30.5:《A》Don’t noD

「page 606」

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This one 
will uphold
what is right.

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“Atienna?”

Atienna stirred from a half daydream. Klaus sat across from her, hand hovering. The first time Atienna had met Klaus had been through Werner’s gaze. A bookish person born into a warrish country. Never fitting in with his peers—not the ones who fell into rank-and-file nor the ones who quietly dissented it. She’d always presumed that Klaus had held some sort of pride in the distance between himself and these groups, but the more time she spent with him, the more she realized otherwise. He did not care at all.

The degree of difference between herself and Klaus. The degree of difference between herself and Cvetka. The degree of difference between herself, Cadence, Werner, and Maria.

“Sorry. Were you sleeping?” Klaus pulled away. 

Atienna looked around towards the men and women who were offboarding the bus around them. They were either dressed in button-ups, vests, and slacks or turtlenecks, dresses, and skirts that went just above the knees. The bags slung on their shoulders and backs were filled to the brim, hanging down so heavily that the straps looked as if they’d snap at a moment’s notice. 

Students.

Idyllic. 

“Don’t worry. I was just thinking,” Atienna assured him.

Thinking or daydreaming—rather, trying to. No matter how hard she tried, she wasn’t able to daydream of Safiyah. Well, she was able to daydream about her but it wasn’t quite like the daydreams she’d had since she’d come here.

Daydream.

That was putting it lightly.

Atienna off-boarded the bus with Klaus and took in the plaza that awaited her on the outside. If Atienna were to pry open one of her more favored books in her childhood home and flip to a chapter where some character was taking their first steps onto a university campus, she was certain the description would read just like what laid before her—

Light red brick layed out on the floor in a square witha  sandstone-color bricked circle at the center of it. At the center of that, a large N was built in with bricks painted green. A long marble fountain that cascaded sparkling water over the words ‘NDOTO UNIVERSITY’ rested adjacent to the square. Behind that stood a tall building with glass walls. Through that glass, Atienna spied several students clustered around tables inside.

Ndoto University.

Attended by Klaus Kleine. And Jericho. And Bachiru.

A place with a scholarly air filled with scholarly people.

“Do you happen to have your brother’s schedule for the day?”

“No… is that any trouble?”

“No, it’s alright. I’m not sure if you’ll find him now anyways even if you had the schedule. A lot of classes are… in session.  There’s a class that teaches Common that I’m enrolled in.” He glanced to the side briefly. “But they don’t call it Common.”

“I wonder if the language is still common,” Atienna pondered.

Klaus chuckled lightly.

“I was hoping to catch him at an ELPIS meeting,” Atienna drew. “My brother, I mean. Apparently he’s an ardent supporter of ELPIS and ELPIS gathers here frequently.” She reached into her bag and pulled out a bright folded paper. “At least, that’s according to the flyers.”

And according to what she’d garnered from Jericho.

“Oh. I…” Klaus’s brows rose. “Well, I understand. It’s complicated. With ELPIS…”

Ah. He was trying to reassure her. He needn’t. She didn’t feel any sort of embarrassment. Frustration, maybe, but not so much at Bachiru becoming entangled with ELPIS than at Bachiru becoming entangled with yet another political scene.

There was a beat of silence as Klaus toyed with the strap of his bag.

“Thank you for bringing me all this way,” Atienna said, offering a hand. “I’ll see you at the end of the day—”

“What? No, I’ll help you,” Klaus blurted. “I’ll come with you.”

Atienna’s brows rose. “I don’t want to detract you from your classes…”

Klaus appeared confused. He shook his head. “That—that’s all…”

Fake?

“It’s not like I don’t enjoy those classes, but I’m just going to them to blend in,” Klaus muttered. “To satisfy my guidance officer. For the evaluations. You don’t know what will happen if they don’t think you’re… ‘right’. Being locked up in that holding facility, probably.”

Oh?

Klaus studied her for a moment. “Do you not have a guidance officer?”

“No, I don’t…”

Klaus’s eyes widened and then he quieted.

“Am I correct in assuming that your guidance officer told you that everyone—even policy makers, guidance officers, and the like—are required to have a guidance officer and speak with them frequently?”

Klaus nodded.

Atienna smiled. “Thank you, Klaus.”

His brows met.

“For accompanying me.”

He smiled.

* * *

Atienna had always imagined she’d find home in a place like this. 

“Most student organizations meet in the evening when people are out of classes,” Klaus was saying as they paced down a long brick walkway lined with buildings on its left and with a mini garden on its right, “but ELPIS seems a little bit different. I think it’s because they are a bit more than a student organization? They have a building here that members gather at sometimes. I’ve… investigated once, but no one was there.” 

A young woman riding a bicycle passed them on the right.

Klaus pushed his glasses up his nose. “I tried to do some research in the library they have here. It was a bit difficult to understand everything. It is very thick? No, dense. The materials in that library.” He flushed. “I thought I was a good reader. I always imagined that if I wasn’t drafted I’d be a professor or something. But the stuff they learn here—it’s over my head. I’d like to think that maybe if  I went to a normal academy instead of the military academy, I’d be able to… I don’t know. Missed opportunities.”  He cleared his throat. “But the war that they all talk about… the names of the countries are different and what they fought over is different but it sounds a lot like the Reservoir War and… the beginning of this one. I know I said ‘different’ a lot, but it is similar.”

Atienna nodded. “That was the impression I had, but it’s nice to have confirmation.” She smiled. “Thank you.”

Klaus cleared his throat and nodded. “It seems after that war, there was something of an…” He struggled for a moment before he said in Capricornian, “…arm’s race. There were a lot of political ideas clashing. Countries split up because of those ideas… I don’t know the Common word for it, but… beliefs… political beliefs.”

“Communism and capitalism,” Atienna suggested. “Militarism and anti-militarism. Globalism and isolationism.”

Klaus nodded. “Yes, exactly. Have you researched too?”

Atienna shook her head then paused. If it were Olive here instead of her, he certainly would’ve dove without a moment’s hesitation into the libraries here. He would’ve absorbed all he could and perhaps would have even tried to see if there was the tiniest hint of a difference between the ‘vitae’ here and the vitae he knew. Even if the former wasn’t real. Most likely, he’d try to use it as a stepping stone to help Lavi.

Lavi…

“I should start looking into it,” Atienna murmured. “If we lean towards the idea that this might all be random, then perhaps it’s not worth the effort. But someone once told me that there’s no such thing as coincidence…”

Klaus led her to a cream-colored building with a brass terrace. They entered in through the glass door entrance and paced through a checkerboarded hall. There were several doors lining the hall with windows that allowed those inside to peer out and those outside to peer in. Atienna spied several filled teaching halls students staring holes into a chalkboard. 

