---
Then Snake looked back at John. "They do not collect to protect. They collect to own. They will call it 'secure containment.' They will call it 'public safety.' They will call it 'national interest.'"
Snake's smile did not change.
His eyes, however, looked older for a moment.
"They will take it," Snake said. "And if you resist, they will take you too."
John's throat tightened. "I will hide it."
Snake nodded once. "Good."
Fizz floated closer to John's shoulder, voice low and sharp. "How did they even feel it. It was small."
Snake answered without being asked. "Void is not loud, Professor Fizz. Void is strange. People feel strange and they look for the cause."
Fizz's ears drooped. "So the ant is basically a walking rumor."
Snake smiled. "Yes. A rumor with legs."
John forced his face to remain calm. "No one connected it to me."
Snake's eyes warmed slightly. "Not yet."
The two words landed like stones.
John did not flinch. He only said, "What do I do?"
