Chapter 1 - The Winter Reverie

The scene unfolds with the camera gracefully hovering above a suburban landscape blanketed in snow. Children relish their post-Christmas break, frolicking in the crisp, snowy wonderland with sleds in tow. The robotic hum of snow-clearing machines echoes, and in the distance, magretrine ships gracefully navigate the wintry sky. The festive season has drawn to a close, and life is gradually returning to its normal rhythm.

"Every Breath You Take" by The Police (1983) serves as a nostalgic soundtrack, weaving through the scenes.


The imposing Bona cooling towers stand in the backdrop, their stark silhouettes contrasting against the cold, grey winter sky. Scenes of residents carrying discarded Christmas trees to the curb for collection unfold, alongside recycling bins brimming with the remnants of festive gifts – cardboard and plastic.

As the opening sequence reaches its zenith, the music gracefully fades into silence. The focus narrows to a solitary figure atop the cooling towers. With arms outstretched and eyes fixed on the heavens, he stands in serene contemplation. The camera, initially distant, gradually closes the gap, revealing the man's shoulders and head. As he turns to face the lens, an expression of tranquil satisfaction graces his countenance.

The music abruptly stops.

A seemingly unnatural smile curls upon the man's lips, and in an almost ethereal motion, he leaps into the unknown. The screen fades to black, leaving an air of mystery lingering in the silence.

Lately, Tanya's writing has been populated by imagery of birds, after their encounter with Gunther and with the augmented pigeons.
Wings, feathers, flapping sounds. The shadow of airborne things. All sneaking where she least expects it, in a description, character thought. Even in the middle of a dialogue. Stowing away in her notebooks like clandestine passengers on a ship.

As her cuts from birds confrontations heal with time - those physical reminders that it hasn't been only a lucid dream - new cuts appear in her writer's mind, like details slowly appearing in a daguerrotype.

She reflects on this change, unsure if she should reject it as a sign of trauma, or if on the contrary she should embrace this new strand in her narratives, and let it surface freely through her phrases.

She now lifts her gaze and sees it is very late, and decides to close her notebook with a yawn.

She halts and smiles, seeing a small doodle on the back cover of the notebook. A stylized perched crow she doesn't remember sketching.

"What's wrong with the old jacket?" Robbie's mom, Anika, asks her, leaning against the outer wall of the changing room cabin and watching her daughter go through the racks of winter jackets.

"It's broken. There's a huge tear from the barbed wire fence," Robbie replies. "And besides, it makes me look like a blue snowman."

"I know. It's adorable," her mother chuckles. "I can fix the tear. You know that's no problem."

Robbie makes a face. "The other kids make fun of me for all my torn and patched up clothes."

"Kids are cruel," Anika replies. "But you're a tough girl. You've never let that kind of thing bother you."

"I'm not bothered," Robbie lies. "But it's not just about that. Maybe I just want to look nice for a change." She pulled out a white jacket and held it up in front of her chest.

"Really, Roberta, white?" Anika asks with a frown. "I'm happy to buy you something new, but maybe you can find something a bit more practical for the farm." Robbie sighs and hangs the jacket back. After another moment, she pulls out a red jacket. "Try it on if you want," her mother encourages her. As Robbie slips her arms into the sleeves, she asks, "This sudden interest in fashion, it wouldn't have anything to do with Tyra's kid, would it?" There's a smile on her lips. "I don't think she minds your clothes."

Robbie zips up the jacket and then looks at herself in the mirror, holding out her arms and turning in place to see herself from all sides. "I don't know what you're talking about," she mutters, her face almost as red as the jacket.

'No no no' Emilia mutters to herself as she rapidly opens the oven, smoke billowing from it. A small part of her wonders if he should be concerned that the fire alarm isn't currently going off, but it is overshadows by the panic as she pulls out a smoking tray. She looks a the very crispy meant-to-be cookies on them and sighs, going straight to the bin.