A sign on one of the windows read, Seminar by P.D. Oran on the State of The Tree

Atienna merely exchanged a look with Klaus at this and said nothing.

They wound up a set of stairs at the center of the hall to the second floor and stopped short in front of the third wooden door from the stairs labeled 230. Just like the fliers said. A small chalkboard standing on a wooden stand read:

ELPIS MEETING ON WEEKEND BORDER PROTESTS MOVED TO 7PM

PLEASE JOIN US AND SUPPORT THOSE OUTSIDE OUR GATES
THERE WILL BE REFRESHMENTS AND FOOD 

Rather… mundane.

Atienna pressed her palm against the door. 

Although her—rather, Jericho’s and Cadence’s—relationship with ELPIS was a rather complicated one, she couldn’t imagine either of them knowingly stepping into an ELPIS gathering without a weapon in hand or a plan in mind. Chuckling internally at the irony, she pushed through the door and stepped over the threshold into a dimly lit room.

The first thing that Atienna registered was that a film was being projected on the room’s left-hand wall. A silent black-and-white film. Nostalgic. The second thing she noticed was the large white on black banner hanging from the very back wall. She had always considered the ELPIS symbol something taboo, something to be hidden away, something to hush and whisper about, and yet there that symbol sat displayed freely on that flag. Beneath that flag was a wooden desk, and on the corner of that desk rested one of those peculiar lava lamp devices. Sitting on top of that desk were a familiar pair. A man and a woman, hands intertwined, gazes clearly fixated on each other up until the very second Atienna and Klaus walked in. Francis Foxman and—

“Charite,” Klaus murmured.

Omicron looked up and froze. “Klaus…?” She appeared just as stricken as she had on that night in the Twin Cities. Then her gaze shifted to Atienna and her lips pulled tight.

Oh.

The couple were not the sole occupants of the room. There were other familiar faces scattered about the wooden room. Atienna, of course, had never seen them personally herself. It had all been through the eyes of the others. There was a man with dark hair, black eyes, and a gloomy disposition, and a woman beside him with wild dark brown curls. The man was wearing a vest similar to Klaus’s while the woman was dressed in a vibrant patterned blouse. The woman was most definitely Rho who was most definitely killed during the raid of the Serpens Establishment. Atienna could only assume that the man sitting beside her was some variant of Nu.

Several other members—both familiar and not—lounged on brown leather sofas pressed against curtain drawn windows. It was difficult to distinguish facial features in the dark illuminated.. Some stopped their conversations to regard Atienna and Klaus, while others continued on without care

Two rather noticeable men sat in the back playing chess around a small table by another lava lamp. A very familiar man wearing glasses and a sweater and another vaguely familiar familiar man dressed in an astonishingly bright blue suit with patterned flowers zigzagged from front to back.

“That’s Iota…!” Klaus half whispered, half exclaimed. 

Iota suddenly shot to a stand as he locked eyes with Klaus and then Atienna. He stormed towards them silently, causing Atienna to tense. But then he slipped right past them and towards the drab curtains behind them. He ripped them open with a vengeance for whipping around and snapping at no one in particular—“How many times do I have to tell you all to open these bloody curtains!” 

The light that flooded the room was blinding and eradicated the gloomy atmosphere in an instant. It also made the film displayed on the wall difficult to make out.

He whipped around towards the left corner of the room. “It’s because we sit here creepily in the dark that no one on this campus wants to join us.” He had a Librish accent.

“You need to shut out the outside world every once in a while…” Nu muttered. “To meditate on yourself.”

Oh… dear. 

“Y’don’t have to parrot Jericho.” Iota rolled his eyes. “Your major is classical literature. You shut out the outside all the time. How about going outside and touching the grass for once? Mother nature can only wait so long.”  He pointed to the occupied sofa to his left. “On top of that, all of this furniture is absolutely gaudy. Why can’t we refurbish?” 

“With what damned funds?” The other man who was sitting at the chess table snapped. Tau. He stormed over to Iota.  “We’re nearly out and the summer semester isn’t even half over yet! This was supposed to last until December!”

“You’re the treasurer! Don’t start going off on me.” Iota whipped to Tau. “How are you even the treasurer here? You’re not a student any more. You graduated years ago. With a doctorate. You’re middle-aged. Why don’t you go join a non-student organization of ELPIS. There are plenty out there—”

“I am not middle aged!” Tau half-gasped, half-snapped. “How dare you try to impose your agism on me. I am an Ndoto alumni. Page 20 of Ndoto’s student organization document states that alumni are free to participate in student organizations—”

Klaus whispered, tense, “They’re also…”

“—you know that everything I make and buy is sustainable,” Iota interjected. “So I don’t see why—”

“Sustainability isn’t cheap,” Tau retorted. “And just because someone slaps a sustainability label on something doesn’t mean that it’s actually sustainable. That’s the problem here in Ndoto. Nothing is regulated. Not even dreams!”

A dark-haired woman who was flipping through a magazine to Atienna’s left hummed. “Is the atmosphere scaring newcomers or is it the fact that you and Vincente always start this routine, hm?” She looked of Virgoan descent.

“She looks a bit different now, but I think her name was Delta,” Klaus whispered. “Gamma… killed her.”

Iota cleared his throat loudly before pacing over to the opposite corner and picking up a tray from a table there. Several teacups and tea platters rested on its surface.  “Sorry about that. Would you like a cup of—”  He paused as he stared at Atienna. “Aren’t you a policy maker…?”

The idle chatter in the room died in an instant. As Atienna felt her and Klaus become the focus point of all the stares, she couldn’t help but recall the time Cadence had wandered accidentally into the den of the ELPIS Leaders during the Twin Cities incident.

“I reckon you aren’t here for our meeting this evening,” a familiar voice called from behind Atienna.

A welcome familiarity, but when Atienna turned to the one who called her she felt anything but warm comfort. Before her stood Jericho, dressed in another flower-printed blouse. Beside him was the source of her unease—

Klaus went pale. “Isn’t that…”

Talib Al-Jarrah. He was dressed in a black and blue striped long-sleeved blouse and a pair of those ever-so-popular flared-out pants. He waved.

The formerly occupied table behind the two was littered with newspaper articles and posters of clear importance.

Jericho beckoned Iota. “Bring the tea, Sean.” 

Iota frowned. “But…”

“It’s not like we’re enemies,” Jericho said. “Should we turn away people just like they turn away people at the gates?”

“We’re not friends either,” Rho remarked. “Though perhaps we could move forward faster and better if we befriended them?” She glanced at Tau and as if only cue—

“‘Befriend’ a policy maker?!” Tau snapped. “That’s like shaking hands with the devil!”

