Graduation Day (The Testing 3)

“I wish I were.” I give her a quick synopsis of the tug of war happening over the Debate Chamber vote and the rebellion the president was counting on that has proved false. Only five minutes remain until the start of class when I say, “I’ve learned enough to know that The Testing needs to end. Unlike President Dalton in the Fourth Stage of War, President Collindar has chosen to strike against Dr. Barnes and the people who could plunge this country again into war. But I can’t do what she asks without your help.”

Two minutes. I’m going to have to run to make it to World History in time. Hoping I have given her enough information to at least make her consider helping, I ask, “Can you meet me here in two hours?” The Calculus building is directly across from this bench. I can make it here easily after my second class.

Stacia stands. “Sure. If for no other reason than I’m dying to hear what else you have to tell me.”

“Don’t say anything to anyone until we speak. There are people . . .” One minute. “Just don’t say anything about this. Okay? Or we’ll both be really sorry.”

When Stacia nods, I race across the grass, hoping I have not just made a mistake.

Class is starting when I hurry into the room and take a seat in the back. Professor Lee’s raised eyebrow is the only indication that he has noticed my tardiness. While he begins the lecture, I fish a notebook and pencil out of my bag, then leave the bag open beside me so I can see the light of the monitor telling me if Ian’s position changes.

The need to watch the monitor, the worry that Stacia will not heed the warning I gave her, and the knowledge that Professor Lee is one of the people I am supposed to eliminate dominate my thoughts. Professor Lee has always seemed so interested in his students living up to their potential. It seems impossible to believe he would be an advocate for a larger pool of Testing candidates. Could he really want to eliminate the potential of so many additional candidates just to provide more competition during the selection process?

“What can you tell us, Ms. Vale, about Prime Minister Chae?”

The sound of my name makes me realize that I have not been paying attention. I’m just glad Professor Lee said my name before the topic; otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to answer now. Thankfully, this is a topic that was covered not only in our school back in Five Lakes, but in Early Studies. “Prime Minister Chae was the broker for the Asian Alliance. It was his refusal to accept defeat during the Sanai Summit that pushed the talks forward. He is also credited with helping maintain peace by encouraging compromise between the leaders of the Asian Alliance, but despite the public’s desire to see him lead, Prime Minister Chae refused to push himself forward to be the leader of the Alliance. Had he accepted leadership, his desire for peace could have prevented the escalation that led to the Seven Stages of War.”

Professor Lee studies me. “Is that what you believe?”

I feel everyone waiting for me to speak, but I have no idea what to say.

Professor Lee smiles and glances around the room. “Is that what you all believe?”

Now everyone has been put on the spot. And, like me, no one else knows how to respond. A few heads nod but Professor Lee doesn’t speak. It is clear he is waiting for someone to speak. So, I do. “That’s what you taught in Early Studies.”

Professor Lee’s smile grows wider. “It is. We know certain facts from those years before the Seven Stages of War. We know Prime Minister Chae fought for unity and that while many believed he was out to create a power base for himself, he never tried to gain leadership of the Alliance. We also know that he traveled around Japan, China, and North

and South Korea stressing the need to put aside differences and follow the new laws. After that, we know very little. Which is why you have only been taught and tested on those facts. Today, I’d like to talk about what we don’t know.”

The confusion on my fellow students’ faces must be mirrored on my own. I’d heard about the sequence of events that led up to the Seven Stages of War before I started school. I have been tested on them in Five Lakes, during The Testing, and throughout Early Studies. The idea that there is more information that I have never been told has me leaning forward in my seat waiting for whatever Professor Lee will say next.

His smile disappears. “Prime Mister Chae’s involvement in the great treaty, his call for peace, and his death are well documented. However, very little about the years when he stepped out of the limelight have been verified, which is why you have never discussed the possibilities behind those dormant years. I’d like to remedy that today.”

