11:52pm, Thursday, 3118

BANG.

BANG.

BANG.

"Coming." I call out, rolling my eyes.

BANG.

BANG.

BANG.

The door is made out of Yamara's light metal, not freaken Gavi Quintar shadow metal. “Wha—” I open the door just as a fist comes down on the door again. “Whoa, watch it.” I dodge out of the way just as a fist comes flying down.

“Garett, can you get the into the Recording Hall video system?” Kirosh blurted out without any hesitation…or tact.

I narrow my eyes. “Kirosh, I told you to not—”

“Can you do it or not? Yeh or no?” Kirosh interrupted impatiently as he looked over his shoulder a few times.

I lift an eyebrow. What is Kirosh so nervous about?

“Kira, you know that I could never do anything like that as it is against the school rules, but…” I paused. “…if I could, what do you need?”

“The last day of the Tournament rounds.”

“That’s a lot of recordings.”

“I want Nathan’s last round.”

I raised the other eyebrow. “Nathan, or Arina’s?” Kirosh ran hot and cold when it came to Arina. Sometimes he wanted nothing more than to learn everything he could about her, and other times it seemed as if he really didn’t care that she existed or not. It wouldn’t be the first time he had asked me to enter the database to find information on her.

“They’re in the same round.” Kirosh said matter-o-factly. “But I want to see Nathan. Why?”

“No reason.” I shrugged nonchalantly as I study his face. Which mood is he in today? “It’s just that you’re you, and she’s…well, she’s her.”

“…That doesn’t make any sense, Garett.”

I snort through my nose. “You’re too nice to everyone.” I try another tactic to tease out the information I want. “I just don’t want you to get hurt again.”

Kirosh looked at me straight for the first time since I opened my door. His eyes are steady and determined. “I can take care of myself.”

Ah, he’s in the Arina obsession mood. Definitely.

“So can you help me or not?” Kirosh shifted his weight from one foot to the other and back again.

“…Possibly.” I fight back a smirk. “What’s in it for me?”

Kirosh pursed his lips for a moment. “What do you want?”

“A favor.”

“What favor?”

“You will know when the time comes.”

“Garett, you said that last time and I had to—”

“Either you take the deal, or you don’t get to see the tapes.” I cut him off. “Your choice.”

Kirosh pursed his lips again. “…Fine.” He gave a tight nod.

“Good.” A smile twitches on my lips, but I hold it back. “Give me a second.” I close the door in Kirosh’s face and grin as I grab my HOL. I crack my knuckles once before reaching for the door again. “Alright, let’s go.”

12:07pm, Thursday, 3118

The recording hall is empty when we get there. No lines, no crowds of noise students, no data download time delay. I crack my neck and the noise echoes off the walls.

“Really?” Kirosh stared at me.

“What?” I shrug. “It’s fun to do that when it’s this quiet.”

“Whatever.” Kirosh muttered. “Let’s hurry up and get this over with.”

Interesting.

I slowly follow Kirosh over to the FEEL playback chairs and plug my HOL into the power jack. Hacking into the Akademy database is easy, but I take my time anyway. It’s always more interesting when I wait to give out what the other person wants. I get more information that way.

I lazily scroll through the dates. Just waiting.

Kirosh snorted in impatience.

So predictable. “There are three tapes from the last day of the Tournament: one for the morning session, one for the mid-day session, and one for the evening session,” I finally say biting back a smirk. “There are three rooms for each session. Do you know which one Nathan was in?”

“Just the last session.” Kirosh’s leg bounced up and down as if that would make his speak faster. "I’m not sure which room though.”

“Alright, you take this one,” I randomly chose one of the three links to send to his HOL. “And I’ll look at the second link. If it’s neither of them, then it should be the third link.”

Kiorsh noded and opened his HOL. He plugged it into a FEEL chair jack and pushed play. The chair swivels as the room divider starts to rise. The last thing I saw of Kirosh was his hard, determined face as if he were forcing himself to watch.

Interesting.

