AL
Faction of Origin: Amity
Chosen Faction: Dauntless
“I JUST HATE EVERYONE WHO’S BETTER THAN ME.”
Al might look like he can handle anything, but as a former Amity, he seems far too good-hearted and gentle to survive Dauntless initiation, and his friends Tris, Christina, and Will fear for his vulnerabilities. Al especially admires Tris and her growing strength, but she only pities his weaknesses. Al chose Dauntless because he liked the idea of a life devoted to protecting others, but he doesn’t even seem quite able to protect himself in Dauntless. Instead, he appears to accept the fact that he might fail initiation and become factionless.
TOBIAS/“FOUR”
Faction: Dauntless
Dauntless Control Room Operator and Instructor of Non-Dauntless-Born Initiates
“EVERYONE’S AFRAID OF SOMETHING. I IGNORE IT . . . .”
Intentionally private about most matters, Tobias believes that fearlessness means dominating personal weaknesses and learning from the courage of others, instead of using brutality to counteract fear. When he isn’t training initiates, he works in the Dauntless control room, and though he respects many, it is rare for him to form personal connections. Admired by his fellow faction members but openly disliked by a few of its leaders for his power and charisma, Tobias has a strong sense of self, an intelligent sense of humor, a watchful, protective nature, and a well-defined moral code.
ANDREW PRIOR
Faction: Abnegation
Member of the Governing Council
“IT’S ESSENTIAL THAT WE STICK TOGETHER AS A FACTION—AND AS A FAMILY.”
As a respected Abnegation member, Andrew humbly serves on the Governing Council, monitoring the harmony of the entire city. As father to Caleb and Beatrice, and husband to Natalie, Andrew attempts to imbue his family members with the political beliefs and faction priorities that have shaped his life. A man of deep integrity and honor, Andrew is disheartened by the choices that his children make at the Choosing Ceremony. To him, these are betrayals of the greatest magnitude.
NATALIE PRIOR
Faction: Abnegation
Councilman’s Wife
“I LOVE YOU. . . NO MATTER WHAT.”
As the spouse of a councilman, Natalie upholds the Abnegation lifestyle, devoting significant energies to serving those most in need, such as the factionless. But there is also a quiet strength and independence of spirit to Natalie. Unlike her husband, she seems supportive, almost encouraging, of Beatrice and Caleb’s faction transfers, as if maybe she knew all along who her children would become. And gradually, Tris comes to see that there was perhaps far more depth to her mother than the Abnegation lifestyle showed.
MARCUS EATON
Faction: Abnegation
Leader of the Governing Council
“FACTION BEFORE BLOOD.”
Marcus and Andrew have a deep mutual respect for each other after years of working closely. Recently, however, disturbing reports have spread through the city about Marcus. They accuse him of being an abusive father and husband, and question whether he is a fit leader. Marcus and his supporters insist that the rumors are negative propaganda created by the Erudite faction in its campaign to upset the city’s balance of power and take a more prominent role in the society’s leadership.
JEANINE MATTHEWS
Faction: Erudite
Erudite Faction Leader
“I WANT YOU TO CHOOSE WHO YOU TRULY ARE AND WHERE YOU TRULY BELONG—”
Cold and precise, sharp and demanding, Erudite faction leader Jeanine Matthews embodies the chilly professionalism and hyper-intelligence of her faction. Jeanine is willing to employ any tactic necessary to achieve her agenda—whether seeding and spreading lies, backstabbing, building unethical alliances, betraying, torturing, or even indirectly murdering. Because of her brilliant machinations and sly ability to use people’s weaknesses to serve her needs, few recognize the full, terrible potential of Jeanine Matthews.
TORI WU
Faction: Dauntless
Tattoo Artist and Aptitude Test Administrator
“IF YOU DON’T FIT INTO A CATEGORY, THEY CAN’T CONTROL YOU.”
Born into Erudite, Tori is now a fierce, wise member of Dauntless. She and Tris first meet when Tori is assigned to administer Tris’s aptitude test, during which she warns Tris of her test’s “inconclusive” result and the dangers of being Divergent. The tattoo parlor where Tori works becomes a haven for Tris during initiation, where shared confidences and bits of advice are regularly dispensed along with tea and tattoos.
ERIC
Faction: Dauntless
Dauntless Faction Leader-in-Training
“WATCH YOURSELF. WE TRAIN SOLDIERS, NOT REBELS.”
Dauntless initiate instructor Eric is ruthless: Cruel and intolerant, he takes pleasure in mocking and intimidating his charges. He believes that bravery means defeating everyone, and is uninterested in recognizing or learning from the strengths of others. Eric was raised in Erudite; he and Four were Dauntless initiates together, and Eric was always ranked second, behind Four. They have been rivals ever since.
MAX
Faction: Dauntless
Dauntless Faction Leader
“DAUNTLESS IS ABOUT ORDINARY ACTS OF BRAVERY AND HAVING THE COURAGE TO STAND UP FOR ANOTHER . . . . DO US PROUD.”
