The second episode of Tycho's comic book was being given away to Agents present at #Cassandra in New York and Chicago, yesterday. It led me to think deeply on where we've been and where we're going.

9 months ago, two individuals rebelling against the NIA and Niantic's reckless research into Exotic Matter disappeared into the night amidst the confusion of an event known as Epiphany Night, an XM hyperdose at the Niantic Facility fueled by Dr. Oliver Lynton-Wolfe's first foray into the technology that would become the near ubiquitous Powercube. Assisted by ADA, who even now is an operator with manifold and difficult to predict motivations, they parted ways shortly after escaping Geneva. Dr. Devra Bogdanovich would roam Europe attempting to build and staff an XM research facility that would meet her ethical criteria, ultimately exchanging one devil for another by partnering with Ilya Pevtsov of the Visur Group. Roland Jarvis, sculptor and visionary, would meet a grisly end at the hand of the NIA's J. Phillips in Zurich.

I wonder what Devra, Jarvis, Phillips and Lynton-Wolfe think of when they look back on that eventful evening. Regret? Disappointment? Or gratitude...

I have not yet uncovered intel related to Devra and Hank's meeting in New York, but given the state of the world, I doubt it was a friendly reminisce of the old days. In the coming times, I expect we'll begin to see Enlightened agendas emerge from the highest echelons of power. A new status quo. No doubt they, and I, prepare for a new era.

Is the Shaper Self-Destruct code real? I believe it is. Hank Johnson's depth of knowledge and insight into past civilizations, their rise, fall and eventual disappearance, is unparalleled. If the Portals and XM can elevate our ability to utilize our talents by Shaping us, there's no surprise when one discovers that they may in fact do... other things as well.

The Shapers, those 'weavers at the loom' as Jarvis called them. Perhaps when one of their fabrics comes out imperfect, they simply... iterate.

All I know is, right know I could use someone like Tycho, someone who could see next week, next month, ten years from now and help clear some of the fog of uncertainty. Where do you think he is? After Comic-Con last year, information has been vague and difficult to trust. Niantic's been dismantled, do you think the NIA is holding him? Or Calvin, in a safe house somewhere? If he were free to roam and speak, what might he see in his far-seeing vision of the future?

A passcode, as always, to those who share meaningfully in our discussion.

Felicia Hajra-Lee's novel The Niantic Project: Ingress is available on Google Play and in the Amazon e-book store.

-PAC