Iota gave Tau a look. “Vincente, you’re one degree away from being a policy maker.”

One degree…?

Tau gasped rather dramatically. “How dare you! I am pursuing my career in law in order to make sure policy makers and guidance officers are kept in check. Passive resistance only goes so far.” He glanced at Jericho. “No offense to you all, of course. You’re just young—”

“So you do admit you’re old,” Iota remarked before whipping to Atienna and looking her up and down. “Has anyone ever told you policy makers that your suits and uniforms make you look dusty and outdated?” He looked her over again. “You’re the exception of course. Would you mind passing my complaint along? It’s hard to talk to a guidance officer when I’m not gagging at what they’re wearing.”

Someone cleared their throat. It was Francis who had detached from the table and was stepping in-between Iota and Tau. Omicron—Charite—was just a step behind him. He placed a hand on Tau’s shoulder then said, “It’s a pleasure to have a friend of a friend drop by. I just want to let you know that we appreciated your appearance for the TwinStars’s grand opening last weekend. What do we owe the pleasure this time?”

“Is there something we can help you with?” Jericho pressed. “Is there something I can help you with?”

“I was looking for my brother,” Atienna drew. “I overheard he’s frequented ELPIS meetings recently. He hasn’t been home recently, so I…”

Jericho nodded. “Oh. Bachiru.” A look akin to understanding flashed briefly across his face. 

There was some whispering.

“You can wait here for him. He’s never missed a meeting since he joined.” Jericho glanced at the clock hanging above the exit door behind him. “Our meeting starts at 7, so it’ll be a bit of a wait. Do you have other business on campus or…?” He paused and glanced around the room. “You could wait here.”

Iota abruptly shoved the tea platter into Tau’s hands. “Well, I have my internship to get to, so I’ll be off now. See you in the evening.”

Tau frowned at him before shoving the tea platter into the arms of another member who was sitting on the sofa adjacent to him. “I have to meet an associate for lunch. I’ll be seeing you.” He left without another word.

The pattern of departure continued like that for quite some time. It was rather comical—one ELPS member passing the tea tray to another before departing. Atienna wondered if Cadence would’ve made a remark if she were here—and if she weren’t facing those who wore the faces of ELPIS Leaders.

Atienna couldn’t tell whether or not the reasons for their departures were true. Frankly, she found some relief in the pressure that left the room with them. Soon, the only occupants were herself, Klaus, Jericho—who currently held the tea platter—and Talib, and Francis and Omicron. Quite a triplet of pairs.

“I hope you don’t mind them,” Francis said. “They’re…”

“They’re just very passionate,” Talib finished for him. He nodded and placed his hand on hips. 

Francis chuckled. “Right.” He glanced at Omicron and put an arm around her waist. “Don’t you have a class to get to?”

Klaus’s gaze flicked between them.

Omicron—Charite—arched a brow. “You want to be sending me away so quickly, darling?”

“Oh, it’s the opposite,” Francis replied, allowing his hand to slide down and hold Omicron’s. “I just want to know what class I’ll be sitting in next. I love how studious you can look sometimes.”

Omicron flushed.

Together they exited the room.

Atienna felt it—Omicron’s gaze on her back just before the duo exited the room together. Peculiar—Omicron’s behavior here and in Atienna’s daydream. Deciding to put the thought aside for the time being, Atienna turned her attention to Jericho.

He met her gaze.

“Do you have classes to get to?” Atienna wondered.

“I mostly have morning classes today,” Jericho replied, “and I just came back from my last one. I have an evening one but it won’t be for a couple hours.” He smiled wanly. “I was planning to grab lunch with friends, but I’ll keep you company.”

Friends…?

“Did you like them…?” Atienna asked. “Your classes?” And your friends?

“You seem very interested in the feelings of someone who you think isn’t real,” Jericho noted, “unless your perspective on things have changed recently.”

Oh. Rather biting.

Atienna then thought of Yulia and Cvetka.

“Do you think I’m real?” Jericho asked.

“I think you’re as real as the thoughts inside my head,” Atienna replied.

Jericho sank down into the couch behind him and set the tea platter on the armrest. He gestured to the cushion beside him as he plucked a cup from the tray and held it out. Atienna sank down and accepted the cup. Klaus hovered awkwardly in place, frequently casting frigid looks in Talib’s direction.

“I’d like to hear about it.”

“Hear about…?”

“Your version of the world.”

Click, click, click—the sound of the film reel dominated.

“Hasn’t Werner told you a thing or two about it?”

“I’d rather hear it firsthand from you.”

Atienna glanced at Klaus who studied her. She recognized that glint of curiosity in his eyes and wondered if she looked the same to others sometimes. She was a bit curious as to what this Jericho thought of her Jericho. Hearing what this Werner thought of her Werner was interesting. She had disagreed somewhat with his opinions, but she could understand where he was coming from. This Jericho on the other hand… Well, even if she were curious about his reaction, she didn’t quite want outsiders to hear about their harrowing adventures through Signum. Private matters, so to speak. Then again, was the Jericho sitting before her not an outsider as well?

“We’re all friends here,” Jericho said as if reading her thoughts. “But if you’re feeling uncomfortable…” He eyed Talib.

“Come, come.” Talib¹⁹ patted Klaus on the arm and gestured to the corner he’d occupied with Jericho just moment’s earlier. “Let’s walk in this direction while I think of something to entertain you with.”

Klaus tensed as did Atienna. He looked back at her as if for a direction—for an order. A second stretched for eternity. Atienna recalled how she’d left Werner under Talib’s care previously. Eventually, Klaus allowed himself to be led away.

Jericho nodded at her, leaning forward, hands clasped.

So, Atienna told him starting from the day she’d been poisoned. She skipped over some details, exaggerated some others, and elaborated on points she was still rather confused on. By the time she finished, her tea cup was empty and the clock read half-an-hour later.

“Does this sound a bit familiar?” Atienna tried once she’d finished. “From my understanding, we all had VNW together previously… and we had a delusion”—so to speak—she thought— “similar to this one.”

“It does sound familiar.” Jericho nodded and poured her another cup. “Nostalgic, actually.” He frowned a bit. “So, I—your version of me—has no family.”

You have us, Atienna wanted to say.

“Hm… your version of ELPIS really is ‘out there’ from your perspective.” Jericho took a sip of his tea. “Maybe even this ELPIS here is ‘out there’ too. Though… it seems that version of ELPIS was well-intentioned. Just like us. Except we aren’t given a clean slate… and we aren’t violent.”

