The next questions were much easier, with two exceptions. Ana was once more questioned about her meetings with Jan. This was where she had the most trouble. Unsure how much the government knew left her desperately seeking believable answers. She hoped to call on her old skills, but the emotional overload made it impossible. Clenching her fists, she sat as rigid as a board and wished for the entire thing to be over.
Ky concluded by asking about her feelings regarding the Academy. Ana took several moments before giving an answer she hoped would be believed.
“I’m flattered I was chosen,” she said. “I never considered attending, and certainly not over a year earlier than anyone else, but now that I’ve had time to think it over, I realize what a great honor it is.”
“Are you scared?”
“Of course, I’m scared. Who wouldn’t be? If I fail, I’ll be sent to the military. I’m definitely scared.”
“And how do you feel about the choice Vice Premier Drake gave you.”
“It wasn’t a choice,” she said without thinking. “It was a trap.”
Ky sat back and looked at Ana speculatively. Tenting his fingers, he tapped the two index ones before sitting forward and turning off the tab.
“I believe that statement was the most honest one you’ve given this entire interview,” he said with a slight smile. “Don’t worry, I know you didn’t mean to say it. I must give you credit, Ana. You’ve managed something I’ve never seen before. You made it through the entire testing without revealing everything. And you did it in an incredibly believable manner.”
Ana stared, her mouth dropping. She thought she had performed so well. Yet Ky was telling her he knew she lied. She was doomed, destined to live out the rest of her short life on the island like Makil. Placing her head in her hands, she started crying again.
“Don’t worry, Ana,” Ky said gently, reaching across and placing one hand on her knee. “I’ve been doing this for a very, very long time. Your performance will fool anyone who watches it. You’ve behaved exactly as one would have expected, given the circumstances. But my experiences have taught me to look deeper. Things others would miss stood out. I know you didn’t lie about everything. Normally, I would report this, but because you are so much more than what I believed you to be, so much more than what others will see, no word of my suspicions will ever leave this room. You will attend the Academy, not be sent back to the island. Your future, whatever it might be, does not lie in that direction.”
Ana looked up, the tears drying as she stared at Ky. Not sure why he was telling her this, she said the first thing that occurred to her.
“Aren’t you afraid of the surveillance here?”
“Not in the least,” Ky responded easily. “One of the conditions I place on the testing I do is that the surveillance be turned off. I alone want to monitor the subject’s behavior without any other judgments being offered. Most citizens are at least suspicious enough to believe they are being monitored. Because of this, they cannot always be trusted to give honest answers. But they are not informed of this. I want to see how they act, if they will lie or not, especially if they believe they are being watched. Most who take the test do not lie, too afraid of being caught. The ones who do lie always give themselves away. Up until now, the liars have been obvious even to the most experienced tech. Until today. Until you.”
“Aren’t you worried that they lied to you, too? I mean, I keep being told how special I am. Vice Premier Drake has made three separate visits to see me. What makes you so sure he wasn’t monitoring?”
“Because I have a back-up. When you took your break, you returned to find me on my personal tab. That tab has been specially modified to scramble the signals sent from any monitoring devices in two-hundred-yard vicinity. I simply turned it on when you sat down and will turn it off before I leave.”
“But what if they say something? I mean, if they were monitoring and you scrambled it, they would know.”
“My dear, have faith. I’m not hiding anything. They will see the vid-record of your test, minus the last statement. If they choose to question their inability to monitor, they will essentially be admitting they lied to me. And even if they do admit it, they have no way of knowing I caused it. I can guarantee that if they are monitoring, they are scrambling to figure out what went wrong. But in two minutes, I will flick my tab, and all will be fine. They may spend some time trying to figure it out but will eventually give up when it doesn’t happen again.”
Ana digested this, not entirely certain he wouldn’t be held responsible if they suspected him of messing with their monitoring equipment. But Ky obviously felt secure enough to admit it and she wasn’t about to betray that trust.
“Do you want me to answer the last question again?” she asked, not sure how he would edit it out.
“No need. I have no script I must follow, just a general outline of what is being looked for. The last question was asked because I was genuinely curious. The statement will be deleted, the test ending with your admitting to being scared.”
“Thank you,” Ana said softly, eternally grateful for his willingness to defy the government on her behalf.
“No need to thank me, Ana,” he said, a huge smile lighting up his face. “You have given me a far more interesting afternoon than I have had in years. I’m sorry for all you have had to endure, and I’m sorry for having to make you go through this. I will forward information to your tab on how to contact me in the future, should you wish to talk further about your experiences.”
With that, Ky rose, removed his personal tab and swiped once, then placed it back in his pocket. Reaching across the table, he offered his hand and Ana shook it.
“Good luck, Ana,” he said before leaving. “Never let them clip your wings.”
Ky turned and walked away, leaving Ana with her mouth once again hanging open.
Chapter 6
Month 1
Week 2
Ana dragged herself to bed after Ky left. Completely wrung out by the ordeal, it was all she could do to change into her pajamas. Crawling under the blankets, she curled up and was asleep in minutes.
