The Intellect

Chapter 4

Year 353

I stare down at my telemessenger, waiting to feel my own reaction to the message on the screen. Pride, achievement, thrill. But there's nothing. The interrogation changed everything.

    Intellect Renna,

Congratulations. You have passed Tier 3 Advanced Training. Your security clearance has been adjusted via your Intellect choker. You have also qualified for further training in Tier 4 Advanced Training. Should you choose to accept, you will be invited to join the highest echelons of the Civilization.

Embrace the Civilization's future.

The Civilizers

    I've been waiting, preparing, working for this moment for years. Tier 4 Advanced Training. The highest security clearance available. But with what I know now, the excitement I'm supposed to feel is hollow. I used to look up to the Civilization; it had its faults, but I trusted it to care for its people, provide us with opportunities and growth. Now these black walls feel like a prison and I am an imposter, walking through the halls pretending to be a loyal civilian while all I harbor is doubt.

    Tier 4 Advanced Training. For years, I imagined what my life would be like as a Tier 4 Analyst. I would have access to the most challenging, rewarding projects the Civilization has. I would have the freedom and position I always craved. I would finally be a civilian, not a half breed. Now, associating the Civilization with freedom makes me scoff. I touch the burn marks on my collar bones, courtesy of the electroshock machine, and trace the outline of scarred skin. I can't forget what happened to me for those six days. Maybe people like Ryke can put that behind them or use it to drive their dedication to the Civilization, but not me. I refuse to see the Civilization through rose-colored lenses any longer.

    I toss my telemessenger onto the charcoal gray comforter on my narrow bed and sit on the floor against it, heaving a sigh. My head falls into my hands and I massage my temples. Do I start Tier 4 Advanced Training? If I don't, Mizpah and the Civilizers will be suspicious. They'll suspect that I harbor anger over my interrogation, that I no longer trust the Civilization. If they think I'm too much of a wildcard, they'll just expel. But if I do enter Tier 4 Training...the thought makes me sick. How can I pretend to support them, to be one of them, when I know the cruelty they're capable of? I know the interrogation was supposed to scare me into submission, but it didn't work. Sure, I'm terrified, but I'm more terrified of returning to my life as a civilian than I am of what the Civilization can do to me.

    A knock on the door interrupts my thoughts and I sigh, groaning as I get up from the bed. The new year celebration is taking over the Civ Center, providing the perfect cover for me to stay in my room and chase my thoughts in circles. I grab the cold metal door handle and swing it open, unsurprised to find Orrick and Elz in the hallway. They've been bugging me for weeks to explain what's going on. I told them about the interrogation, but I haven't been able to explain my discontentment or where it will lead, not even to myself.

    "Hey, Renna," Elz says, pulling me into a brief hug and then passing me to enter my room.

    "Ren." Orrick nods as he pulls the door shut behind him.

    "What's going on?" I ask, sitting cross-legged on the edge of the black dresser that holds my meager collection of clothing.

    "Did you get it?" Orrick asks, picking up my discarded telemessenger and waving it in my direction.

    The coil in the pit of my stomach tightens and I avoid Orrick's eyes. Of course they would send out all of the Tier 4 AT invitations on the same day; I shouldn't be surprised that Orrick received his too.