“I read the book, both appalled at what it contained and shocked at how similar it was to what our own government did. I thought about that book all night, then did as the old man said. I handed the book in, telling my superiors I had discovered a small trove and offering to lead them to it. In exchange, I requested a promotion. You see, I had read the book and marked it, just as my boss did. When they asked why, I told them because I knew how bad the book was and I wanted to show them I had changed. I told them if they refused, they would never find the books, that I had left a set of instructions in a secure location. If I disappeared, the location would be revealed, allowing the books to reach the general public. They were furious, threatening me and my family to get me to tell them where the books were. But I knew they were bluffing. The books were more important. They had been caught in their own game. I got the promotion, I revealed the location, and here I am. But I can never let my guard down. I blackmailed the government and I know I will someday pay for it. Since then, I’ve made it my life’s work to become so valuable, the government dare not touch me. At least for now.
“To this day, I have no idea why the old man confided in me. Maybe he was crazy. Or maybe someone told him who I was and what had happened to me. Either way, we remained fast friends until he passed a year later, often meeting for a beer and book discussion. When he died, I requested a transfer to Flaga. The transfer was granted, and we moved right before you were born.
“One more question, hon. Rosita wants to speak with you and that will take some time. Okay?”
Ana thought long and hard about her final question. Looking up, she asked him, not sure he would answer.
“Daddy, what did you find out during your trial? The thing you’ve kept secret all these years?”
“Oh, Ana, somehow I knew you were going to ask. Before I answer, I need to ask you a question.
“Do you trust Jan? I mean really trust him? Are you sure that if he sends people to you, you will know who they really are, and are certain they will take any information you give them and use it for the right reasons? Because if you have the slightest doubt, I cannot answer you.”
Ana thought hard before answering. She thought about every time she was with Jan, about the information he had given her and the way he had acted. She went over what she had witnessed that day on the beach with the pilot of the raft. And she thought about her final conversation with Jan. The way he held her, the way he kissed her. And the way he let her go, knowing how important her vow was and still promising to help even though she chose the vow over him.
Ana was fingering the bracelet as these thoughts passed through her head. Her father noticed and began to suspect he was not the only one who had fallen for someone while on the island.
Ana was still thinking it over, knowing she could not let her emotions rule her the way they had done in the past. Remembering the final thing Ansil had said before he left her, she made her decision.
“I trust him,” she said, nodding. “Completely.”
“I hope you are correct, Ana,” her father sighed. “For all our sakes. And because of it, I will now trust you.
“The Great War was not fought against an outside enemy. It was fought against our own people. Ana, the Great War was a civil war. Our government killed millions of its own citizens.”
Chapter 8
Month 1
Week 2
Ana felt like she had been punched in the stomach. This went against everything she had been bought up to believe. Atlantica’s children all learned a foreign enemy invaded the country, infiltrating Centra and ravaging the population. The military sent their forces to fight the invading army. Both sides sustained heavy losses and Atlantica was forced to use their superior weapons, turning Centra into an uninhabitable wasteland. Atlantica withdrew their decimated military, abandoning Centra as it could no longer support human life. Retreating to the east side of the mountains, the government resettled the population in massive urban centers called sectors, encircling them with barriers to keep the population safe. Travel between the sectors was prohibited unless authorized by the government, and Ana, along with everyone else, never questioned this.
Her father now said it was all a lie. Ana understood why the government would never want something like this revealed. If the Great War were a lie, people would question what else the government was hiding. Ana trusted her father but was having hard time believing this.
“Why did you never tell anyone?” Ana eventually asked, feeling sick.
“Who would believe me?” her father responded. “Without proof, I would be one lonely voice screaming into the wind. Nobody would take me seriously and the government would make sure I only uttered the statement once. I would disappear, eventually fading from everyone’s memory, and that would be that.
“But now maybe you understand why all the rules and regulations. This one thing would be the spark that could bring the entire government down. It would generate another civil war and thousands, if not millions, would die. I couldn’t take the chance, not knowing if the government would be overthrown or not.”
“How did you find out? And how do you know it’s true?”
“That honey, is not something I’m going to reveal at this time. But the source was unimpeachable, and I would trust it with my life. All our lives.”
Ana opened her mouth, but her father held up a hand. She snapped it shut, giving her father an angry look.
“You’re turn, Rosita,” he said, motioning to Ana, who was sat sullenly in her chair, arms crossed and a frown on her face.
“Ana, my dear, please understand,” Rosita said, turning with a small smile. “This is news to me also. I know many things, things the government wishes I did not, but even I did not know this. Your father has kept it secret for years, knowing the time was not right. If he is not willing to release the rest of the information yet, then I trust him. And you should, too.
“Now, it is my turn to tell you a story. Do you want to hear it? I cannot guarantee it will be as exciting as your father’s, but it is just as important.”
