Sam’s aunts and uncles pooled together their petty cash, so Sam could make a trip to a wash-n-wear the morning he was supposed to meet with Captain Mackey.

All day long, he rehearsed his arguments and evidence in his head. He ran through the importance of food security and why Grandma’s garden, with Grandma at the head of it, was critical to that effort. He tapped out mnemonics against his right thigh to help him remember all the legal charters that would be violated if the ship continued to push his Grandma out of her garden.

At lunch time, Eleanor and Li drilled him on his presentation and made him field hard policy questions about money and legal precedents.

As he was leaving for the appointment, Kali sent him a link to the interview that reporter had done with their g...

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