It felt a bit like we were floating through a dream, or maybe heaven as we stepped through the city. Stairs, broadly cut, of pearly-white stone, led us upwards and inwards. There were lawns of grass, shaded under broad trees I didn't recognize to line the main path, and beyond them, rows of neat fields in perfect lines.

There were people, too. Some of the guards who had met us at the gate had split off and disappeared, but a few appeared to be headed our way, seemingly ambivalent to our presence, walking at their own pace instead of escorting us. In a couple of the fields, I saw farmers at work, bent down and picking at weeds or pruning crops by hand. Nobody looked up at us as we passed, others walking the street didn't give us so much as a glance.

Most of all, it was bizarre. None of us knew what to expect in the first place, and it definitely wasn't a perfectly-organized fully-realized society. With the white stone and rounded buildings, it looked more like ancient Greece than anything else, maybe minus the statues.

Not knowing where else to go, we kept heading towards the center. After a ways, the rows of fields and trees and green yielded to the second wall, and in passing through an intimidating gate, I realized immediately we'd come into the main residential hub. The main path still wound straight through and up, but now on all sides, instead of greenery were single-story dwellings, small but comfortable-looking. Each had large airy windows and doorways without doors, as though built only to keep the sun out and tempt the wind in, which made me wonder just how hot or cold Oasis got in the other seasons.

Although I was reminded, the Glasslands really didn't have seasons. There was no weather here to speak of.

The people milling about seemed each focused on their own work, ignoring us entirely. They wore flowing clothes of loose, light, colorful fabric, making them pop from their white surroundings, like it was the residents who truly were Oasis, and the city was just a backdrop to their lives.

At the end of the residences was the third gate, and this one we were not simply permitted to walk through. It was closed, again, with doors of white stone, though above the wall I could see the towers and multi-storied buildings of the city's center.

And there, waiting for us before it, was another pair of the guards with their armor plates in their silks, as well as a lady, short-ish, with oval glasses, and a white lab coat to match the gate behind her. It was strange to see something so familiar looking out here, even if I wasn't sure I'd ever actually seen a lab coat in person.

"Hello," she said in perfect English with a small wave. "Welcome to Oasis."

"Called it," Saga said.

"After they told you the name?" AEGIS shot her with a raised eyebrow.

I ignored them and greeted our host. "Hi. Thanks for uh...well I'd say being so welcoming but I guess we did kinda have to fight our way in? What's up with this place?"

She smiled and extended her arm, which, I not having any better ideas, tentatively took. Once secured, she began to walk with me. "How about a quick tour before we put you up for the night?"

I guess my confusion was agreement, and she began showing us around. "The first thing you should know about Oasis is its namesake. We do have water here that we pull from the ground, but that's not what it's an oasis of. The city is an oasis of faith -- there is worship here of our local god. He has been here since beginningless time, and it is through him we prosper."

"That's...cool? Can we like...meet him?"

She chuckled. "No. Only priests may pass the third gate to the center city, and only high priests may enter our most holy sites. You will still be expected to make an offering if you wish to stay in the city, however. We will get to that."

I stopped and she went another few paces before turning around questioningly. "What kind of offering? Is this where the city turns out evil and we have to fight to the death or something?"

Again she chuckled, like she was speaking to herself. "Nothing like that. A small offering of blood is all we ask. Not a bloodletting, before you ask -- a few drops."

"Why?" I asked.

She shrugged. "I don't question the old rituals."

"Shouldn't you?"

She shrugged again. "It would be fairly blasphemous for me to do so, being a high priestess. So no, I just do as He wishes, and that means to demand a blood offering from each guest whom we give hospitality. You are more than welcome to leave the city if you refuse. But again, we'll get to that."

I looked her up and down. She was small, but not young. There were wrinkles in the corners of her eyes and her hair had traces of grey, as though middle-age were only beginning to find her...maybe late thirties or early forties, if I had to guess. Like most everyone else we'd seen on this trip, her hair and eyes were both dark brown, the latter narrow and scrutinizing, the former pinned up in a fancy take on a ponytail. Her lab coat was stained in a few places, obviously not just for decoration.

