Storm (Swipe Series)

the results we already wanted to find. Even a broken clock is right twice a day.”
    But upon hearing this, Peck spoke up. “Arianna, I’m not sure we can refute it any longer. Even going back years now, when it all began. Four billion people disappearing without a trace . . . hasn’t that alone ever made you wonder—”
    “It was the Total War, Daniel. People died. People defected. Of course many of them disappeared.”
    “Four billion?” Peck asked. “Poof? Leaving everything behind?”
    Arianna shook her head. “ Total. War. Don’t know how else to spell it out for you. And anyway, four billion is the government’s number. We don’t even know what’s going on outside the G.U.’s borders. The Dark Lands? Eastern Europe? Africa? South America? There’s plenty of space for those four billion to have gone. That number could mean anything.”
    “Well, what about Israel?” Peck asked. “In the Total War—and ever since, for that matter—what about the Middle East—”
    Dr. Rhyne stopped him. She held a hand out and began counting on her fingers. “Islam—the Day of Judgment, Allah’s final assessment of humanity. Judaism—the end of days and the coming of the Messiah that will usher in peace and unity for all mankind. Buddhism—doomsday scenarios where the teachings of Dharma disappear after five thousand years, following a period of turmoil and strife. Hinduism—time is cyclic, the Kalpa comes to its end.
    “Don’t you see, kids? All religions have end-times scenarios. And their followers have all been on the lookout for them, ever since as far back as these religions go. Of course every few years someone is sure that they’ve finally seen the signs. That’s how pattern recognition works . It’s like finding shapes in the clouds—you look long enough, and you’re going to start to see something. That doesn’t mean there’s suddenly a sheep floating around up in the sky!” She shook her head. “This is precisely why Cylis’s Religious Inclusion was necessary—to get people like these radio hosts to stop wasting their time thinking this way. It’s counterproductive! Spending all this energy just wondering how current events may or may not fit into some prediction written thousands of years ago . . . I mean, how about we focus our attention on real solutions to actual problems—”
    “Like the Mark?” Peck asked. “Like solving loyalty problems by Marking every citizen on his hand or forehead? That kind of solution?”
    “Yes!” Arianna exclaimed. “ That kind of solution! My colleagues here designed that Mark. Just five floors above your head! It didn’t just come down from on high. We worked on it. And yes, it did bring people together. And I’m sorry if that happens to fit withsome terrifying conclusion this disc jockey made about a bunch of two-thousand-some-odd-plus-year-old text or whatever, but—”
    “It’s my grandma,” Logan interrupted, uncomfortably. “It’s . . . it’s my grandmother you’re talking about. The disc jockey. On the radio.”
    “And my mom,” Hailey added, clearing her throat.
    “And they’re both Marked, even. They’re not some set of out-there radicals. They’re citizens.” Logan shrugged. “They’ve formed their beliefs on their own terms. We’re all entitled to that. So maybe let’s just keep this whole thing civil before someone gets offended, all right?”
    “Yeah, before ,” Peck scoffed. He turned to Dr. Rhyne. “I’ll pray for you, Arianna.”
    “And I appreciate that, Peck. In the meantime, I’ll keep looking for the actual cure to the disease we actually have to deal with right now.”
    “Oh, you mean the one that’s unfolding exactly as it was prophesied in the book of Revelation?”
    “Sure, Daniel. If you want it to be.”
    “Good.”
    “Good.” Arianna turned to Logan. She sighed. “You say this person is your grandmother, huh?”
    “Yeah . . . ,” Logan said.
    “Because if what you’re interested in is keeping in touch with her, then you don’t have to use several-hundred-year-old technology to do it.”
    “What do you mean?” Logan asked.
    “I mean that if you’d like to actually speak with your grandma—and your mother, Hailey—instead of just listening to them idly through this awful static . . . well, I’d be happy to setup a connection for you. So long as your grandma has a computer I can hack . . .”
    “She does in my mom’s office,” Logan said. “Mom was a meteorologist,