Under Max’s leadership, the definition of Dauntless bravery is slowly shifting away from inner courage and fearlessness toward a focus on external competition and brutality. Max actually hoped to recruit Four for Eric’s role as leader-in-training, but Four refused to be appointed to a position of power under Max and his vision of bravery. Relations between Max and Four have been tense ever since.
The day before the Choosing Ceremony, those students eligible for Choosing take their aptitude test. The test is given at the city’s only school, which is attended by young people from every faction.
The aptitude test is administered in a sterile classroom with a reclining chair for the student, and a computer that allows the test administrator to monitor and record results. Students may not be tested by a member of their own faction, so adults from a different faction administer the test.
The test begins with a serum that engages the mind in a series of intense simulations. These simulations feel real and produce results that the administrator can monitor on their computer screen. The simulation scenarios offer a series of high-pressure choices that measure a student’s aptitude for each of the five factions. The test ends when the results leave only a single result, or aptitude, for a particular faction.
“JUST TRUST THE TEST.”
Beforehand, students are told very little about what the aptitude test entails. Adults reveal to young people only that the aptitude test is intended to aid them in their Choosing. Students are cautioned repeatedly that their test results must be kept private and never shared—not even with their closest friends and family members. Though the test is a rite of passage in the society, it isn’t ultimately the aptitude test that matters at all. It is the next day’s choice that determines each young person’s future.
“I KNOW YOU’LL MAKE A SMART CHOICE TODAY.”
Once a year, the Choosing Ceremony takes place. Adult members and young people from each faction start the day early, traveling in faction-based groups to the heart of the city, to the building they call the Hub, which long before was the Sears Tower.
“FEAR NOTHING AS YOU GIVE YOUR BLOOD AND PAY SACRED ALLEGIANCE TO YOUR FACTION.”
Choosing Day brims with drama and excitement for all involved. For faction members, the annual Choosing Day brings back vivid, nostalgia-tinged memories of their own choices—and the way they began the lives they are living today. For those young people soon to choose, anticipation, nervous energy, and exhilaration course through them as they draw nearer to the moment they’ll be called to the stage during the Choosing Ceremony.
“. . . NOW YOU HAVE REACHED THE AGE WHEN YOU MUST CHOOSE YOUR OWN LIFE.”
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Each Choosing Day promises dramatic, often unanticipated faction transfers, as well as the memorable commitment of young people to the same factions to which they were born. Family members and faction members are often on edge throughout the Ceremony, waiting to see if their beloved young people will return to their faction of origin, or leave forever for a different home and way of life.
“WHEN WE LEAVE THIS ROOM, YOU WILL NO LONGER BE DEPENDENTS BUT FULL-FLEDGED MEMBERS OF OUR SOCIETY, THE HEALTH AND SUCCESS OF WHICH NOW RESTS IN YOUR HANDS.”
While the factions are devoted to their chosen virtues, one phrase holds a shared importance in all factions: the maxim “faction before blood.” This statement expresses a core belief upheld by all five factions, that once chosen, the faction becomes one’s most important social unit—ahead of family, friendship, mentorship, or any other aspect of social structure.
The phrase is often invoked by government officials, by faction leaders, by faction members, even by parents to their children. It can be used with equal effect as a rationale for particular behaviors, as a reminder of the proper order of things, as a motto, or as a caution.
The Choosing Ceremony begins as various faction leaders recount the history of their society, reminding those gathered of the intentions of their long-ago leaders: that faction-based, virtue-centric living would prevent conflict and lead to lasting peace. At the end of the speeches, the entire gathered assembly murmurs the motto of their society, “Faction before blood,” and then a hush falls over the enormous room as the Choosing begins.
On the stage are five large bowls. Each is marked on the outside with a faction symbol and holds that faction’s Choosing Ceremony substance. As each young person is called to the stage, he or she is given a knife and must cut his or her palm, spilling drops of blood into the bowl that represents his or her choice. No words are spoken by the young person; their very blood speaks for them.
The ABNEGATION bowl holds gray stones, the same stones used to build roads and buildings within the city. Abnegation believes stone is the most useful and stable material available, qualities they also admire as being closely related to selflessness.
The AMITY bowl holds earth. Earth reflects the close relationship that Amity has with nature, which they believe imbues their lives with peace. Spilling one’s blood directly into the bowl of earth, then, is a visible commitment to peace starting at the very moment of choice and intended to last for a lifetime.
The CANDOR bowl holds glass. The Candor claim that a transparent person is an honest person. They believe that glass is a visible representation of the sometimes sharp-edged transparency that their faction demands.
The DAUNTLESS bowl holds live coals of fire. Spilling blood onto the coals does not put out the fire resting in the coals; rather, the action feeds it. The Dauntless coals represent the destructive force that fire can be, but also the warmth and vitality that fire creates.
The ERUDITE bowl holds water. Water’s clarity mirrors the clarity that Erudite members seek as they work to continually increase their knowledge. The water sends a message to would-be faction members: A single idea or simple action carries enormous weight and impact.
