In the vast, windswept expanse of the Canadian prairie, where the sky seems to stretch into infinity and the land is punctuated by the hard labor of the oil patch, a deep current of frustration has always simmered. For decades, many Albertans have felt a profound disconnect from the political power centers sitting 3,000 kilometers to the east in Ottawa, believing their province’s immense natural wealth has been taken for granted, extracted to fuel national social programs while their own communities face regulatory strangleholds. This is the fertile soil of the “Wexit” movement—a desire for separation that has historically been…

1. The Night the Ocean Gave Up a Secret It began like countless other nights in the waters off Bengkalis, Riau, where the sea stretches dark and restless, carrying the quiet traffic of fishing boats, ferries, and cargo ships between the islands of Indonesia and the Malaysian Peninsula. But on that Monday evening in mid-August, something felt different to the authorities who had been tracking a small general cargo vessel for some time. Acting on intelligence, a joint operation between Indonesian police and customs officers moved into position, their lights cutting through the dark as they intercepted the ship. The…