The president raises a hand and shakes her head. “Already there are those who waver in their support. A delay could push them to change their minds. Unless you can guarantee that you will be able to find what I need—”
“You know a guarantee is not possible.”
“Which means the debate goes ahead as planned. One way or another, by the end of the week I will declare victory.”
“Then there is much to discuss.” Symon gives a weary sigh, but I do not think I imagine the triumphant glint I see in his eyes. Suggesting the president would lose political clout by postponing her Debate Chamber proposal was his way of eliminating any thought she had of doing just that. He is smart. I hope she is even smarter.
President Collindar nods. “I will meet you downstairs as soon as I am done discussing my intern’s University experience. I thought having a student refresh my memory of the curriculum would help, considering the topic of this week’s debate. This shouldn’t take long.”
Symon casts one more look at me before nodding his head and disappearing through the door. When he is gone, President Collindar sits in a chair across from me. “I told Symon and other members of my staff that I asked you to meet with me this weekend after you finished the work you were assigned by your teachers. I thought it would be safer for you if wo
rd spread that you were here at my command instead of by your own initiative. There are events happening this week that could make it difficult for you to be seen as more than just an intern for me and my office.”
“I know,” I say.
One of the president’s eyebrows rises, but she does not speak. She simply waits for me to continue. I take a deep breath and straighten my shoulders. How I present my information is just as important as what I say. I must keep calm. In control. This is the most important test I have faced thus far in my life. Too much is riding on the correct answer. I cannot fail.
“I know your team has been searching for tangible proof that Dr. Barnes’s methods for Testing and in running the University push beyond the bounds of what is acceptable. I’ve been told that without this evidence, the vote to remove Dr. Barnes from control will be unsuccessful.”
President Collindar leans back in her chair. Her dark hair gleams against the light blue fabric as she studies me. “Your information is accurate. Could the reason you’re here now change that?”
“I hope so. Although not in the way I think you mean.” I take a deep breath and explain. “The Tosu City official who escorted me from Five Lakes Colony to The Testing began working for you just before my internship started. His name was Michal Gallen.” I see a flicker of awareness cross her features as the name registers. “Michal told me he was transferred to this office through the influence of a man named Symon, who was leading the movement to put a stop to Dr. Barnes and his extreme methods. I was informed that because of my age, it was too dangerous for me to be involved in the rebellion against Dr. Barnes. I had nightmares about my Testing experience. I didn’t know if the flashbacks were real, but they made me determined to help in any way I could. Without Symon’s knowledge, Michal gave me a task. He asked me to help find the proof needed to convince the Debate Chamber to vote Dr. Barnes from power. Yesterday, I brought Michal the evidence you’ve been seeking.”
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.”