From Surgipelago, the Beach Surgery encyclopedia
Frequencies the Seagull Cannot Hear
The mechanical seagull snatches Katita and Leif with industrial precision, its wings screaming at frequencies that make the water boil. Inside its gullet: a cockpit. A child in a flight suit watches overlaid screens. Leif can see (his bandages slip) and perceives ten versions of the child bleeding through one another. He fires the hand cannon. The seagull crashes back onto the apartment balcony from Chapter One. The child-pilot salutes Child Pilot: “"You passed the test. You're cleared for the next frequency."” and vanishes into the static. Katita stares at the dented medical box in silence. Leif: “"What was that?"” She does not answer. Outside, Newcastle is beginning to empty. The streets grow hollow. The buildings remain.