“Maybe…”

“The line between revolutionary and terrorist, protestor and rioter has always been blurred throughout history,” Jericho drew. “That goes for all labels, really, to make it easier to categorize people into groups. That’s how you can make people lose sight of the individual.”

Atienna pressed curiously, “So does that mean you agree with ELPIS’s philosophy and actions? I mean, my version of ELPIS.”

Jericho frowned. “Let’s not put words in each other’s mouths now.”

Atienna felt something lurch in her stomach.

Jericho put a hand to his chin. “Your version of Jericho was very set on revenge. Blood-thirsty. Irrational. Dangerous. Like an anti-hero in a comic book.”

Oh, those comic books again.

Atienna drew, “Well… I wouldn’t say dangerous—”

“Not to you.” Jericho appeared amused. “He was on your side. Of course you wouldn’t find him dangerous. To people outside of you? I don’t think anyone would appreciate being around someone who could snap and violently hit them with a suitcase or a whip at a moment’s notice.”

Atienna frowned. “He was getting better,” she tried. “He was finding something else—”

“No. Your version of me put his own wants aside in order to relieve himself from the possibility of the guilt from hurting another person. Again. He didn’t forego anything. If Theta wasn’t Francis then your version of me would have murdered him for revenge without a second thought. Right?”

Atienna remained silent.

“As for Alpha—he wanted that man brought to justice even if it meant giving your antagonists the upper hand. But because of his relationship with your version of Maria, he restrained himself. None of those shows of restraint were his own choice. He didn’t actively choose to stop his vendetta. By default, he had to. He didn’t get better.”

“I—”

“The individual is suppressed for the wants of the majority, for the ‘good’ of the majority. That may be equality but it’s not equity.”

Oh, dear. He really did bring politics into absolutely everything, didn’t he? That certainly was a passion. A flavor similar to her own Jericho’s passion.

Jericho hummed in thought. “From my understanding, your version of Werner frequently put the majority’s wants before his own. Although your version of Cadence did the opposite near the beginning, she began pushing herself to do the same… with some difficulty. Your version of me learned how to do the same from watching the others, while Maria chose to do so to differentiate herself from the other Leos. I think.” He sighed. “It seems like Maria’s personality is so out there that she didn’t even change at all in your VNW delusion. And Olive… Your Olive is pretty self-explanatory. A bit naive but I admire his sense of morals. But what about you?”

What?

“You made the deal with these saint candidates out of your own volition,” Jericho continued. “You probably presented it like it was for the better of the group, but really it was all just for you. Not to mention what your VNW version did to Louise and what you were going to do to that duke’s brother.”

Atienna offered him a pleasant smile. “When you put it like that, it does paint me a rather selfish person, doesn’t it?”

“We’re all selfish,” Jericho replied. He didn’t say anything else. 

Atienna recognized this sort of play. It was a standoff of silence. Whoever spoke first would admit defeat. 

“For a reason some would argue, wouldn’t they?”

“Reasons aren’t too far from excuses,” Jericho said, clearly unamused. “In fact, you could argue that reasons are excuses.”

What was he trying to get at?

“That’s a very black-and-white perspective… don’t you think?” Atienna murmured. Which did remind her of her version of Jericho.

Jericho remained silent.

“Excuses request absolution while reasons request understanding—”

 “Have you ever noticed that it’s only the person who’s giving the excuse that tries to distinguish between reason and excuse?”

He was being quite antagonistic, wasn’t he? Doing the same thing to her as she’d done to Werner in the caverns and the other day, to Cadence, to Olive. Actually, this was not dissimilar to something she’d once told Cadence. Circumstance, situation, reason, excuse.

“Just because there’s understanding doesn’t mean we should be nodding along.” Jericho finally took another sip of his tea. “If that was the case, there would be no such thing as justice. That’s how the people on top manipulate the people below them. They ask for patience and understanding. Obviously things might be difficult but if we understand without pushing them or holding them accountable then it’s all for nothing.”

He was getting very political now. 

“Sorry,” Jericho said suddenly. His features softened. “I didn’t mean to antagonize you, Atienna. I’m just trying to understand how you see the world. It’s pointless to debate something that isn’t real. We should spend time talking about things that matter. Like the gates. About the policies that prevent people from crossing into Ndoto. Your old policies.” He paused, studying her. “I see by your reaction that you’ve already learned some of your policies and understand your position as policy maker.”

“Not fully,” Atienna admitted.

Was he trying to manipulate her now?

“We can fix that.”

Oh, he definitely was.

“And here I thought you were expressing earnest interest in my VNW perspective,” Atienna teased, “and concern with my condition.”

Jericho frowned slightly. The blow seemed to have hit. It hit Atienna too in a different way.

“I am concerned—”

“Can I ask some clarifying questions then?” 

Jericho hesitated and then nodded.

Atienna took the opportunity and pressed, “The ELPIS members here—”

“ELPIS Leaders according to your VNW,” Jericho acknowledged. 

“Yes, it’s quite… interesting, don’t you think?” She paused, thinking of her half daydream of Carl. “But… I noticed there’s a couple of ELPIS Leaders not here.”

Jericho arched a brow. 

“Pi isn’t here…. Epsilon isn’t here either, but presuming from the way things fall in place here—or inside my head if you prefer—he’s most likely with Maria. The version of him that we knew was named ‘Ambrose’.”

Jericho nodded. “Ambrose Campana? Yes, he’s an old member. Left after graduation. He works for Araceli, a friend of mine.”

Oh?

“She’s a guidance officer.”

“I see…” Atienna took a sip of her tea. “Well, there’s one another one I haven’t seen. I’m not sure what she’d be called here, but we knew her as Omega.”

Something in Jericho’s face changed. “Omega…?”

“Yes, she was…” Atienna studied Jericho’s face. “… killed by you. From my understanding, there was no vitae left of her, so she truly… became nothing.”

Jericho was pale now. 

The look of discomfort on his face was not dissimilar to the one she’d seen on Werner’s face. Something squeezed Atienna’s stomach—

“Ah-hee!”

Atienna turned as the door flew open. Three figures stood in the doorway. Two girls. One boy. Adolescents. Although Atienna had never laid eyes on the trio in her entire life, she knew immediately who they were. Her mind went to the three doors lining the hall leading to Jericho’s room back at his home.

Jericho rose to a stand. “What are you doing here? Did you just get off of school?”

“Yes, and Mom asked for us to bring you lunch,” the boy said, running up to him. He stood as tall as Jericho’s shoulders and had mischievous dark eyes and a head of curly hair. “You forgot it at home.”

“And we also forgot it at home,” the shorter of the two girls said, glancing around the room. “Ah-hee, this place looks depressing. I thought you said college was cool.”