“HOWEVER, ONCE THE CHOICE HAS BEEN MADE, NO CHANGE WILL BE PERMITTED.”
After the young person makes his or her choice, he or she leaves the stage and joins the chosen faction. And while it is a rule of this society’s way of living that young people must be freely allowed to choose their faction, that rule does not prevent those they leave behind from feeling betrayed. Expressions of shock or relief from those gathered, from low murmurs to outright cheers, often surround a candidate as he or she joins their faction’s seating area. For faction transfers, there is no moment to return to their faction of origin to bid good-bye or offer apologies or explanations—each faction exits as a whole at the Ceremony’s end, and so the new lives of every young person, whether transferred or merely renewed, begin definitively and completely at the moment of choice.
“IS IT JUST ME OR ARE THEY TRYING TO KILL US?”
The El trains that circle the city never seem to stop, and the Dauntless are the only faction members who ride inside the train cars. When the train reaches their planned destination, the Dauntless pull open the train doors and leap out—without waiting for the train to slow down even a little, and without knowing if there’s a train stop at the location or not (there’s usually not).
Getting onto a train requires special courage, too. The Dauntless shun the stairs that lead to train stations, most of which are decrepit anyway, and instead scale walls and pillars, or climb whatever other architecture is necessary to arrive at the train tracks. When a train approaches, the Dauntless run alongside until their speed and momentum match that of the train. Then they leap, scramble, and lunge for handrails on the outside of the train cars. After clinging to the outside of the cars until they’ve caught their balance, they heave themselves through the closest doorway and into a train car. The Dauntless jump trains daily, without even seeming to consider the risk, or their own fear.
“THIS IS THE PIT—THE CENTER OF LIFE HERE AT DAUNTLESS.”
The Pit is the core of activity and action within the Dauntless faction. It is a sleek, futuristic-looking, all-white cavern, and everywhere, Dauntless dressed entirely in black stand out against its marble-like walls. Easily a hundred feet deep and twice as wide, the Pit is surrounded by thin ledges—all without any thought of guardrails or safety railings, of course. As might be expected from this area that’s the heart of the Dauntless life, the Pit is a place pulsing with energy: liberated, vibrant, and free.
“THIS IS THE CHASM. EVERY YEAR SOMEBODY TRIES TO JUMP IT. ONE OF THEM EVEN SURVIVED. RECKLESSNESS . . . BRAVERY. LEARN THE DIFFERENCE.”
A narrow crevice cuts even deeper into the rock in this portion of the Pit. A swaying, rusted bridge runs alongside it. At first glance, it seems as though one could perhaps jump across the chasm, but it’s deceptively narrow, and the water that fills it is likewise deceptively shallow.
“YOU HAVE TO LOOK THE PART.”
Shortly after their arrival, Dauntless initiates are given uniform-like gear to wear during training sessions. For some, the new clothing style is a startling change from the formality, or from the comfort, of their former attire. The flexible, close-fitting clothes enable swift, bold actions, and call attention to the strong physiques that the Dauntless cultivate through hours of rigorous training.
Many choose to accentuate their fierce attire with daring haircuts, hairstyles and hair colors, and prominent tattoos. For some, tattoos are a simple matter of emblazoning one’s skin with the Dauntless faction symbol. Others choose tattoos based on how intimidating they appear; still others choose tattoos for more personal reasons.
“DAUNTLESS GET TATTOOS.”
The Dauntless get tattoos proudly and often—wearing ink on their skin is an outward sign of their willingness to undergo pain. It’s also a vivid statement about the faction they belong to—no one would mistake a tattooed member of Dauntless as belonging to one of the other factions.
Dauntless members and initiates select tattoos for a variety of reasons. Some imprint themselves with warrior-like markings, while others choose more personal tattoos to indicate milestones or honor their belief systems. Other Dauntless mark themselves with permanent reminders of their past, like symbols of fears they’ve overcome. And still others select tattoos to honor loved ones.
Inside the Pit, the initiates learn that they will live together for the entirety of their training/initiation period. The dorms are coed, as are the adjacent bathrooms. Both dorms and bathrooms are spartan at best: There are no walls or partitions to offer privacy, and no allowance for inhibitions.
The dorms become a hub of initiate life and emotion—for better and for worse. Alliances and friendships are formed in the dorms during downtime, but it’s also a place where treacheries and betrayals happen during vulnerable, unsuspecting moments, as the initiates seek to prove their strength
to one another and to the Dauntless instructors and leaders.
“IF YOU LIKE THIS, YOU’RE GONNA LOVE THE BATHROOM.”
“NICE TO MEET YOU TOO.”
The Dauntless faction shares meals together in the cavernous dining hall, blending its members together in a sea of all-black clothing, occasionally punctuated by a shocking color of hair dye or a particularly vivid tattoo. Dauntless meals are loud, enthusiastic, and without formalities—a chaotic warmth pulses through mealtimes there, as it does through much of Dauntless life.
Inside Divergent Page 2