Alone under scalding water, Rosabelle savored the rare privacy and quiet, contrasting it with constant Nexus surveillance under The Reestablishment. She replayed the aftermath of vomiting on James: nurses enforced hazmat procedures, removed James, and efficiently stripped and showered her. She forced herself to compartmentalize concern for her sister Clara, deciding that to save Clara she must suppress empathy and maintain control, even as James’s unexpected kindness unsettled her and bred dangerous positive associations.

Rosabelle’s thoughts spiraled into treason against The Reestablishment, then into equal hatred of The New Republic, which she judged naive and doomed. She reflected on her father’s allegiance to the rebels, her own choice of the lesser evil, and the shocking freedom to think without surveillance. The nurse ended the shower and watched Rosabelle closely as Rosabelle dressed in unexpectedly soft civilian clothes rather than prison garb.

The nurse announced Rosabelle would be transferred to a “rehabilitation facility,” which Rosabelle read as code for a harsher site like an asylum or lab. In a provided box, Rosabelle found a messenger bag, shoes, and food, including a chocolate bar she resolved to save for Clara when she returned home after proving her loyalty to The Reestablishment. While putting on the shoes, Rosabelle discovered a flat metal disc hidden beneath the insole.

Following prior instructions, Rosabelle said, “I wonder what time it is,” prompting the nurse to reveal a pulsing blue light in her forearm. The disc responded to Rosabelle’s fingerprints, unfolded into a hologram of a hand-sized glass vial filled with pitch-black liquid, then vaporized, burning her skin. The nurse’s implant counted down and then extinguished, and she declared “Phase two is now complete,” implying an operation timeline and penalties for delay.

Rosabelle inferred the mission structure: phase one was escaping the island with James; phase two was receipt of the holo-coin; and phase three required acquiring the depicted vial. When Rosabelle asked for details, the nurse refused, saying the “next one” would answer questions and that Rosabelle had two weeks to obtain the vial. The nurse insisted that paying attention would reveal the opportunity.

Escorted out, Rosabelle accepted the difficulty and focused on her strength—observation. She considered James’s sacrifices and naivete, felt relieved she might not see him again, and concluded that the rebels had been easily infiltrated. She left believing The New Republic’s constructed world would not endure and preparing to pursue the vial under the new deadline.