How can I explain what I did at that moment? My shields were lower than usual as I tried to establish some emotional connection with the liaisons in the meeting. I knew connecting as much as possible with those I would be working closely with was important. And I'll admit to being somewhat overwhelmed by being around people. So when Effie asked her question, and the shimmer overlaid my intuition, I felt a need to help, so I did.

Did I know I would suffer pain? No, I did not, and I'm glad I didn't. It takes far more courage to confront and accept a situation when you know the cost than it does to go in unknowingly. I could only hope never to be called to face a similar situation again; I didn't know if I would have the courage.

But I had gone through it and given my explanation, those who held sway decided to plan accordingly and use the timings I offered as deadlines.

The Foundation, the Liaisons, and the general managers of Habitat Administration agreed to two deadlines: one to complete a quarantine area from plan to construction by mid-2019 and the other to have all habitats fully stocked to population goals, aiming to double our population by the last quarter of 2024. Announcements were made in all the habitats regarding the deadlines, and while most of the reasoning was given to the public, my part was left out.

Having a pandemic plan was smart. Over the years, other epidemics have been confined mainly to one or more countries, but there has always been a fear of them spreading readily through those unknowingly infected who traveled by sea or air. Most of our residents applauded the idea of constructing a quarantine village.

Explanations on why we were bringing more people down pointed to how much instability was happening on the surface and how rapidly the instability was increasing. Without exception, everyone living in the habitats wanted to save as many people as we could, given our resources.

The real heroes were those who responded to an accelerated schedule and lent their expertise, skills and knowledge to answer every call of need. Resources were shifted, and with everyone's help, the people of the habitats rose to the occasion.

The LCO emphasized staffing those LCO Initiatives tied to the deadlines. Work on harmonizing the Charter's meaning was always a high priority, but a strong emphasis was placed on resident education and integration. Another emphasis was on a democratic and representative government.

As one of our LCO committees made decisions on our government's foundational elements, its members chose to implement habitat governance differently than in more modern times, reverting to the roots of a concept from our ancient past, the cursus honorum. Higher offices were ascended upon a ladder of responsibility and service. Anyone could vie for neighborhood council, but after that, floor, section, and habitat councils were restricted to those who had already been elected and served at each of the lower levels. And our first elections for neighborhood councils were held just two years later, in 2019. (1)

Plans were made to accommodate thousands of new residents over the next two years. The last tall residential floor was opened on each existing section. As housing needs shifted, a third of our population moved onto the newly opened residential floors, which helped integrate our newer residents. All construction on Section 6 was halted, while a quarantine village, comprising two floors in Section 14, was built out and readied in case it was needed.

By the time of the pandemic, we were ready; over thirty-seven thousand people had been recruited and moved down to each habitat, and once surface lockdowns ceased, we could continue recruiting. It was slower, and we couldn't recruit as many, but we moved an average of 15 people a day into and out of our quarantine section. From June 2020, when this video was released, until the third week in August 2024, Year 0, sixteen thousand new residents moved through the Quarantine villages in each habitat. We did it safely, and not one person in the habitats was infected by another.

Once the pandemic was officially announced, I knew it would only be a matter of time before Mirali Lamoré released their documentary. Richard had spoken to Effie regarding his concerns about a release before any confirmation. He argued not to keep it a secret but to simply be quiet about my role until there was proof I was correct, which occurred with the timing of the pandemic.

Whatever my thoughts on the subject, I kept silent. My words were out there; they had triggered a reaction, not based on my veracity, which was yet to be proven, but there was a desire to be prepared the best we could, should the unthinkable occur. A compromise was reached to hold the documentary until the time had passed regarding my prediction of a pandemic. Either I would be exposed as a fraud, or the work we had gone through would have been proven to have been worth the effort.

And so it happened. Once the documentary was out, I was catapulted into a role within the habitats I could have happily done without. Be it prophecy, estimate, or timeline, whatever one chooses to call it, I had been proven correct, and now the habitats had to grapple with what to them was unthinkable.

I had never tried to consciously trigger my abilities before, but the shimmer was present, and I knew I had to try. I applied my training as a Wiccan priestess to hold myself at the cusp of invocation. Rather than drawing in a deity, I attempted to draw in information, and what I received was more than I could bear.

Anyone who has ever had a flash of intuition or has been around those who proclaim to know the future knows the first instinct is to deny, especially when the information is something dire. To acknowledge a future no one wants is to be treated as Cassandra. I experienced it with my own family when I was a child and, except for Kevin, had never revealed it before in my adult life, until this moment. When this happened, all I had to rely upon was my intuition; I had no other tools at my disposal.

To be believed, even by a group who did not know me, was an exhilarating moment. Looking back, I am very glad the first time I was believed was well after I entered adulthood. I don't know if the eventual adulation would have been detrimental to my younger self, changing me into someone I would not recognize.

As an adult, I also knew how I framed what I told was important, and so I chose to be vague on details while somewhat clearer on timing. One of the hardest lessons I've learned is knowing when and how to nudge a situation. To know more than should be told and hold it so far down that no one even knows to ask comes at a cost. It's why I refused to ever speak of what happened other than in the vague terms I used at the conference. I could not afford to be questioned about what else I had experienced.

To even have a glimpse of an unpleasant future means wrestling with how to change it. The curse reveals itself as the guilt of being unable to change the outcome, even knowing its inevitability. All any of us can do is try to shelter against a storm we are powerless to stop.

Knowing I was powerless to stop whatever happened on the surface, my thoughts turned inward. First, toward myself, I was terrified of what would become of me when the surface erupted. The pain I had experienced the day I first listened had been brief and overwhelming. What would happen when the experience was more intense or lasted longer? I feared I would be affected or even die. Could it happen to others as well?

I turned to those who I knew worked with the same foundations of spirituality as myself, and together we cobbled together the idea of rooms energetically enhanced with sigils, incense and minerals of protection, holding a safe space of calm for those who might be affected. I did the same for myself, protecting both my home and creating my first sanctuary at the time my office was renovated.

My sanctuary had to do more than protect me from a war; it had to be a space where I could re-energize my introverted self to a point where I could continue in my ever increasingly public position. But after I set up the protections, the room felt suffocating, constrictive and unwelcoming. I worked another layer atop the first, using incense, sigils and minerals to lift the energies of the room until I felt as if I were outside on the surface, air and space as far as I could range.

Along with the house protections, the outer layer was my first line of defense, warding off harmful energies. The inner layer was built to enhance and welcome that which was not warded away; protection and recharge were my only concerns.

Emerging from my shelter the night the bombs fell, I had no idea of the changes wrought within me. It would be a few weeks before I began experiencing the first of my abilities as my intuitive and empathic selves truly merged and became something more.