Ana nodded, afraid to open her mouth, and took a sip of the cooling cappuccino.
“Ana, what do you know about where your food comes from?”
Ana spluttered, spitting coffee on the table. The question was totally unexpected and Ana shook her head, trying to understand why Rosita was asking something so irrelevant.
“I never really thought about it,” she said, trying to mop up the mess.
“Where do you think it comes from?” Rosita asked. “Take the pastries here. Where do you think the grain to make the flour comes from? Or the butter and eggs that are used to make the dough?”
Ana stopped mopping and looked at Rosita. She had never considered where food came from. It just was. She shook her head again, bewildered and a little embarrassed.
“Don’t feel bad, Ana. It is not unexpected. If I aked you how many people in this restaurant know, how many do you think would be able to answer?”
“Not many, I suppose,” Ana said, shrugging her shoulders.
“Exactly,” Rosita said. “The clothes you wear, the furniture you buy, even the energy that powers your home. It all has to come from somewhere, right?”
Ana nodded, wondering where this was going. Did it really matter where the food came from? It just was and as long as no one starved, who cared?
“Why do you think no one knows any of this?”
“The government doesn’t want them to know?” she answered after thinking it over.
“Exactly,” Rosita cried, clapping her hands once. “And why would they not want the citizens to know?”
“Control,” Ana answered promptly.
“That is but part of the answer, dear. Think harder. Why would they care if the citizens knew where raw materials came from?”
“Um, because if the citizens knew, it would expose another lie?” This was the only reason Ana could think of.
“Correct. Now we will discuss somethi
ng different for a bit. But please remember what you just said.
“Why do you think the windows on the mono-train are blacked out?”
Ana’s head was starting to hurt. Rosita had just asked another question she had never considered.
“They don’t want us seeing the countryside?”
“Once again, you are correct. But think about this Ana. If everyone is living in the sectors, behind walls, then why couldn’t you look at the countryside as you travel through it?”
“They are worried people might want to go there?”
“Possibly, but that’s not the real reason. Okay, my dear. A few more questions, then it will all become clear.
“What do you know about the different classes?”
This was easy. Everyone knew what the classes were.
“Top class is the highest government officials. Next is the top military generals, second tier government officials, and maybe top scientists for the government. Under them are doctors, professors and instructors, and third tier officials.”
“Correct. But what about someone like the waiter. Or the person who delivers your orders? What tier would they be?”
Ana had never thought about it. Jan had mentioned the lower classes, but she had never thought about who was included in them.
“Would they be the lower classes?”
“That is what the government would like you to think. But Ana, class structure is based on status and wealth. If the waiter or the person who cuts your hair is lower class, where do they live? Have you ever seen any housing that looks like it’s lower class?”
Ana pondered this. She had not travelled anywhere in Virmar and her time in Penncony had been too short for her to investigate much. But she and her friends had ranged all over Flaga and she couldn’t remember any homes that were smaller than hers. She thought about it, then made the connection.
“They live in the country and the government doesn’t want anyone to see.”
“Again, you would think. But that is not so. I will now explain what the government is doing and then ask some more questions. Okay?”
Ana nodded, becoming more curious the longer Rosita spoke.
“Every citizen is employed by the government. Most do not know they are working for them, believing their credits come from private companies. But all are paid enough to survive inside the walls. The owners of all the businesses in Atlantica are subsidized, again without realizing it. The government wants a functioning society that does not have its citizens question anything. They own every building in Atlantica and control everything from the banks to the vid companies. For example, I pay nominal rent, my water and energy cost almost nothing, and the government sets the prices for the food I serve.
“But it’s all fake. When you purchase something, you sign a tab indicating what you are buying and how much you will pay. The person you are buying it from submits a request and the credits are transferred from one account to another. The business then uses those credits to purchase more goods to sell. But none of the money is real and the credits do not exist. The government supplies everything, giving people what they need or want. Everything, and I mean every last thing, is owned by the government. They have only set up the appearance of a free-market society to keep people working. Which brings us to the supplies.
“The government could not have people living in the country and working inside the sectors. Someone would eventually open their mouth and the secret would be out. Their control would start to tumble. Not everyone wants to live in a city. It is much harder to control the population if they are spread across the countryside. So Atlantica has taken the smartest, brightest, and most educated, and separated them from those that work menial jobs.
“The butter, milk, eggs, and so on, come from the country. There are small, walled sectors where the people who tend the farms live. They are strictly controlled, the people forced through a checkpoint when they leave for the farm in the morning and when they return in the evening. Their food, energy, and basic supplies are strictly rationed. And they have no idea how close they are to the large, wealthy sectors.”
Ana stared. This is what Jan had meant when he talked about the lower classes. The people there were treated as lesser citizens.
