment difficulties, and then we had two teams examine the sample…twice.”

The man, a middle-aged New Guinean in a white lab coat, appeared so genuinely apologetic that she resisted the urge to vent her frustration. The National Lab had had the tissue sample from the autopsy for days. Kate didn’t want an explanation; she wanted the results.

“And what did you find?”

“The specimen you sent us consists of two substances. The first is broken-down organic material, primarily amino acids. Based on where the sample was obtained, we suspect this material comprised the bulk of the hippocampus, but it’s impossible to say for certain.”

“What possibly could have broken it down into molecular form?”

“The second material may hold the answer to your question,” the man said. “It consists of inorganic molecules arranged in a prefabricated matrix.”

“Which means what?”