She returns for the lower tray and pulls a face. These ones may be slightly salvageable. Not perfect though, and that was a problem. ' Should have paid closer attention.' She mutters to herself as she places the tray on a cork mat, near some vegetables she had been chopping at the same time. So much for multitasking, trying to get dinner and practice baking at the same time.

Proudly wearing her new jacket, a nice, bright red instead of the already dull and worn blue of her old jacket, Robbie is waiting at the street corner where the three of them agreed to meet. It's a railroad crossing and the barrier has been down for a while now. Not that Robbie minds. She's already on the side she needs to be. It does give her a chance to peoplewatch as a small group has formed by now, wanting to get over to the other side, slowly growing restless.
Robbie is also a bit restless, eager for her friends to arrive. She has no doubt that they're going to show up. After all, the tiny little ice café in front of which she's waiting has the best hot chocolate in all of town, and she promised to buy a round for all three of them.

Tanya gets to the café at the agreed time and is surprised to see Robbie's new coat. It gives the girl a fresh, lively look.

"Hey Robbie! Wow, is that new? Red really suits you, you know?"

"It is new!" Robbie replies excitedly. She spins in place to show off her new jacket to her best friend. She thinks it looked really nice on herself, makes her look a bit less round and more shapely. But maybe that's just the excitement of a new piece of clothing. "I convinced my mom to buy it for me. Isn't it nice?"

"Very. If I had to write about it I'd say... Let's see... Her jacket was as red as a robin landing on snow. Oh. I did it again..."

She blushes. Then elaborates. "I Keep using these... bird images, they're the first popping into my head, these days..." she gives a little apologetic shrug.

'Sorry!' Emilia calls as she approaches the pair apologetical. 'I ran into something on the way here.' That something being Izzy. While she was sneaking around anymore when hanging pout with the pair and confrontation with the other girl was something she didn't want so when she saw her shopping with a posse she'd opted for a longer route.

'Oh new jacket? It suits you. Its cute' She gives Robbie a light smile.

Robbie feels a bit uncertain about the man, but there seems to be something in the air when he approaches them. That, and he seems weird, but also nice, even complimenting them and calling them ladies instead of girls. "Thank you," she says, taking the flyer from him and looking at him curiously.

Tanya didn't notice the man approaching at all. She looks around more carefully, to see if the campaigner has more allies, or if anyone else in the small crowd around them seems suspicious.

The man replies nonchalantly to Robbie, "No, I'm not worried at all. It's a beautiful day. A great day for a revolution." His peculiar response suggests a disconnect, either due to inattentiveness or inebriation. However, it suggests that the man is the opposite of relaxed. He must be nervous about something or at least was so before he became drunk.

Amid the small group waiting for the train, Tanya spots a woman in a more subtle ensemble of natural fibers, carrying a backpack of the same materials. Unlike the intoxicated man, her clothing colors don't cause her to stand out. She's not focused on the passing train but seems to be continually glancing down the road behind the group waiting for the train. Occasionally she opens her backpack and appears to converse with someone or something inside.

"Hey... Take a look. That woman's got something in her bag," she whispers to the others. "What's going on here? she looks nervous. Are they... Terrorists?"

She looks at her friends, concerned.

"A revolution?" Robbie asks. She looks at the flyer in her hand "Against Riksenergi?" She's unsure what they should do. There's something weird about the man, like he's confused. Or maybe scared. "Hey, how about we call my parents. My dad always complains about how the Loop is poisoning our ground water. I bet they would really like to hear about your revolution." She glances around for a phone booth nearby.

Without thinking this might be dangerous, Tanya walks to the woman she has noticed talking to something in her bag.
With a big childish grin, she says loudly, so to turn a few heads in her direction : "Hi Lady, do you have a cat or dog in there? Can I see it, pleeeeease?" she points at the woman's bag.

Emilia watches the man cautiously, sticking close to Robbie, not trusting someone who would approach a bunch of kids and start talking about such things.