Graduation Day

by Joelle Charbonneau

  President Collindar leans forward.

  Before she can ask for what I can no longer give, I say, “Michal took the evidence to Symon.” Her smile falters as she shifts her attention to the door through which Symon withdrew. “Since Symon didn’t know about my involvement, Michal was reluctant to bring me to the rebel camp. I insisted. I hid as Michal turned over the proof that would have brought an end to The Testing. And then I watched as Symon took out a gun and shot him. The evidence is gone. Michal is dead.”

  President Collindar studies me. Her expression is devoid of emotion. My heart thuds in my chest. I fight the urge to squirm under her gaze. I want to beg her to believe me. But I can tell she is weighing my words. Judging my motives. My honesty.

  Finally she says, “You claim Michal Gallen is dead. Can you prove it?”

  “No,” I admit. Although maybe I could. Raffe was there. If the president were to summon him here, his account could add weight to mine. But I have not mentioned his involvement. To do so now might make President Collindar wonder what else I haven’t been forthcoming about. Perhaps more important, if President Collindar does not believe me, she will certainly mention this meeting to Symon. Redirection will not be far behind. In case Raffe is truly to be trusted, I will not entwine my fate with his. However, I realize there is one fact that will lend credence to my words. “Michal will not report for work Monday or in the days to come.” I ball my hands into fists as tears filled with sorrow and guilt prick my eyes and lodge in my throat. “His absence will confirm I am telling the truth, but by then it will be too late.”

  “Too late for what?” President Collindar asks quietly, but I can see by the tension in her jaw that she has done the equation in her head. If I am to be believed, Michal is dead by the hands of someone she’s close to. Someone who has helped plan this vote and the attack on Dr. Barnes that is scheduled to come with its failure.

  Still, I answer. “By the time people know for certain Michal is missing, you will have already made your proposal on the Debate Chamber floor.” Commonwealth law states that once a proposal is made and the debate on it has begun, the proposal cannot be withdrawn. The debate must be allowed to continue and a vote taken. The law was created to ensure that all matters brought to the debate floor would be carefully considered. “As soon as you do that, you set in motion the events that Symon and Dr. Barnes have orchestrated. They want your vote to fail and the rebels to attack. The minute that happens, Dr. Barnes’s supporters will move against them. They will remove both the threat to The Testing and you from office with this one fight.”

  “And look heroic doing it.” President Collindar’s words are barely a whisper. So faint that I question whether I have heard her correctly. Heroic is the last thing I would call Dr. Barnes’s plan for eliminating those who oppose him.

  But now that I think about it, I realize President Collindar has seen what I did not. Out of necessity, the rebels have been operating in secret. Their cause is unknown to Tosu citizens save for a few who may have recently been imposed upon to take up arms. And even if it were revealed, most citizens do not know someone who was chosen for The Testing. A fraction are related to those who sat in University classrooms and became the country’s leaders without undergoing The Testing or experiencing Redirection. Very few would celebrate a rebellion that would likely shed innocent blood for a purpose they do not personally understand. If Dr. Barnes and Symon’s plan is successful, the rebels will be killed almost immediately after the violence begins. Without the rebels to speak for their own cause, Dr. Barnes can paint their purpose as one designed to take down the United Commonwealth Government and destroy the country’s revitalization mission. His supporters will claim him as a hero. History has ever rewarded the victors.

  President Collindar rises and stands in front of the fireplace. “Symon is working with Jedidiah.” Her voice is quiet. Controlled. Yet I hear the thin veil of tension that coats her words. “Setting up a rebellion against himself is smart. It allows him to control both those who follow and those who oppose him. Jedidiah’s strength has always been in strategy.”

  “You believe me?” I ask. Amazement and a strange sense of peace flow through me. Not only have I passed this test, I have handed this problem to someone with the power to prevent a series of tragic events. Zeen and I can let her take care of it.

  “I do believe you.” The president turns back to me. “You didn’t think I would. And yet, still you put yourself in danger to get this news to me. Even before we met in the Debate Chamber, I’d heard you were different from your peers. Perhaps because Jedidiah’s tests are not designed to reward those who are willing to sacrifice themselves. From what I know, sacrifice during The Testing often results in a candidate’s elimination.”

  “Elimination.” A more pleasant word than “death.”

  “It’s unusual that someone like you has gotten this far,” she adds.

  I think about The Testing. More than twenty of us passed the fourth test and sat for final evaluations. Dr. Barnes could have eliminated me then. Why didn’t he?

  President Collindar takes a seat again. “Perhaps you can answer a few questions. How many of the rebels are working with Dr. Barnes? Also, is Ranetta partnered with Symon or is she as unaware as I was?”

  “I don’t know.” I wish I did. “I’ve never seen or talked to Ranetta.” Something that now worries me, considering my brother is working side by side with her and the other rebels. “Symon ordered some of his team to carry Michal’s body away. They didn’t seem concerned by Michal’s death. But I have to believe most of the rebels want to see The Testing ended.” Michal would not have put his faith in the rebellion if that weren’t the case. Neither would Zeen.