Walking up and down past the aisles of desks, Professor Lee talks at length about the mystery that surrounds Prime Minister Chae’s decision to step away from the government for ten years only to reappear when the Alliance was threatened because Mongolia seized land from China. Prime Minister Chae reemerged and once again brokered peace. A movement developed in every Asian Alliance country. People demanded that the current Alliance leader step down and that Chae take his place.

According to Professor Lee, books that survived that period suggest Chae spent the early part of those mystery years traveling throughout the Alliance countries, cultivating followers while professing to support the current leader. It has never been confirmed, but there were rumors that Chae was spotted in Mongolia not long before its president directed his troops to cross the border into China.

“Since so much of our world’s history was only documented with technology that was lost during the wars, no one knows for certain whether these events are rumor or fact,” Professor Lee says, pausing near my desk. “If they are true, then I think it is very possible that Chae’s well-known selflessness was a cover for his true intent—to become the leader of the Asian Alliance by prompting the Mongolian president to create a threat that would thrust Chae back into the political arena. If this speculation is correct, Chae laid the groundwork so that it would appear he only took the reigns as head of the Allied governments by humbly accepting the will of the people.”

Professor Lee smiles. “His plan could have succeeded had he not been assassinated. After that, you know the rest of the story.”

Civil war broke out in the Asian Alliance as each country accused another of the assassination. The unrest prompted the Mid-Eastern Coalition to attack Japan. One by one, every country was pulled into the war as tensions around the world exploded. Eventually the rumors of Chancellor Freidrich’s involvement were confirmed, but by then the unrest was too great to turn back. Bombs were dropped. Cities leveled. The population of the world was reduced to a fraction of what it once had been. I thought I had understood the reason why our world was destroyed. But if Professor Lee is correct, we have only been taught part of our history. That shouldn’t be a surprise, considering how much was lost in the Seven Stages of War. Those who lived through the war were intent on survival, not on preserving our past.

“It is interesting to speculate on what might have happened had Prime Minister Chae not been assassinated, and even more fascinating to consider what history might look like had he chosen to retain his role in the government and not pushed for more.” President Lee surveys the room and glances at the clock. Our time is up. Though after what I have learned I don’t want to leave. Not if there is still more to hear. My classmates must feel the same. Not a single student has begun to pack up.

“And now for your assignment,” Professor Lee says. “I would like you to consider what we know to be fact about the state of the world governments at that time and write a paper telling me what you believe would have happened had Prime Minister Chae not been assassinated. I wish to be dazzled by your keen political and historical insight. Those who impress me most will be selected to participate in a special seminar. One that will discuss what is happening outside of the United Commonwealth right now and speculate on what might happen next.”

He closes the book in front of him, grins at the stunned expressions of everyone in the room, and heads out the door. Despite everything that has happened over the past couple of days, I can’t help but feel a spurt of excitement at the idea of delving deeper into our past and discovering what is happening outside our country. Are there others fighting to restore the earth? Could the course of action I have decided upon affect more than just the Commonwealth?

I want to believe that Chancellor Freidrich had Prime Minister Chae assassinated not to retain power, as some believe, but because the action would keep the Alliance stable. Instead it plunged nations into a war that led to the downfall of the world. Dr. Barnes is not Prime Minister Chae. He has not been an advocate for peace. Yet his work selecting leaders has helped revitalize this country. While I think The Testing is a terrible betrayal of everything I have been taught to believe in, others might not agree. I am betting that some Testing candidates, if their memories were restored, might even see Dr. Barnes as a savior. Will Stacia be one of them?

I’m still thinking about this and the events that have made me resolve to employ some of the same principles used in The Testing as Enzo and I walk together to our next class—Advanced Calculus. I have not yet decided what test I can give him, and I wonder if the fact that he knows I killed Damone and hasn’t reported me to Professor Holt is test enough.

But it isn’t, because I don’t know where his family’s loyalty lies.

As we walk up the steps of Science Building 4, Enzo stops me and asks, “Is everything okay?”

I blink.