The Echo Chamber
Brayden Elliott stood in the center of the training ring, his hands tucked deep into the pockets of his waxed canvas coat. He watched from the sidelines as the latest "methodology expert" from the prestigious Kynological Institute of Higher Learning—universally referred to by the local trainers as "Hogwarts"—paced the dirt arena. The expert, a man named Julian, wore a crisp, ironed vest and held a tablet that seemed to be doing more work than his voice. He was currently explaining the "Cognitive-Relational Synchronicity Protocol," a twelve-step program for teaching a dog to sit. Brayden let out a breathy, cynical laugh that caught the attention of Sarah, a woman who had been training working shepherds in these valley hills for thirty years. "I see Hogwarts is at it again," Brayden murmured, nodding toward Julian. "Be the first to teach something that folks have been successfully doing for years, just by dressing it up in a brand-new ...
