She did know that. Schools teach that and give out birth control to anyone who wants it—no questions asked.

“Our desire is to give citizens the power to make choices without permitting chaos.”

Elysian pushes his chest out and lifts his chin as he talks. Lynell has heard all of this before: in school, on TV, in pamphlets, and in magazines. But something about hearing it straight from the lips of the man himself as he sits a foot away makes everything seem grander.

“Before our time, our country was practically drowning due to uncontrollable population growth. Not enough room for all the elders and terminally ill who needed full-time care. No homes for all the unwanted children. People had to rely on the justice system, which often failed them. Guilty people got off and no one could do anything about it. You had no right to claim your own justice from another. The death penalty issue split the country apart in every election cycle. Now, taking a life in the name of justice is in the hands of individual citizens. Use your Registration to end the life of a heinous criminal, someone who has done you wrong, and rid the world of one evil, or trust the system to keep them locked up. It’s your choice.”

Lynell looks up at Eric, who is smiling wide.

“Our country was deteriorating under the civil war and my family came up with the perfect solution: a self-regulatory systemthe Registration.”

He pauses, waiting for the effect of his words to sink in.

“Now, you’re probably wondering where you come in.”

Lynell fights the urge to nod vigorously.

“You, Lynell, are much more important than you’ll ever know. And you have information that you may not even realize you have.”

Lynell frowns.

“I wonder what you would say if I told you that I need a secret code, a very important cipher, to keep the Registration running smoothly and the country from falling back into lawless turmoil,” Eric Elysian says, leaning across the table so he’s much closer to her.

She thinks about what those men said. They wanted some sort of code from her.

Eric Elysian smiles. “I see the recognition in your eyes. You know about this code, don’t you?”

Lynell sucks her cheeks into her teeth, biting down. She can’t help but flick her eyes away from the man in front of her.

“You do!” he snaps loudly. “I need that code and you have it in your head.”

Lynell looks back at him, suddenly finding her voice. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I don’t have a code. I’d never even heard of it until one of your men attacked me.” Her mind tumbles over itself, digging through his words and every corner of her memory in a desperate search for anything that could be considered a code. But she doesn’t even know what it would be or how or why she would know it. She doesn’t know why Eric Elysian thinks she has any information he doesn’t. She has no idea why she would have anything to do with the operations of the Registration.