Jericho put a hand on his hip. “You came here to bring me the lunch I forgot at home that you also forgot at home.”

“There’s that one place on campus that you said was really good,” the taller of the two girls drew slowly. “The one you said Ayda took you to…” She looked back at the other two. “Are you guys hungry?”

Ayda…?

“I’m famished,” the boy said.

The second girl nodded.

Jericho sighed and glanced back at Atienna. “I have to take my siblings off to lunch.” He paused. “Would you like to come or would you like me to bring you anything?”

Atienna felt faint looking at Jericho standing next to his siblings. She shook her head. “Oh, no. It’s  alright.”

“Talib?”

Talib, who was kneeling on the floor with scattered newspaper articles around him, popped up to a stand and caused Klaus beside him to startle. “Don’t mind if I do.”

The four exited the room together after a brief word of parting. Only the older girl of Jericho’s sibling trio gave Atienna departing wave.

Feeling even fainter, Atienna waved back.

* * *

It was 3:16 pm according to the clock.

Atienna and Klaus had spent an hour going through the different books scattered around the room. Atienna had wondered if they were being intrusive or overstepping boundaries, but she supposed those were just excuses. 

Half of the books were on political theories and ideologies. New wave communism paired with socialism and conservatism. Past Ndotoan policies including immigration quota restrictions, population distribution to districts, economic flow beyond meeting the citizens’ baseline needs, and guidance officer programs made up a quarter of this half. 

As expected, keeping up a utopia was rather complicated.

The other half of the books were on more concrete topics. Physics. Chemistry. Biology. Vitae Theory.

“I guess that confirms it,” Klaus said as he read through passages with her. “Vitae here is almost the same as Signum… I think we should… wait to tell Derik. I don’t know what he’d do to the hauptmann if he found out.”

Finally, she had concrete confirmation: vitae existed in almost the same manner here as it had in Signum. Vitae particles were the base of vitae according to the texts and—no, that wasn’t the important aspect. The fact that they were called vitae particles was what was important. A foot in reality. 

Well, actually. That was a rather silly thought.

That aside, the books were dense. Their prefaces and introductions weren’t so much of introductions as they were condensations of thousands upon thousands of research papers. Despite the difficulty, Atienna was able to parse a general understanding from it. 

One of the more digestible texts and passages read:

Once an individual crosses the border into Ndoto, they come under the domain of the tree. Within the ecosystem of the tree’s reach exist specialized small packets of energy that act as both particles and waves. 

These particles reside exclusively in Ndoto and are different from the particles that exist beyond the gates. Upon stepping within the borders, in order to reach a state of equilibrium, Ndoto vitae particles, dubbed N-VPs, shall filter into the new Ndotoans displacing the sparse resident particles. This is an entirely safe and natural  process and allows for immigrants to be included in Ndoto’s VP system and to return to the tree.

Atienna showed Klaus the passage.

He tensed as he read it. “You don’t think that—”

The door creaked open. Someone stood in the threshold over the door. It was not Jericho but a man whom Atienna associated with Jericho. And with Maria. Alpha. Proteus. The man had on a light brown sweater and had a manilla folder tucked under his arm. He startled when he registered them.

“I didn’t think anyone would be here just yet…” Proteus muttered. He stared at her before recognition flickered, and he peeled into the room. “Oh? Aren’t you Atienna Imamu? Were you thinking of joining?”

Atienna shook her head. 

“Well, that’s too bad. I founded ELPIS—did you know? Not just the student organization, but the original ELPIS,” Proteus said, “when I first came to Ndoto. You know they’re not like what they say on the news. Not like what they say in your reports”

Proteus, ELPIS’s founder. Another parallel.

“And… you’ve been ostracized?” Atienna tried before she covered her mouth. “Oh, I didn’t mean to put it so bluntly. It’s just the other night…”

“The old generation just doesn’t fit in anymore,” Proteus said. “The younger generation just wants to head in a different direction.”

Atienna considered offering a word of sympathy to the man but decided it would be in poor taste on behalf of her version of Maria and Jericho.

“Do you go here?” Atienna asked. “If you don’t mind me asking?”

Proteus chuckled. “I teach here. Graduate-level philosophy courses. A few undergraduate literature ones too. I do happen to be pursuing another degree at the moment. Completely opposite of my previous studies. Physics. Vitae particle physics. The tree is of great interest to me.”

“I share the sentiment.” Atienna nodded with a smile. She could feel Klaus’s discomfort. 

“Do you remember our conversation on mirrors?” Proteus asked abruptly.

“I remember a criticism or two.”

Proteus made a sound that Atienna could not discern as a scoff or a laugh. “You had a good point on mirrors. You said something about  a mirror only reflecting back a portion of the light, meaning it can’t fully capture the image that it’s reflecting. So, I have a question for you.”

“Oh, I can’t promise you I have the answer-”

“If that mirror image were to be reflected in another mirror, since that second mirror can’t fully capture the image reflected on it, that second mirror would hold an image even farther away from the original image… correct?”

“Ah, I’m sorry to say that I’ve only done surface-level reading on topics like that. I’m sure you’re far more of an expert.”

“I’m not one for hubris,” Proteus said. 

Ironic.

“Actually, I asked my students recently in one of my philosophy classes to extrapolate that idea about mirrors to human beings.”

Human beings?

Proteus nodded. “One of my students said  something along the lines of ‘Every time you go to sleep, you reflect back on your day—though you can’t remember every single detail of your day’.”

The film reel click, click, clicked in the background.

“‘You become a reflection of yourself from that day—not quite complete. Each time you wake and sleep, you drift farther and farther away from the original you.’”

Click, click, click. The screen was flickering between black and white now, dyeing the room in dark and light.

“I wonder why that’s why I can’t take Maria’s advice to heart.” He looked up at her. “Have you ever felt like that? Not like yourself?”

That was forward of him. The one thing about him that seemed to have remained the same was his lack of boundaries.

However, Atienna did have that sense recently. Everytime, she went to sleep and woke up the following morning, she felt farther and farther away from—from what? She wasn’t quite sure. She just couldn’t put a finger on whether or not this had begun after or before she’d found herself here.

The image was distorted.

“It’s a rather personal question, don’t you think?” Atienna asked. “But… I’ve always been told the opposite. That I’m the same as always. No mirrors here. Though—everyone else I know has changed one way or another. Perhaps, there’s a mirror there somewhere.”

Proteus hummed. “Well, you haven’t changed according to the people you know. But that doesn’t mean you can infer that everyone else has changed instead. Though I suppose the actual conclusion doesn’t matter…”

What? 

The door creaked open.

“Is that theoretical physics or physical philosophy?”

Proteus turned. “Well, hello, Mr. Foxman.” 

