EPISODE 6: THE WAR ## CHAPTER 1: THE SPARK The war began over water. The Colorado River—already stressed before the signal—had become a lifeline for communities throughout the Southwest. When the Covenant claimed divine right to its headwaters, the Collective disputed their claim. When diplomacy failed, both sides sent forces. The first shots were fired on a Tuesday morning, fourteen months after the signal. Enhanced soldiers from the Collective faced Covenant fighters who believed God was on their side. The battle lasted six hours. Two hundred dead. Neither side achieved its objective. "This is just the beginning," Michael Strand declared in his broadcast. "The chosen cannot share the Earth with those who reject God's gift. We will cleanse what the signal left unfinished." The Collective's response was measured but clear: "We will defend ourselves against any attack. We do not seek war, but we will not surrender to zealotry." The Unmade watched from their bunkers, preparing for a conflict they'd predicted all along. And in Resurrection, Minnesota, Thomas Callahan gathered his community to pray for peace while preparing for the worst. --- ## CHAPTER 2: THE ESCALATION Within weeks, the water dispute had metastasized into total war. The Covenant swept across the heartland, their enhanced preachers converting communities through charisma that bordered on mind control. Those who resisted were...