Once the divider was up, I pushed play on my own HOL as I sank into the chair. The room darkened as the recording began to play.

“Youngling Tournament video 57 now starting. Please remain seated until the recording has completely finished. Thank you, and please enjoy the newest FEEL technology from DiMech Incorporated.” An automated woman’s voice filled the room just before the recording started.

I don’t like surprises, and I don’t like to miss pertinent information. So, instead of starting with the second link like I said I would look at, I first looked in on what Kirosh was watching. It took me a moment to acclimate to the room as every image and object suddenly came to life.

I could feel the wood bench beneath my fingers.

I could hear the pitter patter of the rain on the roof.

I could smell the musty sent of the other spectators who had crammed into the already packed room.

The crowed jostled as someone tried to get a better view, and I could feel the bodies around me push into me as if I were part of the crowd.

I suppressed a shiver. I don’t like crowds. I quickly pressed the second video link on my HOL. I can always come back later to whatever Kirosh is watching once the crowd thins out a little.

“Youngling Tournament video 56 now starting. Please remain seated until the recording has completely finished. Thank you, and please enjoy the newest FEEL technology from DiMech Incorporated.”

The room shifted to a full view of the West End cafeteria in the Akademy. However, instead of the gleeful squeals and laughter that usually filled this large room, it was now deathly silent. No inviting smells of food cooking. No clanking of utensils. No warmth on the faces of the 500 Younglings that filled that hall day.

This must have been earlier in the day than Kirosh’s video because I couldn’t see any rain out of the floor-to-ceiling window.

I skip to the last few minutes of the exam before walking around the room looking for anyone I know.

Ah, Rena the Queen. Let’s see what you wrote… I zoomed the recording up on her desk and tuned the color levels until I could read the answer on her desk screen.

Question 47: How can a person be both a citizen of Qui and of one of the three nations within Qui? To be able to answer this question adequately, we must first define Qui. Qui is a large that is split into three nations: - Gavi Quintar - Yamara - Zuashai Everyone born within one of the three nations is first and foremost a citizen of Qui. Then he is a citizen of his birth nation.

I fought back a snort. That was the definition I had given her last week. Word-for-word. Idiot. I rolled my eyes and continued walking.

The noise of someone cracking their knuckles reverberated in the silence, catching my attention. The only other person who cracks his knuckles in the Akademy other than me is Dryden Ekbur. I quickly scan the rows until I see him: One blond haired boy far in the back of the room hunched over his test paper as the virtual proctor passed his desk. I jump the camera recording to hover over his desk.

Question 48: Define the terms “Qui Duty”:

Dryden snuck a quick glance over his shoulder at the proctor before returning his eyes to his desk. He slowly reached under his desk and hunched his shoulders again.

What are you doing, Dryden? I leaned forward in my chair.

Dryden looked around again quickly as if he could hear my thoughts through the recording. The proctor had just reached the end of the room. Seven desks away.

The boy’s eyes darted to the timer built into the desk interface: one minute thirty seconds left.

He has three more questions left to answer, so why isn’t he writing anything? Why is his hand…

Suddenly, before my eyes, the answer started to materialize on the virtual paper on the desk interface.

The Qui Duty is the automatic job that each Qui citizen is born into. Regardless of class or family status…

Dryden quickly looked over his shoulder. The proctor was coming back up the row. “C’mon!” He whispered under his breath.

...everyone is given a Qui Duty at birth...

The proctor was now only four desks away.

...This is so that everyone has a sense of purpose…

Three desks away.

...and can gain the happiness that comes with helping Qui…

Two desks.

...move forward in all aspects of life.

Dryden quickly retreated his hand from under the desk and flipped the virtual page. The sound rustled through the hall like leaves on the wind.

“Interesting.” I mutter softly as the buzzer sounded the end of the test. “Very interest—”

A loud bang comes from the divider wall. I quickly hit the shift button on my HOL to see what Kirosh is watching. It’s Nathan and Arina. This must be the round for 7th place…Two questions left for each other them. I noted the scoreboard on the far wall. With ten minutes left in the round. Cutting it close—

“Nathan…” The proctor’s nasally voice cut through my thoughts.