Francis stood in the doorway with Omicron.

“Those are very personal questions to be asking, professor. I think it’d be best to discuss those kinds of things with a guidance officer—”

“It’s just an open discussion, Francis,” Proteus interjected. He reached into his suit pocket and pulled out a small envelope and held it out to him. “I’d like to hear your thoughts too. You could at least spare your thoughts to an ELPIS sponsor, couldn’t you? I only came by to donate. I hope you don’t reject my donation like Jericho has.”

Francis frowned. The tension in the air was quite palpable. Atienna was glad she was not a part of it—though she was rather fascinated by it. The interaction between these not-ELPIS Leaders. The tension tightened, tightened, tightened—

Francis broke his frown with a smile and took the envelope from Proteus. “Well, since it’s transactional….” He  gestured to the book in Atienna’s hands. “I’m not one for analogies and metaphors—”

Ironic again.

“—so I hope you won’t mind me borrowing an idea, Miss Atienna.” He faced Proteus again. “We know that all vitae particles originated from one large cosmic event. They were all born together, had the same wavelength, had the same spins. Romantic, in a way.”

“Rather incestuous, darling,” Omicron noted, eyes narrowing in Proteus’s direction.

Francis glanced at her and chuckled. “You’re right. That was a poor choice of words.” He continued, “You could call them… perfectly synchronized. Theoretically, if one were to observe the properties of one particle, they’d be able to know the properties of all other particles. So, if you were to observe just one particle, you could understand the state, color, wavelength of all the others.”

Synchronized. 

Converging.

True Conductors.

“However, the laws of quantum vitae theory dictate that as soon as you observe a vitae particle, it changes states. This isn’t really an issue since theoretically you should be able to observe the state of all other particles just by observing one.” He slowly held up one finger.

Omicron’s brows rose.

“For dramatic effect,” Francis whispered to her before turning his attention back to Proteus. “But what would happen if several different particles were observed at the same exact moment. Going by the laws, they would change once observed—but since other particles are going through a different change at the same time, there’s a disruption event. Uniqueness. The particle after that event is far from its original state, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.”

“A rather complicated response.” Proteus hummed and his brows rose. “Oh, right. You did part of your undergraduate studies in vitae theory, didn’t you? Then you switched over to some sort of business field. For your family business, I’m assuming?”

“Theory can only get you so far,” Francis replied. 

“It’s not like you can’t apply all those theories into practice down the line.”

“I can, but for me personally, it would just take too long. I want to be able to help with the business sooner—”

“Perhaps, but I’d like to point out the fact that maybe if you stuck with your previous studies you’d be able to realize that you didn’t mention mirrors or reflections once in your answer.”

Klaus visibly winced. 

“Are you saying one field is better than the other?” Francis’s eyes narrowed just slightly but he kept an affable demeanor. “Maybe the entire thing never had to do anything with mirrors to begin with.”

There was another stretch of silence.

Omicron cleared her throat. “Darling.”

Francis glanced at her and tugged on his collar before gesturing to the door. “Please, Proteus.”

* * *

It was 5pm now. Francis and Charite had left together earlier, leaving Klaus and Atienna to themselves once again. The film reel was still going in the background, although the machinery that allowed it to play sounded like it was on its last legs. 

“I almost wish Derik was here,” Klaus was saying. “Today was…”

“The conversations were peculiar,” Atienna agreed. “Perhaps when there’s no war, poverty, or famine, people fight with words about these things instead. I wonder if these are better things to fight over…”

Klaus adjusted his glasses. “Maybe…” 

The doors creaked open again as the clock struck 5:15. Two figures once again stood in the door. A man and an adolescent, each holding a stack of colorful plastic boxes. Printed on each box were two familiar words. ‘Waltz’ and ‘Wibele.’ Both the man and the adolescence were just as familiar.

“Brandt?” Klaus shot up and ran over to the older man immediately. He grabbed him by the shoulders. “Alwin?! Alwin!”

Alwin Brandt, dressed in a sweater vest and flared out pants, appeared confused. “Klaus…?”

“You’re okay,” Klaus breathed. He looked Alwin up and down. “What happened? Where are the others—”

“What…? What are you talking about?” Alwin frowned. “Hey, I heard rumors that you caught VNW recently. Is it… true?”

Klaus caught himself as realization appeared to settle in. He dropped his hands and took a step back too. “Have you… seen Emilia?”

“Emilia…?” Alwin’s brows met. “I think I saw her two weeks ago. We haven’t really been keeping in touch…” He regarded Klaus carefully. “So the rumors are true.” He scratched the back of his neck. “I guess we have an excuse for turning in our literature project late. I just took it as a graduate elective anyways.”

“I…” Klaus struggled for a moment. “Are you part of ELPIS, Alwin?” 

Alwin arched a brow. “I used to be. Had a rebellious phase when I started college. Met Agatha—”

“Your fiance?”

Alwin nodded. “Realized it wasn’t for me. But I don’t mind helping every once in a while—”

“Hey, I’m here too, you know.” The adolescent who stood beside Alwin peered over the tower of boxes in his hands. Yuseong Claire.

“Claire?” Atienna tried curiously. “What are you doing here if you don’t me asking? Don’t you have school?”

“Yeah, but no. Ollie and I swung by the Wibele earlier and apparently ELPIS ordered a bunch of cupcakes for their meeting today,” Claire replied. “Mr. Waltz miscalculated the number of hands he had to help him move everything, so Ollie and I decided to be good samaritans. Mr. Waltz was with us earlier, but a couple of frat boys—” 

Frat boys?

“—came over and dragged him off somewhere.”

“Did Eunji not come along?”

“She did but I ditched her and Felix,” Claire replied. “Ollie’s trying to romance her right now, I think. Felix is probably around somewhere out there looking for me—”

Click, click, bzz.

The reel of film finally died, and the room dimmed slightly.

“—but you probably don’t care about him, right?” Claire peered over Atienna’s shoulder and nodded at Klaus. “And what about him?”

The ominous feeling of dread returned. Klaus seemed to sense it too because he tensed.

“Would I be correct in my rather biased assumption that you know a thing or two about what’s going on here?”

“What do you mean?” Claire dropped the boxes on the ground.

“Hey!” Alwin picked the boxes up and carted them over to the table in the back. “Be careful with these…”

Ignoring him, Claire pointed at Klaus. “Do you know what she means?”

Klaus tore his gaze away from Alwin and stared at Claire for a moment. “I’m sorry—what…?” He studied Claire carefully as if trying to put a name to his face, trying to place where he’d seen Claire outside of Ndoto.

“Who do you think I am asking me something like that?” Claire asked. He pointed to Atienna. “Who do you think you are?” 

