The Swailing

Optima: Curious

The next day at school I ask around, doing what undercover research I can without drawing too much attention. Leaving the sovereign for reasons other than business is rare, almost unheard of. Vacationing in other territories is prohibited. Not all sovereigns have the same health and vaccination rules as we do, and Optima doesn't want to risk people bringing in disease. So to ask a lot of questions about inter-territory travel might draw some attention.

I don't know of any specific punishment for this kind of research, and I don't even know what the punishment is if you were to try to leave, but I have heard that once you leave it's hard to come back. I know that business people are required to go through a battery of tests and permitting before they are allowed to cross the border. I'm sure you have to be at least 21 and have a spotless record of complete rule following. So basically, I probably don't stand a chance of crossing legally.

Besides, everyone in Optima seems so totally convinced of Optima's superiority in every area that to want to go anywhere else would be almost traitorous.

But with careful, quiet questioning I do learn that there are guides who will take you to other territories – guides who are familiar with the laws and the customs and the logistics of other sovereigns. I'm a fairly gutsy and resourceful girl, but I know I would need someone to help navigate such uncharted waters. I've spent 17 years in a sort of daze, not really thinking much about the world and what else is out there. I've eaten the food they put in front of me, kept my behaviors healthy and safe, and been sort of brainwashed into believing that our way is the only way. I have no idea what other sovereigns believe other than that I have been taught to think that our ways are best.

I don't have a clue how to find one of these guides, though. I search "inter-territory guides" on my computer at school but only get a litany of articles about the reasons it is prohibited to travel between Optima and other territories, how many diseases are out there, how the lack of control and rules can be deadly.

I know that Kyri's dad travels for work and occasionally leaves the territory so when we walk home after school, I ask her nonchalantly what she knows about other sovereigns. She shrugs and nibbles on edamame. She's breaking a guideline – eating while not seated at a proper dining table – and I think her infraction makes her feel more like a kindred spirit than usual.

"I don't know. My dad says everyone is soft and tan and lazy. But he mostly goes to Prospera. Who knows what it's like other places."

"Is, like, the money different? How does he know the rules and stuff?"

She shrugs again. "Who knows? Who cares?" She looks at me, for the first time slightly suspicious. "Why?"

I wave my hand and reach for a soy bean. She lets me have one without a fuss, even though we're not supposed to share food either. Messes up our daily counts, I guess. "No reason. I was just wondering."

She methodically squeezes another shell and pops out the beans into her mouth. She thinks for a second and then smiles. "He says there are places where people eat whipped cream," her voice drops a bit, "and where people kiss. In public." Her voice is hushed, shocked. Maybe a little bit jealous.

I want to ask more, to pick her brain for every detail she can remember. I'm not even completely sure what whipped cream is and, thanks to Logan, I barely even know what kissing is.

Maybe my dad is right. Maybe leaving Optima would be a huge mistake.

Or ... maybe it would be wonderful.