They checked all the cabinets and the refrigerator. Enough supplies to last the two of them for a couple of weeks, even with Shepard's increased calorie needs. Neither planned on being here that long. They would assess the situation in and near the house the rest of the day and begin searching further out the next. Tina had noted that the sun had been rising in the sky while she sat on the deck, and estimated that they were now at about mid-day. SAI had concurred based on the sun's positioning and the slight increase it had monitored in the air temperature.

They had found a fully stocked bar as part of the kitchen island. There wasn't a huge variety of items but all the essentials were there, Bobby thought. He had gotten the bottle of Thessia Red and was nursing a glass as they talked on the porch. Tina had gotten another cup of tea and another energy bar. She was not above drinking herself during down times. She had even passed out on Aria's couch in Purgatory once. But it was too early in the day here, especially with them in an unknown situation, for her to want to dull her senses. She hoped the Lt. Commander didn't have a drinking problem. He didn't, but he was working on developing one.

"Let's continue to compare notes and see if we can spot some clue as to what happened to us or where we are," Shepard said. "We should also plan for an early start tomorrow. We can pack supplies tonight and I'd suggest starting by following the shoreline. We're more likely to find another house on the beach than randomly crossing a field."

Edwards noticed that Shepard was used to being in-charge. He, however, was used to working alone. Claudia had been the senior member of the team but no one had ever officially been in-charge. But everyone on the team had been Lt. Commanders. Shepard outranked him, and he had taken direction from superior officers before joining the infiltration squad. Besides, Edwards agreed with her plan and this was Commander Shepard. Bobby wasn't the type to disagree with a war hero. He might have suggested something different if he believed he had a better solution, but in this case, he didn't. But it was tough to ignore the feeling that what they were doing would be a waste of time. There was no other house on the shore. They were alone.

"How long have the birds been out there," Edwards asked.

Shepard was a little surprised by the question; it seemed to come out of nowhere and indicated to her that he had been thinking about something other than plan. "Strange that you should ask that. I was sitting out here drinking my tea lost in thought earlier and hadn't even noticed them. Then, just a short time before you came out, they started flying around and making a lot of noise. It's like they came out of nowhere."

"Huh," Edwards said. "Like maybe ten or fifteen minutes before I came out here?"

"Yes, that sounds about right," Shepard responded.

"I was looking out the window of my room and didn't notice them. When I turned away I thought that I should have seen birds but hadn't seen them. I even mentioned it out loud, then I heard them. I went back to the window to look and there they were."

Shepard gave him a look that was hard for him to read. Edwards thought maybe she was trying hard to decide if he was crazy in what he was suggesting. Or maybe she was thinking it only took a few sips of alcohol and he's drunk already. Then Shepard said, "I had something similar happen. When I first went into the living room, I got a sense that the it was too bare to be lived in. The furniture was all there, but there was nothing on the walls. I think I said something about the walls being barren. Then I looked again and there were pictures. A picture of the Normandy and a picture of my team."

"I saw those," Edwards said. "You're saying they weren't there then they were?"

"Yes, just the same way you described the birds. I looked and they weren't there. When I turned away and then turned back, they were there."

"Any idea where or when those pictures were taken?" he asked.

Shepard shook her head. "No clue on when. The Normandy picture appears to have been taken while she was in the Alliance docks on the Citadel, though not where we've normally been docking nor where it was docked for repairs. The other picture is the surface of some planet with lush vegetation but I don't recognize the planet from the picture."

"Are we saying the environment is changing to meet our expectations? Is that what we are talking about?" Edwards asked, sounding skeptical, even though he'd been the first to suggest it. It sounded crazy but Shepard knew that the wall had been bare then it wasn't. "If that's the case," Bobby said, "please do not expect the Loch Ness Monster to be out there in the water."

Shepard smiled but both took a moment to scan the lake. "Well," she said, "if the Loch Ness Monster is out there would you expect to see it the first time you looked?"

"Thanks, I'll sleep better tonight thinking about that," Edwards said with a smile. "You're probably right though. We don't really expect to see the Loch Ness Monster so it isn't there." Edwards paused for a moment, then asked, "Is it possible we're indoctrinated?"

The thought had crossed Shepard's mind as well. "Lack of memory; seeing things that are not there; and we were both close to the Catalyst, who could have the ability to indoctrinate us. I don't feel like I did when the Illusive Man was controlling me, though, and I'm not sure what the point of this would be. Plus, I've never heard of indoctrination being this complete. False memories are not uncommon, but a complete reality shift would be something new."

"It would also mean that one of us isn't real," Edwards thought, "and if my mind knows that the Reapers are trying to take control, wouldn't Commander Shepard be the most likely image my mind would conjure up to help me fight them?"

"Would there be any clues to point to the fact that we are indoctrinated?" Edwards asked.

"There are common signs, including hallucinations, but those are interruptions into reality, not a shifted reality. Seeing things come out of walls and then disappear, for example. Insomnia or bad dreams might also be a sign or hearing voices. But in every case of indoctrination I've seen, if the possibility of indoctrination is brought up they deny it vigorously or else have to struggle to admit it. They don't sit around quietly discussing it like we are," Shepard said.

"Well then, I guess we assume we're not until we start hearing voices," Edwards said, but thought "unless you are the voice in my head."