His voice echoed.

“Was that an aggressive or inquisitive question?” Atienna pondered.

“You know my teacher talked about the concept of the eternal return today,” Claire said, apparently settling on a different topic. “It’s basically this idea that time repeats itself in an infinite loop—a cycle—and the same events happen over and over infinitely.”

That night in Cancer with Albertine that was imposed on by Scorpio intruded Atienna’s thoughts. The reminiscence, irony, and parallel made the entire conversation seem even more surreal.

“I was only half paying attention but I was thinking that you should get it right,” Claire said, glancing at the darkened screen, “because it’s the only time around that you have.”

One chance, hm?

“That must’ve been an interesting class.”

“Nope, it was boring.” Claire pointed to Atienna. “Oh! Isn’t that freaky?”

“I’m sorry…?”

“The book,” Claire clarified, gesturing to the book in her hands. “The talk about how stepping inside Ndoto makes the vitae particles inside Ndoto enter you. You’re basically changed the moment you step foot in here.”

Klaus tensed.

“I’m not sure if I would call it ‘freaky,’ but it definitely is peculiar,” Atienna noted.

“Hm. Maybe.” Claire shrugged before staring at Atienna. “To answer your earlier question, do you know the whole cat inside the box thought experiment thing?”

“I’m familiar. It seems to be a popular metaphor.” 

Claire smiled. “Well, you’re the cat inside the box.”

A chill crept up Atienna’s spine.

 Claire pulled back and burst out laughing. “I’m just messing with you. Ollie exaggerated how fun doing this is.” He waved as he exited the room. “Anyway, if you see Mr. Waltz before I do, can you ask him to send me a bunch of VPs as payment?”

Alwin shook his head as he rejoined them. “Kids these days.” 

* * *

It was 6:00 pm according to the clock above the door. Alwin had long since left.

Atienna had put a pause on rifling through the texts an hour or so ago and was now silently sipping tea alongside Klaus. There had been very little conversation between them and Atienna was rather appreciative of the fact. Usually, she couldn’t have these small non-awkward lapses in conversation with anyone other than the other five or Sefu. 

Sefu…

Atienna excused herself for a breath of air after a while and exited the room. As she wound down the staircase,  she observed the students exiting the classrooms in crowds. She paused at the bottom of the stairs and watched as they passed by some chattering, some silent, some with their heads buried in books. She wondered where they were headed to.

Sonder—dedicated towards people who towed the line between real and dream-like. Funny, perhaps.

An older man wearing horn-rimmed glasses passed by right in front of her.

“Izsak…?”

Gamma stopped and turned on his heels. He studied her inquisitively. “Do… I know you?” He was dressed in a colorful striped, long-sleeved blouse and—of course—those flared out pants. “Oh—aren’t you that policy maker?” He extended a hand.

Atienna accepted the gesture. “I…  I’m sorry if this is an intrusive question, but are you related to Elizabeta?”

Gamma’s face brightened immediately. “Am I related to her? Well Elizabeta just so happens to be my lovely wife, so if that’s a relation by any means, then yes. Yes, I am.” He lifted his hand proudly to show a ring. “We’ve been married for 13 years, 5 months, and 2 days now.”

He was like Izsak. Just like Theta was like Francis. But why was Vincete like Tau and not Vincete?

After some consideration, Atienna asked, “Have you noticed anything odd about her recently?”

Gamma—Izsak—frowned. “Why? Did something happen?” His brows met and he tensed. “Whatever it is, I’m sure it’s just that she’s overworked. I try to convince my sweet pea to take a break sometimes but—”

“That must be it,” Atienna reassured him. Curiously, she gestured up the stairs behind her. “Are you going to be attending the ELPIS meeting?”

“Oh no, no, no. I mean, I used to be a member when I was younger,” he said, taking off his horn-rimmed glasses and inspecting them, “but, after my wife and I had our daughter, I decided to give it a break. I worked as a guidance officer for a while after that and worked at the tree too, but it took too much time away from my family.” He put his glasses back on. “Now, I… work as an academic advisor for students here. Good hours.” He looked up the stairs behind her. “But it’s a good thing for young people to be concerned about their futures like that.”

Aside from ‘laying low,’ was this the reason why Elizabeta was playing along? Atienna didn’t believe she had the particular right to judge the woman on that part—

“Is there anything else I can help you with, Miss Imamu?

“Oh no. Thank you.”

Atienna watched as Izsak left with a friendly wave.

Soon, the halls were empty.

Atienna wandered out of the building and took a seat on a bench guarded by rose bushes. Instead of allowing herself to become lost in her thoughts, she inspected a flower and frowned a bit. The bush was in definite need of pruning.

She hadn’t treated flora in some time, though she enjoyed synchronizing with Jericho while he wandered the yard of the Serpens Establishment and admiring the gardens there. Sometimes Maria would join them and go on about a past adventure if a flower or its color reminded her of something in the past. Every so often Jericho would point to a vine or a bush and ask what it was called to which Atienna would happily answer. At this point, Werner would usually synchronize in and request Jericho to be discreet as usually Jericho would be asking questions out loud even if the surrounding area was crowded. Cadence would sweep in at tease Werner about his strictness while making up random genuses and names for different plants. Although Olive would usually always synchronize in first, during these instances, he would often synchronize in last—most likely not wanting to be left out. 

Pinky fingers tied by fate’s string, wandering in and out of each other’s lives, tightening the tangled knots in the meanwhile.

Atienna realized she didn’t want to even imagine out of curiosity the possibility of all of that being a delusion. And with that realization came a striking hollow pain that squeezed her chest so tight that her eyes began to burn with the pain.

“Atienna…?”

Atienna looked up and felt her heart stop in her chest

A wonderfully familiar young man with dark brown, almond-shaped eyes stood before her. The man was dressed just like everyone she’d seen on this campus so far—blouse and flared pants—but his neck was also dissimilarly adorned with familiar beads, stones, and feathers. Tucked under his arms were books and rolled up pieces of paper

“Bachiru…?”

He stared back at her before he seemed to realize something. “Are you Atienna?” The books and rolls of paper fell from Bachiru’s arms. “Is it really you?”

“Last time I checked, yes,” she couldn’t help but tease.

“What year is it?”

“Where are you asking about?” Atienna inquired. “In Ndoto it’s 1969, but elsewhere—”

“Yes! Yes! Yes!” Bachiru threw his hands up in the air and let out a whooping shout. “Yes!” He wrapped her immediately in his arms. “Atienna, I’ve missed you.”

Atienna’s heart fluttered as an unexplainable emotion unfurled in her chest. A familiar face who acted familiarly, who didn’t hold her at an understandable arm’s length, who didn’t treat her with disdain. She sank into his embrace and returned in kind.

