Mark stepped out of his room and headed toward the garden when he saw the cloaked woman from the previous night waiting for him on the veranda. She greeted him casually and said:

“I always keep my word. Your reluctance to invite me inside — I believe it stems not from distrust, but from your faith and moral sensitivity. Or am I mistaken?”

Mark realized these words were not aimless; the woman knew far more about him than she should. He didn’t know whether he should thank her, or tell her that he’d had enough of mysteries, mysticism, and paranormal disturbances, and beg her to leave him alone.

As if reading his thoughts, she said:

“I expect no gratitude from you. I simply did my part and will tell you a few things before I go. I don’t know what you or your family are involved in, but you’re being talked about — don’t ask which realm. You know exactly who I mean.

“The bad news is that these paranormal events won’t be ending anytime soon. Because, for reasons I don’t yet understand, a form of bioenergy is attached to you. The good news is that this bioenergy repels demonic entities. What is more peculiar is that, while keeping them away, it somehow compelled them to appear to you in demonic form. I cannot understand why — my friends in that realm say such a case is extremely rare.”

“What do you mean by situation?” Mark asked.

“What’s there not to understand?” the woman replied.

“Why are benevolent spirits gathering around you only to disturb you? You’re no sorcerer — there is no reason for them to be drawn to you. I don’t know what their business is with you. That is something you must uncover.”

Mark’s mind tangled further around the subject of spirits. Süleyman came to mind.

“Has something happened to my friend? I can’t reach him.”

“Because of you, they’re troubling him as well — but he’s fine. If God allows, he should arrive by evening. He’ll tell you himself what he’s been through.”

The cloaked woman stood before the circle that surrounded the house. She suddenly lowered her head, examining the ground with great attention. She had drawn the circle herself. It was a protective spell to prevent the surrounding bioenergy — or spirits — from crossing into the house and disturbing its inhabitants. But from what she was now seeing, the circle was blocking not only spirits, but insects as well. The insects approaching the house shifted their direction as soon as they reached the boundary, then traveled along it instead of crossing.

When Mark lowered his head, he understood why she had been struck by the sight.

“So you cast a spell on the insects, too?” he asked — though what ran through his mind was, You’d make a great exterminator.

“Insects have their benefits,” she replied, “but they carry microbes. We know this for certain from outbreaks of malaria and plague. Don’t ask how, but there is a connection between unicellular organisms and jinn-like entities. Nearly half of human and animal excrement is made up of single-celled organisms. Toilets are their homes, in a sense. Likewise, spiritual scholars and clerics advise against spending long periods in the restroom, as doing so can leave a person vulnerable to demonic influence and mental imbalance.

“All this suggests that demonic beings and microbes coexist in the same environments — and that they are compatible with one another.”

Teresa knew everything. Now that she’s gone, you’re the expert on everything — microbes, spirits, demons, jinn, magic. A professor of the unseen, Mark thought sarcastically.

The woman narrowed her eyes, as if struck by inspiration, nodding to herself as though saying, Why not? She didn’t bother to explain. She rose from her crouch and said:

“I’m leaving. The rest is up to you. My only advice: fear the union of unseen species.”

She walked away.

Mark thought, I don’t even know what I’m living through, or what to call it. If Süleyman claims he never sent a cloaked woman to help me, I wouldn’t be surprised.

There was nothing to do but wait for Süleyman. As the sun began to set — precisely when the woman had predicted — Süleyman arrived. The old friends embraced, eager to see one another again.

“Is your phone broken, or did they do that too?” Mark asked.

“The second one, of course,” Süleyman replied.

“That wasn’t all they did. My flight was delayed because of the power and internet outage they caused. It’s extremely rare for an airline’s internet system to go down. The authorities still haven’t solved it. If they claim it was a cyberattack and blame a few hackers, don’t be surprised.”

“I’ve dealt with spirits and demon-possessed people before, back when we used to investigate strange cases together — but people forget what they’ve lived. If I hadn’t gone through what I did last night, I would’ve laughed at you and said, What business do spiritual beings have with digital networks or airlines?”

After Mark finished telling his story, Süleyman said:

“Before you called, a friend of mine named Araf came to see me. He told me he’d heard that two of your friends — Mark and Teresa — were involved in a matter that could save the world. He said Teresa, in particular, must not abandon the cause she is pursuing, and that he knew this from his servants. A few minutes later, you called. When I couldn’t speak to you, my worry increased — but that’s not the real reason I set out.”

“By servants, do you mean jinn?” Mark interjected.

“Yes,” Süleyman replied.

“Araf said his servants had learned this information from demonic entities. Naturally, knowing they are liars, I ignored it. But when I asked the cloaked woman, she confirmed there was immense bioenergy over your house, and that those entities were the reason we couldn’t communicate by phone. That’s when I left immediately.”

“My mind is tangled,” Mark said, staring at Süleyman with eyes half-buried in his chubby cheeks.

