He shrugged. “I was playing devil’s advocate. Murder, for any cause, turns my stomach. I’ve seen more than enough for a lifetime. At Point Landing alone, the death toll tripled when Voltaire’s Army surfaced. It wasn’t safe to walk out at night. I can fight disease, but no one can save the Kongo from itself, and I won’t waste my time.”

His cynicism left me deflated. The people in the village looked up to him, but he spoke as if he didn’t care. “So, that’s why you left Point Landing,” I said. “But why did you come here?”

“I told you, I’m a medic. I heard a rumor that someone was sick. So, my father arranged for me to come here and take the Final Exam.”

His father arranged it! That was important. I wet my mouth, determined to remember every word he said—nothing lost in translation.

“He didn’t do it for me,” he said, grimacing at the thought of his father. “I now owe him a favor, and I’m sure he’ll collect in due time. But I couldn’t resist the opportunity to study the fever again.” He looked at the sky and cursed. “Damn, Cobane. We have to hurry. We’re already late.”

“Wait, if you don’t care about school, why are you so set on getting to this meeting? Shouldn’t you stay in the village?”

“You’re forgetting what happened at Point Landing. So long as we keep what’s happening in the village quiet, I have a chance of finally understanding this fever. If Voltaire’s Army learns that the sickness has spread here, they’ll begin recruiting. Some workers will join them, but others will push back—just as you saw tonight. There will be fighting, stoning and lynching. The Overseer or Jones will double the Guard stationed here, and chaos will ensue. If Jones finds out that the pair of us weren’t at the meeting—”

“She’s sure to investigate why,” I finished.

“Exactly. She’ll draw attention here, and Voltaire’s Army will follow. The minute I think Jones is catching on, I’m gone.”

My lip curled; I couldn’t help it. “You would leave all these sick people, just to avoid a fight?”

He lifted one eyebrow. “Are you advocating war, Cobane?”

“No, but—”

“Then we agree. Anything done in pursuit of peace is necessarily justified by it.”

I bit my lip, hearing my own words thrown back at me.

“Look, I’m not saying I won’t leave medicine. I will. I just won’t be here to supervise. My father has tried to involve me in politics since I was a kid. The one thing I learned is that fighting leads nowhere. I’m a man of peace.”

We had reached the gate. He produced a key and walked in ahead of me, gesturing for me to stay behind.