Three curious pairs of eyes turned to me. I started, realizing they waited for me to weigh in on their discussion. I was a senior, valedictorian of my class, nearly as good as a Teacher in their minds. I looked at each of them, then told the truth. “It doesn’t matter where you sit,” I said.

They exchanged curious looks, but said nothing.

I lowered my voice. “What matters is that you sit together. A wise man, a worker named William, told me that. There is no stronger sword than the people together,” I said.

I’d stunned two of them into silence. The third student nodded as if she understood.

I turned to her. “Have you seen the senior students this morning?”

“No, Keeper Cobane.”

“Arika is just fine. I’m not a Keeper yet. Do you know where they are?” I asked.

“Yes. They’re in the test room suite. The kitchen staff set a breakfast for their exclusive enjoyment.”

I nodded. Jones mentioned the special breakfast on the last day of class. “Thank you,” I said, resting a hand on her shoulder. “And don’t forget what I said.”

She stood straight and nodded again.

As I discarded my tray, I considered what the next year would be like for her class. In light of the New Seed, many of them would be unnecessary—fewer workers required fewer Keepers to keep them in line. The Teachers would likely divide the students into two groups. One would go on to Hasting and the other would be deemed nonessential. They’d be exterminated and their lifeless bodies thrown into the pyre. I ascended the stairs, deep in thought. The old worker song played in my mind.

Swinging the sickle, cutting the wheat, tossing the wheat, swinging the sickle.

How would the chaff be separated from the wheat, I wondered. As students of Record Keeping, we were trained to believe that our noses, hair, and lips signified our superiority. So, what now would justify the slaughter of half the elite? Would it be by height or weight? Maybe the relative lightness of their skin? So a student with Jetson’s fair complexion would be safe, but one with my medium skin tone, or darker, would be killed?