Cade is led to a group of empaths with the ability to influence the thoughts of others. While investigating, he begins to realize the group is under the covert control of a murderous alien.

Quatrain 23, Century 3: "The two-sighted will meet death in sleep / Purged from the nightmare of a hidden enemy / Barricades protect spurious sleep / And the spectre is lanced with a common blade".

Cade infiltrates a Red Flag competition at West Point military academy, where choice candidates are groomed for government leadership.

Quatrain 18, Century 10: "The town will not ring its cracked bell for the hero has gone astray / The crimson banner lures the one and the many / With each victory so will victory undo".