“They can’t know about us,” she whispered. “And we can’t know about them. For basically the same reason. And if the lower classes knew about us, they would become jealous. Rise up. Attack the larger sectors. Possibly overwhelm the government.”
“Yes. That is why the elite sectors are refused the right to see the country. And the lower classes are made to believe that all the sectors look alike and food is scarce, so the government takes it to share evenly among everyone. But there is more.”
Ana was feeling overwhelmed. She wasn’t sure how much more information she could handle, but she didn’t want to stop, knowing she might never have the opportunity to speak this freely again.
“Ana, what do you know about the border between Atlantica and Centra? And what do you know about Centra itself? Tell me everything.”
Ana knew this wouldn’t take long. She had only recently come into what little knowledge she had.
“The mountains between Centra and Atlantica form the border. Centra is much larger than Atlantica but is uninhabitable due to the Great War. It’s a wasteland and Atlantica abandoned it. Nobody lives there and no country claims it. Centra ends at another mountain range on the west side, then there is ocean.”
“You are only partially right. The mountains are the border, but Atlantica never abandoned Centra. They are still one country.
“Centra is much larger than Atlantica. More than twice as large. But it is not uninhabited, and it is not a total wasteland. The mountains that border it to the west do not end at the ocean. There is another area beyond. An area called Pacifica.”
Ana had believed nothing more could surprise her, but this floored her.
“Atlantica, Centra, and Pacifica were all one country before the Great War,” Rosita continued. “When the Great War started spiraling to the point of possible annihilation of everyone, the leaders met and discussed terms. Pacifica would become its own country, left to live in peace. Atlantica would retain Centra but had to agree to trade since Centra was where almost all the food was grown. In exchange, Pacifica agreed to ignore Atlantica.”
“Why would Atlantica agree to this?” Ana interjected. “I mean, why would they agree to give away food to a country they fought a war with?”
“Because Pacifica can destroy Atlantica.”
Ana gaped. The government claimed they had the mightiest army and that was why they had been left in peace. But Rosita was saying just the opposite.
“Then why didn’t they? I mean, why wouldn’t Pacifica destroy Atlantica? Then they could have it all.”
“Pacifica wanted peace. They didn’t want any more people to die and wanted to preserve what was left of the land. Destroying Atlantica would kill millions more as well as make most of the country uninhabitable. This agreement allowed both countries to co-exist, keeping people alive and letting the land be.
“It is not all one sided. Pacifica has their own farms with things that cannot be grown here. In exchange for the food Atlantica gives them, Atlantica also gets food in return.
“Centra is not all a wasteland. There are large areas that are but most of Centra is not. And there are more small sectors there, just like there are on this side of the border. All the wheat used for our flour, much of the milk, cheese, and other dairy foods, almost all our beef and pork, it all comes from Centra. As does most of our wood and wild game. Much of our freshwater fish is also from Centra.
“Atlantica has chosen to rewrite history to keep its citizens ignorant. The fact that Centra is not uninhabitable and that there are small sectors spread across the country could be a problem should word get out. But not as much as the knowledge that there is another country beyond Centra. One that used to be part of us. One that is free.”
Ana’s
head jerked up at that. Free? No wonder the government kept everyone ignorant. News like that could spark a rebellion.
“I was forced to oversee all the government operations in Centra after leaving the Academy. I made sure the sectors were properly monitored, the surveillance systems at both borders worked, and that the exiles never found haven in any of the sectors they passed. I was entrusted with information only the highest officials had. And I was given a huge amount of freedom. But even I was unaware of the extent of the lies.
“I knew about Pacifica. I had to, being sent to check on the border regularly. But I had been told Pacifica was the enemy and still desired our land. I never questioned it, just as you never questioned what you were taught.
“I was sworn to secrecy. If I ever breathed a word, I was told Piero would be exiled. Since I knew what that meant, I kept my silence. I did my job even though I hated it. Hated rousting citizens from the safe places and forcing them back into the wild, knowing I was sending them to their deaths. I would often try and delay the evictions, misplacing papers or leaving the sector before reading the reports. But I could not ignore the exiles forever.
“I always worried that eventually a name I recognized would end up in front of me. I was incredibly lucky and none ever did. But I did find something that allowed me to approach the government and demand a reassignment.
“I discovered that a highly placed government official was going to defect to Pacifica and planned on taking government secrets with them. I reported it but before I gave them the name, I requested a transfer to civilian life. Knowing how much in demand Tosco’s skills were, I requested I be allowed to open a restaurant in Virmar with Tosco as head chef.
“The government first tried to threaten me, then my family. But they failed to take into account I had been trained to withstand torture. And my family, well there is a good reason why my family is untouchable. I called their bluff. They eventually caved, I gave them the name, and now I have my restaurant.”
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