"What kind of high priestess wears a lab coat?" I asked.

"The kind that does work in a lab," she said with another shrug. I was beginning to think she was getting tired of answering my inane questions, but I wasn't nearly out of them yet.

"Does your god make you do that?"

"Our god lets us do whatever we desire. He's not really a demanding god. Each of us has a role, and within it, we do what we feel we should."

"So...he does make you do things."

She smiled and offered her arm again, and after a moment I took it. She began steering us backwards, towards the outside of the city, and as we walked without speaking, I began to wonder if I'd pushed her too far and she was just going to throw us out.

Instead, after we passed the second gate and were back surrounded by fields she began to speak.

"Most you will find in this ring are laborers. That is their caste and their lot, and if you view that as the demand of our god, then I must agree with you. However, even as a laborers, there are any number of tasks which must be done, and they are free to do them as they see fit. If you wish to weed, weed. If you want to irrigate, do so. Or plant, or sew, or cook, or serve meals. So long as one remains within their circle, they are welcome to do whatever they wish."

"And what about doing nothing?" Lia spoke up from the group which had silently followed the whole time. "What if a laborers just wants to laze around under the trees?"

Our host gave her another well-practiced shrug. "People such as that are not made laborers."

"So what, they're given some other role instead?"

"Those who prefer to do nothing are not invited to the city. They are given a role of 'goodbye'. It is my hope that none of you achieve that honor."

"Why must we be given a role at all?" Karu asked. "We do not intend to stay here. We have business to attend and then we shall depart."

She shrugged again, and I began to suspect there was more to the gesture than a simple show of indifference, perhaps some Moon-like nuance buried deep in there. "All who have business with Oasis must be given a caste. If nothing else, such determines your access within the city. Laborers in the first circle, skilled craftsmen and warriors in the second, priestess and high priestess within the third. It would be very embarrassing for you to schedule a meeting and then not be able to attend for want of permission."

"But we've already been in the second circle. There weren't even guards at the gate," I said.

"Because you are a warrior and she," she nodded towards Saga "was deemed a priestess. The others were allowed to accompany you for today."

I stared at her, still not quite understanding. "But what if there was a mistake? What if...I dunno, someone is given rank of laborer, but then it turns out they're a flake? Do you throw them out? Is there a caste for enforcers who go around judging people's quality of work?"

She gave a shrug accompanied by a knowing smile. "Mistakes are not made. Roles are given out by our god."

"But if there were--"

"There are not."

Well I guess that settled that. What I heard was if there was a mistake, nobody admits to it.

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She began walking us back through the city, more in the capacity of a real tour guide this time, pointing out the layout of Oasis, where we could find specific accommodations, jobs that the various castes were responsible for and points of interest.

Unsurprisingly, the highest castes lived and worked in the center of the city, along with their 'god'. The middle ring was for residences and food, mostly, and the outer ring is where laborers worked their fields, though they slept and ate in the middle ring with the others, explaining why the second gates were left open and unmanned.

Kinda made me wonder the point of the walls and castes in general, given that it wasn't actually any different from people just having a job. Like, what was the point of there being an outer ring when laborers would naturally be in their fields anyway?

I was about to ask our host when AEGIS popped in with a question I wished I'd thought of.

"Um, Madam High Priestess? What is your name?"

She chuckled to herself. "Call me Rio. No need for titles."

"Rio," I echoed, and she turned to me. "If the laborers all live in the second ring anyway, what's the point of the wall, and consigning them to a lower caste? And the same for the priests? If nobody's really separate, what's the point in separating them?"

"Ah," she said. "Well, that would be for defense. Unfortunate as it is, some lives are more vital to the city's operation than others. The main difference in caste is which wall one would occupy in a siege."

"Oh," I said. "Who attacks you out here?"

She shrugged. "It feels like most have, variously. "The United States sends excursions to wipe out the 'last Sino threat' from time to time. Russia and Germany have tried to take what we have. The XPCA--"

"Oh yeah," I said. "We had to be Exhumans to get in here."

