Steve watched as Dan left and wished him well. He was a good kid, but far too trusting. Steve could tell that whoever or whatever was behind this knew full well what reaction to expect from the authorities - giving everyone ideal secret bases proved it beyond a doubt. Whatever they were, they were his kind of people - giving everyone a fair shot heading into whatever changes they had planned for the Earth. But now that he had his family safe, it was time to go find all his old Marine buddies, the local ones, at least, and clue them in.

Before that, though, he needed to have a good talk with Judith and to check in with Mark. That "Mage" stuff would probably work out great in the long run, but he needed to stay safe until Steve knew the score - what it could and couldn't do, and how the authorities would try to use it to control people. He was 100% certain it was a high research priority, and they probably already had a thousand grunts assigned to try different combinations of abilities, just in the "magic" field.

Heading back to Judith's Base, Steve spent some time camouflaging the SUV and wiping out the more obvious track it had made. He then dug a latrine for her to use nearby. Meanwhile, Judith had found "Properties - Base - Improvements" in her Menu, and used her remaining points to give herself carpeting, lighting control, and a 2nd room (Small Bedroom), and was settling in for the long wait while Steve was out playing commando. She also started really taking a good look at her own health - her low Stats compared to the men had been a bit of a wake-up call.

Steve started his trek back down to I-5 and back to Medford. It was an easy, pleasant, late-summer stroll, and he was soon in sight of the Highway. I-5 wasn't very busy, and it was almost all semi-trucks. Staying mostly under cover, things looked surprisingly normal. He noticed the rare cop cars went in groups of 3, and that there was an hourly helicopter fly-by. After a while, he also realized he hadn't seen any commercial air traffic either.

About halfway back, Steve spotted one of the 3-car police groups, lights flashing, but no sirens, parked around a small farmhouse. It looked like they had a family (a couple and 3 kids) being questioned outside while the others searched the house and property. Steve got close enough to listen in.

"You know d--m well this is BS, sheriff! You have no right to take our stuff, and we don't have to tell you anything about how we use our internet and phones!"

"Mr. Cooper, It's not my call. You were flagged by the National Guard for inspection, and you have been found with active Wi-Fi. Since you refuse to give us details of how you've been using it, we are required to take and/or disable all Wi-fi compatible devices and your internet has received a 10-day suspension. Further, you are being flagged for a mental health exam before anyone in this household is allowed to travel further than the nearest town."

The conversation went nowhere from there. Steve could guess from the expressions that the oldest kid, maybe jr high age, was the only one that knew much, but the parents refused to give her up and just "stood by their rights". At the fathers insistence, the police wrote out an inventory list as they left with a small pile of electronics. They warned the family that they were on a watch list now and to watch each other for the effects of the "brain damage" or "mind control" they were now considered to be vulnerable to. then they headed out.

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Steve thought these people would make perfect allies. Halfway between his base and the city, and already annoyed with the local authorities. He thought it over a while as he waited for the cops to clear out and the family to calm down. He'd seen what Dan could do with that "Interface" he'd bought, so these people might not need any electronics if any of them still had enough points to buy it. Steve himself had spent too many points in getting his base location, so he had to keep his phones for now and couldn't afford to provide them one.

Not wanting to scare them, Steve hid his pack and guns in the nearby woods before going up and knocking on the cooper's door. There was an answer briefly:

"Who are you and what do you want?"

"My name is Steve, and I saw the police hassling you - I was wondering if I could help."

"Help how?"

"Well, I know they're trying to prevent public access to the alien miracle that appeared on Wi-Fi. I know how to get around them, if you're up for it. If not, I'll just be on my way."

"You're sure it's alien? That's what my girl says, but the PBS calls it dangerous brainwashing, and I'm worried it might be both!"

"There's no way we humans have the tech to do this, and if the aliens can wire our brains for Wi-Fi without us even knowing, I don't think they have any trouble controlling us if they wanted to."

"Even if it's safe, they'll detect us whenever we use a phone to access it, right? I won't risk us being taken away!"

"If any of you still have 10 points left, you only need a couple minutes of access and then you'll never need any devices they can detect."

"Well, I know Mina and I spent nearly all out points." He called back into the house "Did you have any points left, Beth?" The answer (sounded like the wife) said "only 3, I think" She seemed to have been listening in. "Nope, looks like we used too many."

"Blast it" Stave said. "I have a working phone, but I can't leave it with you until you get enough points. You want me to come back later?"

Another voice from inside "Dad! Just have Jason do it. Mom, it won't hurt him any, I promise." Another kid's voice "Yeah Dad! You promised I'd get to try it later. Why not now?"

Jason turned out to be their 10-year old son, and he and Mina came out to talk with Steve, while Beth grumbled a bit and retreated into the back of the house the youngest son.

Mina sort of took over the conversation from her dad, saying how her gamer and school friends had caught on right away, before the blackout, but her parent's had to think about it all night before trying it themselves, and hadn't let the younger kids try it yet. Mina was going to be a "Paladin", and had plans to get a horse and go out righting wrongs (her father rolled his eyes as she went on...).

Steve, Ed Cooper, and his son Jason, went off into the woods far enough that they thought the Wi-Fi wouldn't be traced back to the house if detected, and quickly got Jason set up with his Interface. Jason wanted to be a "Jedi" - Steve groaned at the implications. The family let Steve stay on the couch that night before heading out to Medford. They talked privately about their plans, but didn't include Steve, and he didn't ask.