EPISODE 6: THE EXODUS ## CHAPTER 1: THE WAVE Maya's transcendence opened the floodgates. In the months following her transformation, thousands of humans chose to follow. The Source Analysis Team went first—their years of deep engagement with the message had prepared them for the transition, and many had been waiting only for permission. James Wright transcended six weeks after Maya, his consciousness expanding into the realm he'd spent decades studying. The process, once initiated, couldn't be controlled. Interface chambers were built around the world, in hidden locations known only to those ready to make the choice. Physical governments tried to regulate the exodus, but transcendence didn't require elaborate equipment—those who had been sufficiently transformed by Source study could achieve it through meditation alone. "We're losing thousands every day," the UN council chair reported during an emergency session. "Scientists, engineers, artists, leaders. The best minds of the generation are leaving." "They're not dying," one councilmember objected. "They're transcending. Becoming something more." "They're leaving. Whatever they become, they're no longer part of human civilization. They can't work, can't create, can't contribute to physical society." The debate echoed arguments humanity had been having for decades, but with new urgency. The slow exodus had become a flood. Those who fully understood the Source's promise were choosing transformation over physical existence, and the ranks...