The nightmare woke her several hours later, teeth chattering and body trembling uncontrollably. It was raining heavily, and she could hear the wind howling through the trees. She lay quietly, fists bunched in the sheets, and tried to relax. Jax stared blearily from under the blankets, then closed her eyes and started snoring. Once the terror passed, Ana rose and took a hot shower, then climbed into a pair of clean pajamas. Not ready to go back to sleep, she pulled on her robe and decided to make some tea.
She made it to the bottom step before the smell hit her, catapulting her back to the raging inferno of her two-day ordeal. The patter of the rain and the howling of the wind became the ghostly voices and the living room transformed into a hellish landscape of blazing trees and falling embers. Ana lost control, screaming and pelting across the room and down the hall.
Ana’s father looked up from the couch as his daughter sped past. Rising, he dashed after her, finding her huddled in a corner. Slowly crouching, he spoke softly, trying to reach the panic-stricken girl. Ana stared past him, unseeing. Snapping his fingers in front of her face, he got no response. Gently lifting her, he carried her down the hall and made it to the entrance to the living room before Ana started shrieking and flailing in terror. Barely able to contain her, Ana’s father turned and kicked open the first available door.
As soon as the door opened, Ana’s father realized his mistake. Unable to grab the handle, he stood for a moment, then started to turn. Unfortunately, something had gotten through to Ana and she stopped flailing and stared into his office, eyes wide.
“Books?” she asked quietly. “Are those books?”
Ana’s father sighed, realizing it was too late to close the door. Carrying her into the room, he gently placed her in a comfortable armchair, pulling the ottoman over so he could sit opposite her.
“Ana,” he said very quietly. “Listen to me.
You were not supposed to see this. I need to you to stay right here until I get back. Touch nothing. Understand?”
Ana nodded absently, still awestruck. Three of the four walls were full of books. There were more on the floor, on the long table in front of the window, and strewn across her father’s desk, some open with notations on the pages. Ana couldn’t take it all in. What she was seeing was unbelievable and she couldn’t wrap her mind around it.
“I’ll be right back. I doubt either of us will be going back to sleep anytime soon, so I’ll make some coffee. Then we’ll talk.”
Ana nodded again as her father left the room. She longed to rise and touch the books, to see what they felt like. To open them and see what was written inside. And most of all, to try and discover why the government went to such lengths to keep them out of the population’s hands. Letting her gaze travel the length of the table, she tilted her head sideways to read the different titles. Moby Dick, War and Peace, Gone with the Wind. And scores more. None were recognizable but she still felt a deep yearning to see what lay between the covers. Unable to help herself, she rose and approached the nearest shelf. Lightly running her fingers across the spines, she felt another thrill. More titles, some that made no sense. The Iliad. A Clockwork Orange. Alice in Wonderland. Her fingers travelled back and forth, eventually coming to rest on one that sounded interesting. 1984 by someone with the odd name of George Orwell. That had to be history. Ana started to pull it out when her father re-entered the room.
“Ana, NO!” he screamed, dropping the tray of coffee on the desk and darting to her side. Gripping her wrist, he pulled it away and led her back to the chair.
“Daddy, what’s going on?” Ana asked, slowing turning with a dreamy, faraway look in her eyes. “Why are all these books here?”
“Let me pour the coffee before I start,” he said. Dragging his office chair around, he placed it next to her and poured a cup for each.
“Before I begin, here are the rules. You must never, ever, speak of what you’ve seen. Only the Premier, Vice Premier, and a few others know about this room. If word gets out, I will be made to disappear.
“This is what I do for the government. I’m a historian. I study books from before the Great War, deciding which ones are safe and which ones could be considered dangerous or treasonous. I read every one, making notes as I go, and prepare a full report when I’m done. Many of the books in this room have been read more than once. But because of the possible need to review them alongside others, they’re kept here for reference.”
“But Daddy. I saw one called 1984. That has to be history. From before the Great War. Right?”
“No honey, that one most definitely is not history. In fact, it’s been deemed one of the most dangerous. Just possessing it would mean instant death.”
The faraway look was leaving Ana’s eyes, replaced with one of intense curiosity, tinged with anger.
“Why are books so dangerous? It’s just words on a page. Why would the government kill people just for possessing them?”
“Books are more than words on a page, my little hawk,” he replied. “They’re stories, new and fabulous worlds that open the imagination. But they can be much more than that. Books can take you away, make you feel like you’re living inside them. A good book will make you laugh, make you cry, and make you wish it never ends. And it will stay with you long after you finish reading it.
“That’s where the danger lies. Because books are also ideas. They are beliefs, opinions, things the writer feels are important. They can inspire, motivate, persuade. But more than that, they can make people THINK. That’s what the government is afraid of.”
“Why are they afraid of having people think? I was forced to during my times away.” Even now, Ana was afraid to reveal where she had been.
Ana’s father took a moment to consider his answer.
