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He left, and I stared at Serena, a woman with a name that didn’t have numbers, like a supervisor. She stared right back. “What sublevel are you from?”
“I don’t understand.”
“Your home. What’s the habitat number?”
“I’m from the thirteenth.”
Her brows rose. “Well. Aren’t you a surprise? We don’t often get anyone from that deep.”
“Why am I here?”
“Because you were marked.” She began to walk, and I followed.
“By who?”
“The Cabal, of course. You’re one of the lucky few chosen to change your plight in life.”
“Chosen for what?”
“In your case, to birth the next generation.”
My expression must have shown my incomprehension. She sighed. “I forget how little those deep under know. I understand it’s for your own good, but still… Do you know where babies come from?”
I frowned.
“Children, the young citizens. Where do they come from?”
“Juvenile habitats.”
“No. That’s where they’re raised. Children come from people.”
“They do?” I glanced down at myself. “How? Do we chop off a limb and let it grow?” I knew cave worms replicated in such a fashion.
“Wouldn’t that be easy? But no. Humans must still fornicate to create life, and despite advances in science, viable offspring require incubation inside an immune mother’s body in order to increase the possibility of a live birth.”
The more she spoke, the more I recalled an incident a few years ago when someone had had a boil on their face that had exploded into a mess of spiders. “I don’t think I want to be a vessel.” The idea churned my stomach.
“You’ve been marked. This is your duty. Don’t worry. It’s not as bad as you might think, especially if you end up paired with a powerful citizen. Get pregnant, and you’ll be treated like a freshwater source.”
The most rare of things. We came across puddles of moisture sometimes in the Caves and, if a Blue didn’t see it first, would suck it dry. “Why me?”
“Genetics. Only the healthiest and most viable are chosen to procreate. Unlike our ancestors, we don’t make mistakes when it comes to overpopulating, so every birth is carefully calculated.” More talk that made little sense to me, but I listened and stored the information.
Our walking took us through the building and up some levels via another of those cubicle elevators. We stopped in a room with a table and not much else. “Strip and lie down.” She patted the metal surface.
I didn’t remove anything. “Why?”
“Despite the marking, we still like to make sure you’re healthy and without genetic consequence.”
“And if I’m not?”
“Then you’ll be reassigned to a habitat.”
“Can’t I return to the one I just left?”
“No.”
“Why?”
