EPISODE 8: THE GATHERING ## CHAPTER 1: THE VISITORS They arrived over Thanksgiving break. Maya's parents thought she was going to a "special academic program" at Helen's farm—a story that Helen had helped construct, complete with fake brochures and a cover story about gifted student outreach. In reality, the farmhouse was hosting a gathering of guardians. They came from across the country—a retired professor from Boston, a young man who worked at a radio station in New Mexico, an elderly woman from Oregon who had been a listener since before World War II. Seven guardians in total, the largest gathering in Helen's memory. "The last time this many of us met in person was 1962," Helen told Maya. "The Cuban Missile Crisis. We thought the Soviets might try to use the Signal as a weapon." "Did they?" "They tried. We stopped them. Barely." --- ## CHAPTER 2: THE COUNCIL The guardians gathered in Helen's library, chairs arranged in a rough circle. Maya sat beside Helen, feeling young and out of place among these experienced protectors. The meeting was led by a woman named Sarah Chen—no relation to Danny or Maya, she assured them. Sarah was in her sixties, sharp-eyed and serious, the de facto leader of the American guardian network. "We've been monitoring the Signal for six months since...