  “I believe they do. Unfortunately, I cannot be certain which rebels are to be trusted and which would claim they are on our side in order to remove us. And since you say Michal’s position in this office was orchestrated, most if not all of my staff’s loyalty must also come into question. It is impossible to know which are loyal to Symon’s purpose or to me.”

  She’s right. Tension builds as the president falls silent and stares into the fire. Her lips purse—the only sign of the magnitude of the problem that faces her. It is in this moment that I understand why she was chosen to lead.

  She nods. “Symon will be wondering about this meeting. I have to go downstairs. Remain here. Someone will bring work to occupy you so those who are watching will not question your continued presence. I will be back soon.”

  “But—”

  President Collindar strides out the door and into the hallway, from where I hear her say, “Someone will be back with a project for Ms. Vale to work on. At least then her time here will not be completely wasted.”

  I hear the door shut and I rise from my chair. Despite the relief I feel, I cannot sit still. Pacing the length of the floor, I think about President Collindar’s reaction to my words. Her quick acceptance indicates that she had concerns about the trustworthiness of the rebels already. Yet despite that, she continued to work with them. Michal once told me that though she holds the top government position, President Collindar has less power than Dr. Barnes. I think I finally understand how this can be true. The title of “leader” only brings authority if the officials and citizens you work with follow you. The term “president” is meaningless if people turn to someone else for leadership. With so many Commonwealth officials allied with Dr. Barnes, possibly even those in this office, President Collindar has been forced to work with those she might not have full confidence in to regain the control she needs to keep the country unified. Not only do presidents have to be smart enough to understand the problems that come before them, they have to find potential solutions and a way to inspire others to follow their lead.

  President Collindar took office less than five years ago, after President Wendig died. He served in the office for thirty-four years. My Five Lakes teacher called President Wendig one of the greatest leaders history has ever known. When I studied
the huge advancements in clean water, power, food sources, and colonization that were made under his leadership, I had to agree. Now I have to assume that President Wendig knew about The Testing and what was expected of the students who passed through The Testing Center’s doors. How many of the accomplishments he presided over were made possible because of students who were forced to sacrifice their lives? Did he actively support Dr. Barnes’s program? If so, does that diminish the advancements that came under his guidance? My uncertainty about the answer disturbs me deeply.

  There is a knock at the door. Moments later, a young red-clad official appears, loaded down with several large folders filled with paper. Behind her is another female official also laden with paperwork. The two place the stacks of papers on the table. The second turns and leaves as the first says, “President Collindar asked that you organize these reports on University graduates based on where they grew up. Once you do that, she requested that they be alphabetized.” Her sympathetic smile says that she believes I am being punished with busywork for not providing more useful information during my meeting. Walking toward the door she adds, “A lot of us are going to be working late tonight. If you’re still here when the president leaves, we’d be happy to help.”

  Clearly, the president’s plan to make people think I wasted her time has been successful.

  While I know the papers are not part of a real assignment, I choose to organize them anyway. If nothing else, having something tangible to focus on keeps me from worrying about the president’s meeting with Symon. I assign areas of the table and nearby floor to the city and each of the colonies. Then I pick up the first stack of papers and get to work. Not surprisingly, since Tosu City was the only established concentration of people for the first twenty years after the United Commonwealth was founded, most University graduates have come from the city. Although, looking at the paperwork, I can see that there were fewer students at the start than there are now. Probably because more people were needed then for the physical labor involved in restoring the city.

  As the first colony, Shawnee has the next largest concentration, immediately followed in number by Omaha, Amarillo, and Ames. Not surprisingly, the space I reserved for my own colony sits empty for a long time before I find the first student from eighteen years ago. Seven years after Five Lakes was created.

  Dreu Owens.

  Magistrate Owens’s son? My father once said she had a child but that he was no longer with us. I assumed he meant that the child had died. Instead, he was selected for The Testing and survived to attend the University. According to this file, he studied Biological Engineering and was assigned an internship with a research team working on techniques designed to reverse mutations in plants and animals. Putting the paper in the section I designated for Five Lakes, I wonder what job he was assigned after he graduated and if he is still in Tosu.

  The stack of unsorted papers grows smaller as I continue my work. I am starting on the last stack when President Collindar walks in holding a gray folder. Gone is the muted sense of concern I saw when she left to meet with Symon. In its place are strength and confidence.

  I scramble to my feet as she says, “I apologize for the delay. Symon had a number of thoughts on this week’s activities. Letting him talk gave me time to come up with a plan.” She crosses the room to the table where I sit, looks directly at me, and says, “I cannot cancel the Debate Chamber vote. Not without raising Jedidiah’s and Symon’s suspicions. But tomorrow morning a member of my staff will be reported as missing. No one will question a postponement while my team dedicates all its resources to finding him. I believe Symon will outwardly applaud the decision, all the while sowing dissention among the rebel factions and pushing them to schedule an attack. I can convince them to hold off while we search for Michal. If I am lucky, I might be able to postpone their actions for a week. I only hope it will be long enough.”