"Not entirely correct. But yes, all who are above the caste of laborers are Exhuman."

I blinked at her, two thoughts crashing into my mind at once.

One was of the poor laborers down below, who in the case of a siege, would be manning the outer wall. A bunch of regular humans armed with, what, pitchforks and hoes? I know Rio said some lives were more important than others, but that almost felt like they were being thrown away at that point.

The other was even more alarming, as I looked around the second ring. There were a few dozen of the locals visible to me now, in their loose, flowing dress, about half asian and half other. And by her words, I suddenly realized that every one of these people was allegedly Exhuman?

"And they just...cook? Or clean? Or do laundry and make beds?"

"They do whatever it is they want, that needs doing."

"That's insane, though. They're Exhumans. Any one of them could destroy...everything, if they wanted to."

She shrugged. "Why would they want to?"

I gaped at her for a minute, at the absolute plausibility of her simple question.

Why would they want to?

Why were Exhumans such a threat in America? Just because they lived in a society where they were oppressed by a majority? Things were different here, with the caste structure making it explicit that every Exhuman was more valuable than any human. And while it seemed that there were maybe twice as many laborers as others we'd seen, that was an extraordinary ratio for Exhumans. It wasn't the million-to-one ratio we faced in the rest of the world...in fact, two-to-one hardly felt like a majority at all, given what Exhumans were capable of.

But didn't the Exhumans get tired of living mundane lives? Cleaning, sweeping, sewing? Like those in New Eden, didn't they go crazy from...from…

From what? I had to ask myself. From living a normal life? The New Edeners were prisoners, who were treated as such, who saw themselves as such. The walls around them were to keep them in more than to keep others out. Hell, it seemed pleasant here -- just thinking about myself, all my aspirations for a normal life, I could see myself hiding out and becoming...I dunno, a cobbler or whatever, if it meant living in peace somewhere. Here, they didn't even need to hide out; everyone was Exhuman, that was just the norm and everyone accepted it.

It slowly, slowly sank in that somehow, this city was a functioning society of Exhumans. Without even realizing it, I'd walked into the paradise I'd spent so long pondering. All of my questions, the big ones, the life-altering ones seemed to be answering themselves right before my eyes.

Humans and Exhumans could live together in harmony. Exhumans could be peaceful by nature. They could live simple lives without hiding out, hiding who they were, just being content with being alive and doing their job and living their lives, like any other person, animal, or being.

I felt my head spinning and had to sit down. I expected something to blow up, irrationally, felt like...something had to go wrong. It was like being in university all over again -- it was all fake, just waiting to explode. But a thousandfold. How many Exhumans were here? Two or three hundred? Another entire New Eden's worth? Living peacefully?

Impossible. She had to be lying.

But I'd seen that soldier with my own eyes. I'd fought him. He'd whipped out his powers and nobody had batted an eye. He was just as Exhuman as I was...and so could I believe the other guards to be? Maybe. I'd only seen a handful of them, honestly. But the whole city? That was too much. Trying to put that thought in my brain felt like trying to fit too many leftovers in too small a container, no matter what angle I came at it from, it was just an impossible mess.

"Dude," Saga said, and I turned to find her staring at me. "Chill."

I muttered at her, realizing my words made no sense even as I sputtered. Did she not get it? That this was the dream? Had she not heard Rio?

"I get it," she said, reaching out to pat my head like I was a panicking dog. "Just calm down about it. Your head's gonna drive me crazy."

Rio gave her a sideways look. "His head?"

I was in no position to explain, given my brain at the moment. Saga nodded. "He's killing me over there."

Rio turned to face her, her body rigid and her face, I realized, serious for the first time I'd seen. "I'm sorry, I have to ask...you wouldn't happen to be a Code-Xavier Exhuman, would you?"

Saga started to answer but Lia cut in. "Nope. They're just really close, and she hates seeing him all befuddled. Which is a pretty poor choice on her part, considering how often he does it."

Rio immediately resumed her former smile and posture, as though coming out from under a cloud. I was still so behind I kinda missed the whole thing, but I did catch Lia giving us all a significant glance the moment Rio's back was turned.

