“There’s so much to learn about our past and why we’re here,” Logan said. “I’ve just scratched the surface. The Travas tried deleting all the files, but they were protected by the system’s safety guards and buried.”

“The system’s guards? What about the Controllers?”

Logan flipped his hand as if dismissing an underling. “No evidence of them. At least no indication that the Controllers are actual people. It’s the system’s operating parameters and fail-safes. Also certain directives have been programmed into it, which were set by the original designers.”

“What directives?”

“Like the one about our population. Once we reach Outside, the designers wanted to make sure we had enough people to survive. These directives couldn’t be changed or altered, so the Travas must have thought they were a divine message.” Logan chuckled. “Anyway, it’s amazing Domotor found those buried files, and was able to copy parts of them.”

“It wasn’t Domotor. He was the leader of the group, but Nolan Garrard was the first to find them.”

“Then Garrard was a genius.” Logan tapped a finger on his chair. “Speaking of Garrard, did you want to read your file?”

My file? It took me a moment to remember the file marked with my birth week and hour. “No.”

“But it’s important. Your mother explains her actions. You need to forgive her.”

I glared at him. “She betrayed you, too. We almost lost.”

“Almost. She didn’t tell them everything about our plans. How do you think we rallied?”

“I don’t care. She told them enough. Besides, Karla could have planted the information about my birth parents in the computer. It could be a complete hoax and she’s not related to me at all.”

“There’s a way to prove or disprove the relationship,” Logan said.

“How?”

“With your blood. Those vampire boxes do more than test for pregnancy.”

Logan had overwhelmed me with information. I wandered around in a daze until I was needed for yet another Committee meeting. The uppers and lowers squabbled like children and I wished to be back in the infirmary, helping the doctor. Or better yet, to be with Riley in our room.

As I let the discord roll over me, I decided I needed to be the Queen of the Pipes for a little while and not worry about blood tests and overcrowding.

Returning to the air shafts, I felt light and free. I explored more of the upper levels. With the constant threat of being caught by the Pop Cops, I had limited my forays above level four. Now, I climbed into the Gap and investigated the space between the pipes and the ceiling of Inside.

I felt as if there was a missing element. Air shafts and water pipes crisscrossed above the level. No laundry chutes or waste pipes—understandable since both of them go down to level one.

Climbing over a duct, I bumped my head on the ceiling and realized the missing element was foam. There was no insulating foam. I sat until the pain subsided.