She pulled away first and held Bachiru’s face in her hand. She looked him over and took in all the features she could. Bachiru pulled away in embarrassment. 

“I’m sorry, Bachiru. I’ve just encountered so many unfamiliar familiar people that I just had to be certain…” 

Bachiru’s face became somber. “Yes…” He sank down into the bench behind her. “Whisked off from one mysterious place to the next. Only this place everyone’s familiar instead of unfamiliar, but unfamiliar instead familiar.”

She joined him.

“It is all so very… surreal. But I’m glad you’re here.”

“I’m sorry, Bachiru,” Atienna drew. “I don’t know what happened. Everything was as planned—or at least, everything was about to become planned, but then…”

“Then this,” Bachiru finished, picking up some of his papers. “On the bright side, this is not that much more mysterious than those rooms of yours.”

Atienna’s lips pressed thin.

“I might say that it was rather hypocritical of you to shout at me about my plans with Usian last year,” Bachiru went on, “only for you to pull some stunt like what you did.”

Still the same Bachiru.

“I was… doing it to protect you all.”

“I thought the same.” Bachiru huffed. “Regardless. No need to worry, Atienna. I’ve found a solution.”

Oh dear…

“Oh?”

“ELPIS is the key to escaping this place.”

Interesting conclusion.

“And how do you figure that?” Atienna asked. “Is that why you have not been home?”

Bachiru’s gaze darkened briefly. “Is that place considered home?”

Atienna realized—“You saw mother?”

“You stayed away for the same reason, haven’t you?” Bachiru looked away. “I could not be at home with her either.” He stared at his hands. “Kamaria and Kichea… they didn’t know her well before. But it’s better for them to stay there. I’m not sure if Father is still Father, but he’s still a good man. Going to school will keep Kamaria and Kichea out of trouble.”

Atienna hummed in thought.

“But ELPIS,” Bachiru continued on. “They are the key out of here. Because they’re trying to open the gates. The gates are what’s keeping us inside of Ndoto, so if we open the gates, then we’ll be able to get out just as people are able to get in. It all has to do with the tree—I’m certain. Does it not resemble the Great Tree?”

“It does….”

“There is talk about the tree’s domain, so if we go beyond it through opening the gates—mirroring Virgo’s break from isolation—then perhaps…”

“What are you basing this on, Bachiru…?”

Bachiru quieted and studied her.

“I’ve seen what’s beyond the gates, Bachiru,” Atienna continued. “There is nothing. If the tree is at the center of this, would it not be easier to… cut down the tree? Somehow?”

“Yes, but… the gates. I can’t explain it, but I have a feeling. The gates are the right way. Something about the tree… I don’t know.” Bachiru quieted again. “You said you saw beyond the gates, but you saw what they wanted you to see. We will see the truth this weekend. I’m certain.”

“Is ELPIS planning to do something at the gates?”

Bachiru nodded.

“Bachiru, you must be careful….” After a pause she asked, “Will you come home today? And we’ll discuss this idea about the gates there?”

Again, he nodded, though more slowly and reluctantly this time. 

She smiled at this and then pondered, “Besides… who is they?”

“If we knew, maybe we could get ourselves out of this place.” Bachiru shook his head and stared at her again.

“What is it?”

“It’s just that…” Bachiru²⁰ regarded her cautiously. “This isn’t the first time we’ve met here, sister.”

A chill went down Atienna’s spine. 

“We ‘met’ when I first arrived here, but it seemed as if you were consumed by something. You were wrapped up in something. I don’t know what. You told me it was 1969, so I thought…” He searched Atienna’s face. “You don’t recall that?”

Atienna slowly shook her head.

“Maybe that was not really you then,” Bachiru said quickly. “Just like how everyone who is familiar with this place is not actually themselves…”

A more comfortable idea to settle on. Yes. It alleviated some of the  unease and weightlessness that had kept to Atienna since she’d come here.

“I’m glad that you’re open with me with all of this,” Atienna said. “Kamaria and Kichea were rather cryptic with me.”

Bachiru made a face. “Kamaria and Kichea don’t take anything seriously.”

“They’re children, Bachiru.”

Bachiru scoffed. “Devils.”

Atienna smiled at him. She felt rather proud. “Here I am wandering out confused and here you are headed in a specific direction. I feel embarrassed as the older sibling” She stared at the rose at her feet. “Though, I’ve managed to find Sefu—”

“What?”

“I’m planning to get him released. He’s at the Small Services—”

Bachiru’s eyes widened. “Atienna, please don’t. He’s dangerous.”

What?

“Perhaps that’s how it is according to the history here, but we may not be getting the full picture,” Atienna drew. “And it would be presumptuous to think that the history here is the same.” However, histories did parallel here, didn’t they?

“No, no, I was here when it happened Atienna,” Bachiru interjected. “He tried to kill you.” 

Oh…

“Perhaps that wasn’t me.”

Bachiru was quiet again for a while.  “I think there is some truth to this place. It changes you. From the inside out. It certainly changed Sefu.”

* * *

Atienna accompanied Bachiru back inside to the ELPIS meeting room. While Bachiru headed to the desk beneath the ELPIS banner, Atienna scooted through the crowd to a couch in the corner of the room. There Klaus sat, legs crossed, shoulders tight, boxed in by himself. His face lit up as she approached.

“You found your brother?”

Atienna nodded as she sat down beside him. “He is… himself.”

“That’s a relief.” Klaus nodded towards the screen. “Apparently, a couple of professors here made a protest demonstration video. An… how do you say… artistic… sort of thing? Educational.”

Atienna looked up at the screen and saw colored images moving there. A close up of the tree. And then of the gates. And then of the plaza Atienna had come across when first stepping on campus. There was a group gathered there. The camera drew closer to the crowd and focused on a particular man. A familiar man—

“Saints. That’s Hauptmann Weingartner…”

The scene panned to a woman standing next to him.

Peacekeeper Alice Kingsley.

Atienna searched the crowd for Jericho²¹ and found him sitting on the desk beneath the ELPIS banner with his siblings. Francis and Omicron were beside him, hands intertwined. They didn’t seem alarmed by—

“Atienna. Hello, Atienna. Atienna? Can you hear me?”

Atienna looked around. All the occupants of the room had their gazes trained on the screen. The sound—it was coming from the screen projector. Soon, Atienna found her gaze being drawn up towards the screen too just like everyone else. There, she saw Alice Kingsley, blue eyes contrasting starkly with the graytone that now dyed the scenery on screen.

“Atienna, stay strong,” Alice said. “We’re going to try something else.”