Chapter 120: The School by the Sea
The rhythm of the cove deepened into a sustainable cadence. With the network consciously tuned and the Doctrine of Diversity actively practiced, the constant state of emergency receded. For the first time since the bell had tolled in Anchor, life began to feel not like a series of escalating crises, but like a sustainable, if vigilant, peace. This new stability allowed for a luxury they had long deferred: normalcy for the children.
A proper school was established in Anchor. It was not held in the drafty old hall, but in a new, sun-washed building constructed with communal labor on a gentle slope overlooking the sea. Its walls were made of timber and stone, its wide windows designed to let in the light and the sound of the waves. It was called the Tidal School, and its philosophy was simple: education as an exercise in specific attention.
