Summary

Chapters 26 through 28 cover Day 24 in the novel. Chapter 26 begins as Frankie was making breakfast. Her refrigerator’s voice was slower than usual, saying that it was processing. On the way to the enclosure, she saw that cars on both sides of the highway were driving north.

Bellows approached, and she told him she was not leaving. He said the evacuation would only last for 10 days, and it was mandatory, per the governor. Frankie responded, “If you try to make me leave, I won’t come back (2813). In response, Bellows commanded his Bindi to record, and he made Frankie say that she was willingly staying behind without permission from the Foundation or the state. He stopped recording and said that if she was staying, maybe she could help care for the bonobos. He asked if she had enough food, and then he left.

In a...