Great Qui, no wonder he lost. I choke back a snort. I would have died if I had to listen to this proctor for two hours. For some odd reason, the makers of the automated proctors over at DiMech Inc. had thought that a nasally voice would give the hologram a more “human quality” when in reality, it just made it sound stupid.

“…In Qui society, what purpose does the Punishment Collar serve? Please include examples to back your statement.”

“The Punishment Collar, colloquially known as a PC, is used as a social deterrent.” Nathan suddenly froze, his mouth open. His eyes going wide.

“Do you have an example to back your statement?” The proctor finally asked after the long pause.

Nathan’s eyes darted around the room as if looking for the answer. “…I-I—”

“You have 60 seconds remaining to give an example.” The proctor spoke over Nathan’s stuttering. Nathan swallowed noticeably.

I furrowed my eyebrows. What’s he doing? He knows the answer. I saw him look it up the night before. I looked between him and the clock as it counted down. What’s he waiting for? I looked back at Nathan, but he seemed frozen. His mouth opened and closed several times, but nothing came out. Finally he drew a breath, “In 3015—”

“I’m sorry, but your time has run out. Please sit down.” The proctor cut him off. “Arina, if you get this question correct, you will be the winner.”

Arina gave a small nod as she stood to answer. “A person may only receive the Punishment Collar if he or she breaks the law. That person must then give up his or her Qui Duty for two Duty cycles, or twenty years, and work under the supervision of an appointed official. That official has the right to assign any job within the Punishment Collar Duty bracket to that delinquent regardless of difficulty. With such a high time sentence and no guarantee of a good job, the Punishment Collar has served as an effectual social deterrent against breaking the law since the establishment of Qui, 97 years ago. As such, Qui has a low crime rate.”

“Do you have an example to back your statement?”

“The Murderer Act of 3015 first set up the Punishment Collar. Within a year, crime in Qui had decreased 20%. By five years, it had been decreased by 43%. The enforcement of the Act by each President of Qui has brought peace to Qui that the forefathers of the Establishment of Qui envisioned.

“That is correct. Congratulations, you have won the—”

My eyebrows shot upward as the video ended abruptly. So this is what Kirosh wanted to see so badly. He knew Nathan had done something. I pushed the button to lower the divider. However, by the time it had lowered, Kirosh was already gone. Interesting. My eyes narrowed as I sat down again to replay the last question. Nathan purposely got seventh, but why…? Why let Arina win?

I watched the last few minutes of the round again, this time focusing on Arina. She stares straight ahead with cold, dead eyes as Nathan doesn’t answer in time. Her deadpan face doesn’t even twitch.

Did she threaten him? I go back and watched her again, this time zooming in on her face looking for any clue. This is Arina we are talking about. The same Arina who puts at least five people in the hospital every year and gets away with it. I tap my fingers against my chair seat as I watch.

One…two…

And she gets away with it even though her actions are punishable by Qui law, as per the Murderer Act that she cited as an example. I snort as a side thought. Ironic.

Three…Four…

It’s a sad truth, but everything comes down to connections. And this is Arina.

One…two…

The PC girl rescued from her fate by Wik Haron, President of the medical tech company Lo & Micci;

Three…Four…

The PC girl dragged out of the dirt to attend the prestigious Triga Lake Akademy on scholarship

I cracked my knuckles and start to smile inadvertently. The PC girl exempt from all violent crimes by the President of Qui, Collin Kushman of Yamara, himself—the good friend of Wic Haron. My mind started to piece together the bits and pieces of information I had collected for Kirosh over the years. Arina is on scholarship to get out of the PC Bracket, so she owes her life to her sponsor—

Suddenly, the lunch bell rang out throughout the empty recording hall, causing me to jump. I quickly disconnected my HOL and erased the video log.

—Everything is based on connections…Why is it so important to Wic Haron that Arina makes the Top Six?