Because, holy hell, a whole city of Exhumans. That was downright impossible.

I missed most of what followed, even forfeiting my position at the front of the group as I bumbled along behind, words and explanations washing over me as Rio concluded her tour with Lia now at the forefront. We found ourselves in an airy room near the third gate, something like a chapel, tall and deep and narrow, with repeated icons of a twisted tree-like symbol throughout.

"This is the house of prayer for this district. As I said before, I ask that each of you make a token offering of a few drops of blood. You do not have to, but if you don't...we'll ask you to leave. I'll be just a moment, please use the cups."

She gave a cheery wave and then disappeared into the back room.

"Cups?" Lia asked.

"Here," Karu said, standing by a shelf inset in the wall. "How barbaric."

She came back with what looked like a champagne glass with a twisted stem. The only difference was a glass barb hanging over the top like the tail of a scorpion, honed to a lethal point and suspended right over the center of the glass's mouth.

"Well that looks unpleasant," Lia said, taking the glass into her hands. Before I could react, she'd prodded the pad of her index finger against the needle and made a wincing sound as a few droplets of blood trickled from the wound. "Meerkats, that hurts. And it's bleeding too much."

"It's sharpened glass, dolt," Karu said with a frown, pulling a small tube of medical spray from a pocket. "Even the slightest touch would open a gushing wound. Hold your hand steady."

"Not yet," Lia said, grabbing another glass and transferring her finger to bleed into that one. With her other hand, she offered the first to AEGIS. "You don't have the guts for this, right?"

"Thanks, but...there had to be a better way."

"Such as no way at all," Karu said, as she began to dress Lia's wound. "Participating in such heathen rituals is pure folly."

"Do you want to get kicked out?" I asked, taking a glass for myself and for Tem.

"I would love for them to make an attempt," Karu replied haughtily, flashing her guns.

"Dude, there's like a hundred Exhumans here," Lia said with wide eyes. "You're gonna get super destroyed."

"Please don't make a scene, Karu," I asked. "I'm really curious about this place. Just give them a few drops. It's not like you've never shed blood for anything stupid before."

"Yes, but those weren't my drops," she said.

I rolled my eyes at her. "Please? I'd rather stay in the city, and rather you did too. Without one of the two of you destroying the other."

She sighed heavily. "Fine. But know that this does not constitute worship of a false god in my eyes. I do this for Ashton, and he is an agent of the one true God. This is a meaningless token of no faith to me."

"That's perfectly fine," Rio said as she re-entered. "It would be pretty silly of us to expect every visitor to renounce their beliefs. This is just an offering in good faith to our god, whether you believe in him or not."

Karu didn't speak or wince as she removed her glove and pricked her finger, drawing only two fat, slow beads of blood before reaching for the gel.

I helped Tem and did myself as well, and like Lia, found the tiny cut I'd inflicted on myself far, far too interested in bleeding than I intended. Rio went through the group, taking our cups and placing them on the altar at the front of the room.

"Finally, my time to shine," Saga said, grabbing up three or four glasses in each hand. "How many do you want? An even dozen?"

Rio shrugged at her, and this one I could read. What the fuck are you talking about?

Saga nicked off the entire tip of her finger and filled the glass like a beer on tap before she mended and the flow instantly stopped. I was impressed -- and horrified -- at how practiced she was at gauging her own blood flow. And then she repeated the trick into a second glass.

"Um, that's more than enough," Rio said with a horrified expression, taking the glasses with more than some hesitation.

"You sure? I got lots more." Saga grinned. Rio looked a little shaky and faint as the put the glasses on the altar with the others.

"Maybe...maybe I can just take you back to your quarters. Since there's no need to send any of you off," she said, plastering on a bright, fake smile as she met each of our glances, except Saga's.

"Can we not traumatize everyone we meet?" I asked Saga as Rio led us out.

"I'm confused," she answered. "Isn't that the whole point of meeting new people?"

I shook my head and shielded my eyes as we stepped back outside into the harsh white glare of the impossible city.