Kalisha Benson, Avery Dixon, George Iles, Nicholas Wilholm, and Helen Simms sit at the end of the access tunnel beside the locked door to Front Half’s F-Level. They note that Katie Givens and Hal Leonard have joined the Ward A children, who move in and out of hand-holding circles. Len has joined too. Kalisha worries that Iris, along with Jimmy Cullum and Donna Gibson, may be too damaged to come back, though Iris currently only watches.

The five share open telepathy, trading thoughts about the invasive hum from the Institute that once stripped their minds but now feels like a carrier wave for their power. They joke uneasily about the unwanted intimacy of shared thoughts while acknowledging that the hum is constant and ready for a broadcast.

As several Ward A kids link hands, the overhead fluorescents brighten and one tube shorts out. The hum intensifies, and Kalisha believes staff in Front Half can feel it—Joe, Hadad, Chad, Dave, Priscilla, Zeke, and others—though those staff likely still think the revolt is contained and they are safe.

Kalisha senses that Luke Ellis is in the air approaching. Helen expresses a wish to fly again. When asked if the Institute will wait for Luke or gas the tunnel, Avery, half-drowsing, says they will wait because if anything happens to the kids, Luke would know; the kids will also wait for his arrival.

Avery says they will use the "big phone" together when Luke arrives. George is uneasy, recalling how large the last mental construct appeared to him. The Ward A children continue to cycle their formations, with Iris and Len joining a ring, further amplifying the hum. The power rises enough to affect the lights.

Kalisha contemplates the scale of the potential broadcast: a global array of children—perhaps hundreds or more across Institutes—empty of everything but their powers, ready to answer the call. She fears the carrier wave could become a destructive vibration capable of toppling buildings or worse if they activate the big phone in the tunnel.

Kalisha asks Nicholas whether they could turn it off if they manage to turn it on. Nicholas admits he does not know, then adds that after what was done to them, he no longer cares, emphasizing the group’s anger and resolve despite the risk.