Part I: The All-Seeing The voice of god speaks; we’re told we’re not ready to see something special. It’s classified. A camera tracks to the right and zooms in on a tarp covering an object. Dr. Yiannis Antoniades, a scientist at BAE Systems, a private multinational defense, security, and aerospace company, interjects: “it is important for the public to know,” but, he goes on, “we are not allowed to expose some of the pieces that make up the sensor, so you get to look at pretty...

Remember the early 1990s, the years that “punk broke” in Washington State. It’s late spring there, and the lilac bushes are beginning to bloom. Although the first Gulf War has ended with a “victory” for the American-led coalition forces, the USA, and most of the West, is facing yet another financial downturn. To make ends meet, Gale, a young mother from Puyallup, Washington, is forced to take on several jobs. Sadly, Gale’s elderly mother has just been moved to a home, and Gale must sell her...