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“No He can’t”

“Georgia—”

“Just wait”

“No” Shaun’s voice was firet the servers running, and I’ll check your caller ID every tis If Mahir calls, I’ll wake you, without consideration for the fact that you’re going to work yourself to death I’ an executive decision, andto bed If you do not like this decision, youyou in the back of the head as soon as you turn around”

“Can I have my painkillers?”

“You can have two pills and a pillow,” Shaun said “When you wake up, the world will be a ical wonderland of candy canes, unicorns, and fully assembled servers And Rick stays Deal?”

“Deal” I stood, stepping out ofback down on the bed “Bastard”

“Close your eyes” I did Shaun re two small round objects into my hand “S those and you can have these back when you wake up”

“That’s dirty pool,” I co the pills intothe bitter taste of codeine behind I wobbled and let myself fall sideways, eyes still closed “Dirty pool player”

“That’s e It’ll be better when you wake up”

“No, it won’t,” I said, resigning myself to the inevitable “It’ll just be later Later isn’t better Later is just e have less time”

“Sleep,” said Shaun

So I did

This is the truth: We are a nation accusto honest, not just with you but withwe’ve grown used to It’s the world, and it’s an addiction People crave fear Fear justifies everything Fear makes it okay to have surrendered freedom after freedom, until our every e man will never have access to Fear creates, defines, and shapes our world, and without it, most of us would have no idea what to do with ourselves

Our ancestors dreamed of a world without boundaries, while we dream new boundaries to put around our homes, our children, and ourselves We limit our potential day after day in the name of a safety that we refuse to ever achieve We took a world that was huge with possibility, and we es May Disturb You,