All I know is that we can’t let Eric Smith capture her again. I turn around to face Tobias. “Once we’re out of the dome, can you get a car ready for me? Zora and I will take Monica back to the authorities in the city and find out how to reverse the update. Once we’re safely far away from here, you and the rest of the team can stop the convention.”

We’ve just passed the convenience store, almost to the path that will lead up toward the door in the dome. We’re so close…

And then there’s an explosion.

A confetti cannon goes off, showering us all in bright red and gold strips of paper.

Dozens of people—all with sloth bakus leashed around their necks—emerge from the houses. “Welcome to our annual celebration!” one of them says.

“We hope you can join us,” says another, his hair swept into a perfect sideways parting.

Tobias and Kai are struck still with shock at the sight of all the people who are surrounding us. But none of them look surprised or alarmed to see us, considering we’re intruders from the outside world. They look perfectly serene, dressed in the same beige outfit Monica is wearing.

It’s like a cult.

A Moncha cult.

“I’m sorry, but we can’t,” says Tobias, keeping his cool as always. “We have to go. We’ll, uh, be sure to come back another time.”

“Oh, I understand. Hopefully we’ll see you again soon.” And to our amazement, the man steps aside. So do all of the people, giving us a clear pathway out of the village. We hustle through them, trying not to make eye contact.

And then I make eye contact.

“Uh, Lacey?” Tobias stops and turns around when he notices I’m no longer with them. In fact, I stand stock still in the middle of the crowd. “Come on, we’ve got to go.”

“What’s her problem?” hisses Kai.

I swallow, completely unable to move. It’s like I’ve been paralyzed. My body feels like it’s been dipped in ice. My hands are numb. My feet are numb. My brain is numb.

Finally, I manage the energy to lick my lips. It brings enough moisture to my dry mouth to spit out some words. “I…I think this is my dad.”

31

I’m vaguely aware that Tobias and Kai are shouting—at me, at each other—I can’t quite tell. It’s like I’ve descended into a trance. I walk slowly toward the man I barely recognize. Is this my brain playing tricks on me? Some kind of wishful thinking?

He’s a total stranger, a vague approximation of the person from the photographs I’ve seen. I try to match him up with that man. The man in the white lab coat. The man with the beautiful German Shepherd baku.