As Merida returned to her own body, she felt invigorated, refreshed, and renewed. The experience with Merida Sat had given her a newfound appreciation for the power of calm and contemplation. Though she still cherished her free-spirited nature, she now understood the value of balance in life.

Six months later, Merida Sat (no longer an architect of futures, now an architect of ruins) stood in a real courtyard in the real Mérida, a real trowel in her hand. She hadn’t found Sat—the simulation’s Sat had been a composite, a ghost. But she had found the convent. And she was learning, day by slow day, to be happy without a preview.