  “For what?” I ask.

  “I thought that would be obvious,” she says. “There is no choice. We must carry out the rebels’ plan to end The Testing.”

  For a moment I am speechless as her meaning hits home. “The rebels were going to start a war.”

  “That has never been the intention,” she says. “The plan is for the rebels to coordinate the elimination of specific targets. The loss of life will be limited to those threats marked for termination. Of course, when violence is employed as a tool, there is always a chance of unexpected casualties. But those involved in creating this plan worked to design a blueprint that would limit losses as much as possible.”

  Strategic targets. Termination. Tools. Blueprint. Clean words for the bloodletting they imply.

  She opens the folder she is carrying, pulls out a piece of paper, and hands it to me. On it are eleven names. The first is Dr. Jedidiah Barnes. Professor Verna Holt is also on the list, as are Professor Douglas Lee and a man named Rychard Jeffries—whom I am almost certain is Raffe’s father. Just holding the sheet of paper makes my pulse race and my palms start to sweat.

  President Collindar doesn’t appear to notice my discomfort as she explains, “The direction of The Testing and the University is headed by a select group led by Dr. Barnes. They are members of the University, officials in key government positions, and research scientists whose work has been used by Dr. Barnes to benefit The Testing. All of the people listed have enough influence and authority to retain control of the University and Testing programs even if Jedidiah is removed from the equation. Symon helped create this document, so there is a chance it is flawed, but I believe the plan is still valid.”

  “You want to murder Dr. Barnes and his top administrators?”

  “No.”

  I let out a sigh of relief as President Collindar reaches over, takes the paper from me, and slides it back into the gray folder. “I’m not going to kill Dr. Barnes and his followers.” She places the folder in my hand. “You are.”

  Chapter 3

  HER WORDS PUNCH through my chest and steal my breath. The fire crackles. Somewhere in the building I hear a door slam. President Collindar stands still as death, watching me.

  “You can’t be serious,” I whisper. Though I know she is. “I can’t—”

  “Yes, you can.” Her words are sharp. Confident. “Though the process of The Testing is kept from the public, I have heard enough rumors to understand the tests each candidate must face. For a candidate to pass, she must be intelligent, quick thinking, and able to prove she is capable of doing whatever it takes to survive.”

  Suddenly, I am not here. I am on the unrevitalized plains during the fourth test. Tomas whispers my name. In the dim light I can see the blood as it flows from the wound in his abdomen. Will stands in front of me. His green eyes narrow behind the gun he has now aimed at me. He straightens his shoulders and takes aim. The gun in my hand kicks. Will staggers as the bullet punches into his side. When he runs I ignore the nausea that is building inside me and fire again.

  Yes. When attacked, I will do what it takes to survive. But this . . .

  “I can’t.” My legs tremble but my voice is firm. Strong. More in control than how I feel.

  President Collindar walks unhurriedly across the room and takes a seat in the chair right next to the fire. “I will postpone the vote, but that will only delay the inevitable. If you are correct about Symon’s allegiance, how long do you think it will take before he incites the rebels to lead their own attack? What will happen then? Do you think Symon will allow any of the rebels or the citizens who have aided them to live? What will happen to the country if I am gone? Who do you think the Debate Chamber members will appoint to take my place?”

  Dr. Barnes. If not him, someone he supports. The Testing will continue.

  “Cia, I would prefer not to involve you in this, but sometimes a leader has to rely on the resources at hand. My staff has been infiltrated once that we know of. There is no doubt in my mind that where there is one spy there are more, which means the people in this building cannot be trusted. Neither can
the rebels.”

  “The Safety officials—”

  “Report to one of the names on that list. And there must be others Dr. Barnes knows will take up arms in his support. Otherwise he would not have embarked on this course of action.” She turns and stares at the fire as if looking for answers in the flames, and sighs. “I would attempt to execute this plan myself, but it would be impossible for my actions to go unnoticed, and I am no longer confident of whom I can trust. You, Malencia, are the only one I can be certain of, which is why I am forced to ask you to live up to the promise you have made as a future leader and take up this task. As long as Dr. Barnes remains in control of the University, the rebels will not put aside their agenda. Emotions are running high. The rebels are insisting on change. I have talked to a number of them already.”

  I see a flicker of regret on the president’s face, but it is gone as quickly as it came. Then all I see is her resolve. “I have been told that citizens on the outlying areas of Tosu have been armed by Ranetta’s rebel faction despite my express wish for this not to happen. Symon assured me that those allegations are false and that my orders are being obeyed, but everything he’s said is suspect. We must assume there are citizens aware of the rebellion and ready to take up arms in support. When the rebels do attack, those citizens could take to the streets. Dr. Barnes’s forces will respond. People will be scared. Some will fight. More will die.”

  Michal told me that the rebels were arming citizens. The president is right to fear what could happen with weapons in the hands of so many. The fear. The desperation to survive at all cost. But that might happen no matter what.