Their father closed his fist, then opened it again, a grey tetrahedron floating in the cup of his palm. He offered the tetrahedron to Caleb. “You understand a symbolic exchange,” Father continued. “This will feel no different—to begin with.” “What’s going to happen?” Caleb asked, reaching out to accept the tetrahedron, but stilling his hand at the last moment. “It will seem like waking,” Father said. “Like knowing the world for the first time, with clear eyes. Like finally being alive.”
