It is hereby declared that all people in this land are free and shall thenceforth be considered free forever more. The plaque—fake-bronze and not yet dusty—hung above the doorway of the large room. Rory couldn’t stop staring at it, even though he’d read it enough times for the words to have become meaningless symbols. Free forever more. Except not quite yet. The woman with the pad tapped her screen. “I know it’s difficult,” she said, like she was reading from a script. Or worse, probably: like she had it memorized. “Please be as honest as you can in describing your