Chase decided to walk the seven or so blocks from the hotel to the high-speed rail link that would take him south to Colorado Springs. The night air was crisp and clear, a welcome product of the near-continual breezes that had swept the city year-round ever since the signing of the NAN treaty. Many people blamed the change in air currents and the overall warming of the local climate on Daniel Howling Coyote, founding father of the Native American Nations, and his fellow Ghost Dancers. They said that the weather changes were due to the Ghost Dancers' use of powerful weather magics during their weeks of brinkmanship with the old United States. Like most truths, however, no one knew for sure.