“Okay, Ana,” he said finally. “Let me start by asking some questions. First, why are you not allowed to say anything bad about the government?”
“Because it’s treasonous,” Ana answered promptly.
“What makes it treasonous?”
“You’re criticizing the government.”
“And why is that bad?”
“Because they don’t want you to.”
“Why not?”
“Because its treasonous…,” Ana trailed off, realizing her father had led her in a circle.
“Next question,” he said, a slight smile on his face. “Why is it much worse to write something treasonous than to say it?”
Ana thought hard and when she was unable to come up with an answer, she looked at her father helplessly.
“Because a written word plants an idea. A person is much more likely to remember something they read than something they are told.”
Ana’s face lost its bewildered look, understanding beginning to dawn.
“Third. Why are large gatherings not allowed? I’m not talking about things like weddings or parties, but very large groups. For instance, why are only officials allowed to attend sporting events? I know you attended school sport meets, but think back. How many people were actually there? A dozen? Maybe two? And weren’t you forced to sit in no more than groups of two or three, separated by partitions from the people alongside you?”
Ana cast her mind back, trying not to think about what had happened to Caleb, and realized her father was right. She wasn’t sure of the reason but had an idea.
“They’re scared of what might happen?” she said.
“And what could possibly happen?”
Ana thought about what her trips to the island taught her. Then it hit her, going off like a lamp in the darkness.
“Because they might not be able to hear everything being said. And they can’t stop people from repeating what they heard before they can be rounded up.”
“Correct. Before the Great War, there were people who had radical ideas. Ideas that could, and did, start wars. When they couldn’t talk about those ideas, they wrote them down in books. Many people would read the books and think it was nothing more than a good story. But others would see the ideas and criticisms, no matter how well hidden they were. They would take those ideas and act on them, sharing them with other people who felt the same. Unrest would spread, causing chaos and upheaval.
“My job is to study every book to see if it contains ideas that could cause upheaval and unrest. The Great War took a tremendous toll. Millions of lives were lost, and more than half of the country became uninhabitable. Historians have studied it extensively and tried to find ways to make sure it never happens again. The current system of government is how they resolved the problem. It’s okay to have books, music, vids, but the ideas contained in them can’t promote something that would cause another war.”
Ana thought there was more to it. Something about what her father said made her certain he didn’t agree with what the government was doing. She was positive this room was monitored more heavily than any other in the house. Her father would say what the government needed to hear, and she hoped her visit wouldn’t get him in trouble.
“I understand, Daddy, and I promise not to breathe a word. But I still don’t understand why we can’t have physical books. They’re beautiful. I want to know what reading a page and then turning it to read the next one feels like.”
“Because books are made of paper and paper can be used to hide things. A book you receive can be re-used, the ink removed, and new ideas written down. What the title of the book is may not be what it contains. Putting the books into a digi-library keeps the book pure. It also allows the government to keep track of every book published so it always knows what people are reading.”
Ana remembered the ink that had run in her father’s book. She often wondered why her father felt the need to write his experiences down, knowing it was so dangerous. Looking around, she now believed his exposure to all this had given him the same ideas he preached against.
“How many books, Daddy? How many have you studied
? And how many were deemed unfit?” she asked. The idea that these wonders were destroyed so the government could protect itself made her angry. Before her trips to the island, Ana would have agreed with everything she was told. But the trips had opened her eyes. She had seen how the government lied to its people, making them believe it was looking out for them while committing unbelievable acts of cruelty. And she had seen how they had made people fear and distrust each other. Their actions had nothing to do with keeping the citizens safe and everything to do with self-preservation.
“Hundreds, Ana, if not thousands. I’ve been reading books since before you were born. This is only a small sample. As for how many are deemed treasonous, about two-thirds are. Some aren’t considered treasonous, just immoral or unethical, and are destroyed. Some are just censored to remove the bad parts, a new writer fashioning words deemed more suitable.”
Ana’s mouth dropped. Her father had read thousands? And was still receiving more all the time? How many books were there?
“There are millions of books at a top-secret location,” her father said, anticipating her next question, “And more are found all the time. Apparently, before the Great War, people read. A lot. The government has located places that have hundreds of books. Sometimes, there are more than fifty of the same books in one place. The government destroys all but one, takes it back, and cross references it to see if the title is already there.”
“Aren’t they worried about someone stealing one?” Ana asked, knowing she would if she had the chance.
“No. Each person sent to these locations has one of the highest clearances available. They’re not allowed to open any book they find, only scan it and drop it in a sealed case. Every case is scanned as it comes out and the people who retrieve the books are also scanned before they leave. The cases are locked in the back of a sealed transport and the entire process is reversed when the transports arrive. If a book scanned at the first location doesn’t arrive at the second, everyone is held in isolation while a search is made. If the book is never found, every person involved is sentenced to death. The same holds true for anyone caught attempting to read or steal one. Since every person who goes into these locations has a mini digi-tab to record their movements, it’s literally impossible for them to get away with stealing or reading a book.”
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