“If I don’t see you again, Cobane, know this: you’re not trapped here in America, there are other lands under the sun. You must question everything—and go west.”

Part Two: The Village

The Memory

THE MEMORY

8 MONTHS EARLIER...

The work was nuanced, and I’d been at it for hours, skipping breakfast, eating noon meal behind a mountain of dusty texts. The small of my back ached, despite Teacher Saxon’s cushioned desk chair. I sighed, set my quill down and checked the hour. Five minutes until supper. If I skipped it, I would finish before tomorrow’s contest deadline. Then, if my luck held, I would be the next Silver Award recipient.

With renewed energy, I regained my quill as the door to the study opened. Eager to honor the trust Teacher Saxon had shown by allowing me to continue my research in her office as she attended a faculty meeting, I bent over my work, assuming a dependable air.

Two pairs of shoes scuffled into the room. I heard the door shut. When they failed to note my presence, I realized the crag of research material blocked their view of me. Before I could call out, a voice began speaking in the midst of conversation. It was Teacher Rowan.

“Are you with us?” she said.

Teacher Saxon responded shakily. “Oh, I don’t know, maybe we should go to Alice with what we know now.”

Alice, I knew, was Teacher Jones’ given name. I shrank in the chair, now desperate to remain concealed.

“Go to her for what?” Rowan said. “She will never question him.”

“If we present this new evidence, she’ll have to. She’ll have no choice.”

“Come now, Polly. She has plenty of evidence to oppose Dana Kumar right now. You said so yourself. There’s the letter from my contact about his affair, the lack of transparency, the missing hydroplanes. We’ve been over the facts a dozen times. Do you need to hear them again?”

“Okay, the affair with the Kongo girl was wrong—despicable even. She was so young. And I heard that she bore him a child. But it’s not proof of a divide in the Party. We’re all for the Seed, and we have to stick together if we’re going to withstand political challenge. I’m sure if we think it through—”

Rowan huffed, cutting her off. “It seems you do need to review. Fine. What about his lack of transparency?” Rowan asked.

“What about it?” Saxon countered. “Dana Kumar recruited us to the Party! He’s not required to defend himself against ludicrous accusations.”

“Far from ludicrous,” Rowan declared.

“Not far at all! Dana sponsored the Mind-Lab Bill,” Saxon said. “The bill that provided the funding to expand the Soybean Project. Why, then, would he try to have the Seed banned? It’s nonsensical.”

“And the missing planes?” Rowan asked. “Explain that!”

“How many did your contact say are missing?” Saxon said.