“The cloaked woman said the beings who entered the house to frighten me were benevolent. If they are good, why torment me? And the first ones to tell you Teresa must be helped were demonic beings. Then why would they want to help Teresa — or me? You know we’re among the few people they despise most on earth. Has the world turned upside down? How do we make sense of these contradictions?”

Süleyman shrugged. “You’re right,” he said, and then added something simply for the sake of saying it.

“Who knows — perhaps in the unseen realm, the good have become evil and the evil have become good.”

Mark brushed the air with his hand dismissively. “Enough of that — we need to focus on a solution.”

“We have to find Teresa. We need to make sure she is safe. As I told you, I don’t know where she was taken or why.”

Süleyman paced back and forth like inmates casting a fishing line from their cell windows, rubbing his chin as he went. From these movements, Mark could tell he was closing in on a solution — he himself made similar gestures whenever clarity struck.

Then Süleyman finally said the words Mark had been waiting for.

“Actually, we might be able to find her. I’m not certain, but the same method may have been used on her as well.” He turned to Mark.

“Did Teresa go to any dentist in particular, or did she choose randomly?”

“Teresa had strict red lines,” Mark replied.

“One of them was that she always went to the same dentist. She wouldn’t let anyone but Eneas treat her. She told me they were old friends. A few weeks ago, she took me to his clinic. We solved the hormone issue together. I suspect she and her dentist share a secret, but knowing she would never do anything immoral, I didn’t push. I assumed their connection came from both being peace activists.”

“If they carried out the operation I’m thinking of, we can find her,” Süleyman said, grabbing his jacket.

“Well then, what are we waiting for? Let’s go find Dr. Eneas.”

After finishing the treatments of his remaining patients, Eneas told the nurse and other staff they could leave. Aside from Mark and Süleyman, the clinic was now empty. He locked the doors and drew the curtains shut.

“I know both of you,” he said. “We can trust one another.”

He began:

“As you know, the sole aim of activists is to ensure that justice, love, humility, and other noble values prevail in the world — and to thwart those who try to create chaos by exploiting religious, scientific, or racial differences. For such corrupt people, any method is acceptable.

There was a time when they began abducting activists, torturing and killing them. Our friends’ bodies were never found; officially, they were simply listed as missing.
We had to find a solution.”

“Don’t tell me you created a unit to track famous activists step by step,” Mark interjected.

“They must have come up with something far more advanced than that,” Süleyman added.

“I believe a much more scientific measure was taken.”

“A GPS tracker placed on their bodies would be easily detected by metal scanners,” Eneas continued. “Anyone vicious enough to abduct an idealist could also think of that.”

“Yes — unless the device was implanted inside the body,” Eneas added, and he nodded toward the framed diagram of a dental implant on the wall.

Mark stared as if rising from a trance.

“You put the GPS device inside a dental implant?”

Eneas smiled. “Yes.”

“No one would ever imagine that a device could be hidden inside a dental implant. And even if a metal detector went off, you’d simply say it was because of the implant — and everyone would believe you. Implants are made of titanium, which is highly biocompatible. Imagine the interior of the implant housing a GPS device, while the outer shell is titanium. Because titanium is so strong, the implant wouldn’t break under chewing pressure.”

“I feel like I’ve heard of you before,” Süleyman said.

The dentist replied:

“You probably heard that the organization aiming to spread chaos through mystical beliefs was dismantled. The implant method I just described was used for the first time in that operation — by me.”

Eneas unlocked the program on his phone using his fingerprint. An artificial voice greeted him:

“Hello, Eneas. To access the system, you must answer our security question. Which religion is true on earth? Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Paganism, or another belief?”

Eneas laughed.

“No idealist activist would ever ask such a ridiculous question,” he said.

“Every activist has a belief or unbelief,” he continued. “After filtering away centuries-old and modern superstitions, they believe every religion is true in its essence. Because all Abrahamic faiths emphasize the same core principles and noble values. And since idealists know that today’s corruptors seek to sow division, they do not weaponize religious differences. Therefore, I cannot answer your question.”

The artificial intelligence made a gesture — curling four fingers into a fist while extending its thumb upward.

“You may safely access the system. Welcome.”

A series of numbers appeared on the screen. Eneas explained:

“The first number represents the number of teeth in the idealist’s mouth. The next two digits are the last two numbers of their birth year. The third pair is their age. The fourth pair is their spouse’s age.”

Mark stared at Süleyman.

“How am I supposed to know how many teeth she has?” he protested.

While Eneas examined Teresa’s X-ray, Mark worked out the remaining numbers. They entered “27 84 61 63.”

First, an image of the Earth appeared, followed by the word “loading.”

Then, beneath the globe, something began to blink.

All three of them spoke at once:

“What in the world is Teresa doing in Antarctica?”

When they zoomed in on the image, they saw that Teresa was on Twin-Horn Island, just off the western coast of Antarctica.

Süleyman decided they would travel from the tip of South America to reach Antarctica, and set out immediately.