She found her voice when he looked at Thrym, who entered behind her. “What happened out there? Why did the woman call me a sacrifice?”

Atlas leaned forwards and gave her a flat look. Romy imagined he might sigh if the situation wasn’t so tense.

“First, you need to be aware I can’t tell you everything. I must seek clearance from my superiors. The information is classified,” he started. His eyes flashed as he said the words.

“That’s poacher poop!” Romy spat out. “We deserve to know everything.”

“And yet you can’t. Because the knowledge will force you all into a certain life. One you won’t understand the consequences of right now.”

“How are there humans living on Earth?” Phobos demanded.

Atlas didn’t seem the least bit phased by Phobos’s outburst. He stared at the knot dispassionately.

“No more lies.” Romy implored him with her eyes to tell them something.

Indecision marred his face.

“Atlas,” she said softly. “We need a reason to trust you.”

She needed a reason to trust him.

Resolve lit his dark eyes and Atlas spoke as if the words were being dragged from his mouth. “When Meredith thanked you for your sacrifice, she was thanking you because, to her, to everyone here, you have made a sacrifice.”

Romy stared at Atlas, not understanding.

He closed his eyes briefly. It was nothing really, just a long blink. But Romy noticed nevertheless.

“You choose to live on the orbitos, protecting Earth,” he said finally.

“Choose to?” Elara echoed.

Thrym rose to his feet. “It’s not a choice,” he said slowly. “We must protect Earth until we can return. Once it is safe for human life. . . .” Thrym trailed off, having seen the contradicting evidence since setting foot on land.

The truth was clear in Atlas’s stone-grey eyes.

It was like someone had let go of a stretched rubber band in her mind. Pain stabbed at Romy’s temples. The terrible thought she’d had the day before. . . .

“It’s a lie,” Romy said hoarsely. “The orbitos . . . everything . . . it’s all a lie.”

Elara gasped and rocketed from her chair. Phobos and Thrym were yelling at Atlas, demanding answers. Romy covered her ears, trying to process it all, wishing one of her other theories had been right instead.

Any theory would have been better. That life on Earth had continued somehow, and the Orbitos were unaware because of lost communication. That a few of the knots had deserted to live down here. That Atlas was telling the truth at the beginning. That the researchers were lying to High Command. She would have preferred any of those to what Atlas had just confirmed.

Never once had she suspected her entire existence was based on a lie.

“Did global warming even happen?” she choked. The others turned to her, but she couldn’t peel her eyes from Atlas.