When All Else Fails (A Push of a Button Novella)

Chapter Three

SEBASTIAN SETTLED INTO the grass on the hill overlooking his family estates and stared up at the fluffy grey clouds drifting overhead. Viv arranged her papers, the sheaves rustling, and cleared her throat. He looked over and eyed the paper with an uneasy churn in the pit of his stomach. How had she gotten her hands on that? Paper was a regulated substance. If she didn't have an official, licensed reason to use it, they'd all be in trouble.

She caught him staring and dropped her gaze to the grass. "I couldn't put it on the holo. They can find it too easily, so I figured out how to make my own and told my parents I just liked making it."

"Then how did you do the research on whatever you found in the first place?"

"I stole it from the government or bought it on the black market."

He straightened up. "You did what? Viv, if you get caught..."

"I'll be reprogrammed or discarded? I know that, but this is important. And it's worth it, Sebastian." A spark of anger lit in her eyes. "They've been lying to us for nearly two centuries, and it's time people knew." She shoved the papers into his hands. "They lied to us about literally everything, Seb. They lied about how we got here, who started this place, and even about there being no God. They just straight up spewed nonsense, and enough people bought into it that they eventually had the power to brainwash an entire world. They even lied to us about what their motivations are."

He gaped at the papers. "This is unbelievable. They can't have pulled that off."

"Well, they did. I talked to people who—"

"You did what?" His gaze flew to hers. "Are you insane? You told other people about this?"

She laid a hand on his knee. "Relax. I'm not stupid. The only people who know I dug around are others who know the truth too. Most of them are hiding though because the Supremacy discards or reprograms them. They don't want anyone to ever learn the truth, and it's for a good reason."

He stared back down at the papers. If he read these, he'd be complicit in her crime. They could both be in huge trouble for this. But if his suspicions were correct, they were in trouble anyway. He was already a target, at least. So, he sighed and flipped to the first page filled with Viv's messy scrawl. His heart thumped in his chest, and his gaze darted over the pages. He couldn't believe everything he was seeing, but given what he already knew about the government from Viv, and given Viv's reputation for being level-headed and well-versed in the art of research, he also couldn't write it off as a lie. Viv wouldn't believe in something she couldn't find any proof for. If she thought this was true, it probably was.

Still... He couldn't just believe this without making sure everything was square first. This was a major decision. If he decided to believe this, then everything he knew was a lie. There was a God out there who probably didn't appreciate being mocked and disregarded by His creation. And given the notes Viv had in here regarding the Christian God, as He was known, He probably wasn't going to stand for it forever. How long could the government get away with snubbing their noses at Him like children before He crushed them like bugs and just wrote them off as a failed attempt?

"Seb? Say something..."

Viv's plea snapped him out of his thoughts, and he cleared his throat, still staring at the pages. "I... I don't know what to say, Viv. I really don't."

She reached out and gathered the papers from his loose grip, shoving them back into her bag. "I really do believe this is the truth. There's too much evidence for it not to believe it. I've been looking into this for years, and with the attack on you..."

He shook his head and stared at his empty lap. Anger flared. He didn't want to know this. Didn't want to know that somewhere out in the wide expanse of space, God existed and could wipe them out for their insolence at any moment. How had the Supremacy managed to hide all of this? It made his head spin and ache. "I don't understand how this relates to my situation. Or why I needed to know this?"