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“Symon’s people are trying to convince the president and the members of the Debate Chamber to propose a new law that will empower them to remove Dr. Barnes and his team from power. Once that is done, officials sympathetic to our cause can lobby to appoint someone we approve as the head of The Testing. We’ll then be able to implement a new method of picking University students. One that doesn’t advocate murder.”
Frustration furrows Michal’s handsome face. “Things have moved more slowly than I’d like, but I prefer Symon’s cautious approach to the option the other rebel faction is pushing for.”
Other faction? “I don’t understand. Aren’t all the rebels working for the same goal?”
“Yes, but not everyone is content to wait for The Testing to end peacefully. Some want to employ any method necessary, even if it means the same kind of bloodshed we oppose.”
My parents taught me that life is precious. I should recoil at the second rebel faction’s plot to kill. But I don’t. “If one person’s death will end The Testing before more candidates die—”
“Dr. Barnes’s death alone will not end The Testing. The system has been designed to continue in the event of the leader’s death. The only way the rebel faction can ensure the end of The Testing through violent means is if Dr. Barnes and all his top administrators die.”
How many are involved in planning The Testing? Dozens? Maybe more? Would the ends justify those means? I don’t know.
Neither does Michal. “One death can be kept quiet, but that many could induce panic and upset the balance of this city—perhaps even the country. The last thing we want to do is start a civil war.”
I swallow hard and say, “I’m assuming you aren’t telling every first-year student about this.”
“No and, technically, I’m not authorized to tell you. At least, not at this time.” Michal frowns. “Symon has always planned to approach you about joining him, but not this soon. He doesn’t want to bring any more University students into the rebellion until the divide between his faction and the faction led by Ranetta Janke has been mended. Your actions today gave me no choice but to move up that timeline. Which is something I’d prefer Symon not know about.”
“Why?”
Michal shifts uncomfortably. “Things are tense right now between the two factions. Symon has become more careful about who he can trust. I don’t want him to think he has misplaced his faith in me.”
“You can’t expect me to go back to my room and pretend I don’t know any of this! There has to be something I can do to help.” I see Michal weighing the merits of my request, and I bite my lip and force myself to stay still.
I swallow hard as I wait for Michal to render his verdict.
“Okay.”
My heart leaps at the word.
“But you have to do exactly what I tell you. Deal?” When he holds out his hand, I don’t have to think before I take it.
“What do you need me to do?”
Michal leans forward. “First thing is to move into the Government Studies residence and make friends.” I let out an exasperated sigh, but Michal shakes his head. “You think I’m not giving you a real assignment, but I am. Some of the upper-level students are rebel members. There is concern that many have been won over and armed by Ranetta’s faction. Symon has a person he trusts looking into the matter, but I’d feel better knowing someone else is watching out for us.”
The thought that students living near me might be armed makes me break out in a cold sweat. The words on the Communicator warned me that my fellow students have not shied away from violence. My dreams are filled with their faces behind guns raised to kill. It is not hard to imagine those nightmares turned into reality.
“Also, Government students are required to do both classwork and a practical internship from the start of their studies. Those internships will determine the course of your entire adult life but will also potentially put you in a position to help the rebellion.”
This is the first I’ve heard of the internships. Although, over the past few months, I’ve noticed some students leaving campus more regularly than others. Now I know why.
“In the next couple of weeks, the older students will help Dr. Barnes and the residence advisers assign internships. Those internships allow students to get practical experience that complements their studies. It also gives you a chance to help us find information that might help Symon convince the president and other high-ranking officials to remove Dr. Barnes from power.”
“How hard can getting a good internship be?” I ask. “There are only three of us assigned to Government this year.”
“Only three of you from the colonies. Add in the Tosu City students, and there will be a whole lot more.”
“Tosu City students?” Icy shock is replaced by frustration at my lack of perception. With a hundred thousand people, Tosu City and the surrounding boroughs contain the largest concentration of the United Commonwealth’s population. It only makes sense that the University trains students from that pool. I should have known they would be included, even though they have not been a part of the Early Studies classes my fellow colony students and I just completed. During orientation, our guide pointed out some of the Tosu City schools. The buildings were large and made of glass and steel and wood that gleamed in the sunlight. Th
e kids walking into those buildings were no less polished. Healthy. Strong. And no doubt prepared for whatever a future at the University holds. But one thought stands out above all others, making my blood heat and my emotions flare. “They didn’t report for The Testing.”
They didn’t watch friends die. They are not plagued by nightmares or doubts. They are safe. Whole. Unscarred.
“No. The selection process for Tosu students is different. Most of the students are the sons and daughters of past University graduates. Those who wish to attend the University are required to submit an application and sit for an interview. Fifty applicants take the same examination you took yesterday. Those who pass are welcomed into the University.”
“And those who fail?”
