From Surgipelago, the Beach Surgery encyclopedia
The Frequency That Corrects
A radar igloo in the red desert. Katita and Leif have arrived by vehicle. Inside: dials, static, and an old technician—or the mechanic again, his face uncertain. He teaches them to raise the frequency until it becomes ultrasonic, inaudible to the autonomous data-harvesters. Katita turns the dial. Leif's doubled vision—ten layered versions of the igloo, ten Katitas, each out of phase—snaps into singular focus. One world. One moment. The technician: "The pressure in your shoulders will increase now." Leif feels it: feathers trying to grow, blades rising. He looks at Katita, and for the first time his eyes are uncovered. They are not what either expects. "I can see you. Finally." Katita covers his eyes with fresh bandages. "Not yet. The pressure must finish rising first." Outside, the data-harvesters pass, deafened.