Sanctuary. That was what the quarantine dome was supposed to be, a place of refuge from the N-Gel and the deadly Neoplague they unleashed on the world.
But we aren't safe here.
Senna is uprooted from her rural life in the outer dome when her mother...
Senna froze in the hall at her mother's shout. It took her a moment to realize that the words had been intended for Zed, not her. Zed was responding in a low voice, so calm and quiet that Senna had to creep closer to the living room to hear him clearly.
"This is good news. You know she's going to have a difficult time finding a husband, all things considered. This will guarantee that she stays in an Upper Class family after my Presidency ends."
"What do you mean all things considered!?" Nami snapped back and Senna shrank down to the floor.
"You know very well what I mean."
"I want to hear you say it." Senna's stomach coiled at the venomous sound of her mother's words. It was more than anger, it was a curdling hate.
"Senna is a wonderful, responsible, healthy, and extremely intelligent young lady. Unfortunately, some of her genetic traits are less than ideal. I know, it's not fair. You have every reason to be upset, but all that anger won't change her situation. This will."
"I will not let my daughter be used and manipulated by the Genetic Council!"
"Not even if it's her best shot at a comfortable life? Isn't that why you came back? To give her a chance at greatness?"
"Her greatness isn't tied to who she marries. She stands well enough on her own." Senna dared a glance around the wall to see her mother standing tall with her declaration. She was torn between pride at her mother's compliments and a gripping fear of the coldness in her voice.
"I'm not saying that she isn't a wonderfully talented young woman. But for her to get into the Upper Class on her own merits, she'd need to be the next Kagerou Sato."
Nami huffed and pulled away from Zed, stalking across the room. Senna ducked back behind the wall, her heart jumping into her throat. If her mom caught her eavesdropping she'd be dead.
"I won't stand for this!"
"You're going to go up against the Council?" Zed asked. Senna gulped as she remembered her Grandfather and his words from the engagement ball. You may call me Councilman Ehrens.
"I've done it before," Nami responded with a confidence that Senna didn't feel. She had a sour feeling in her gut, though she didn't entirely understand what was happening.
"And look where it got you. Right back where they wanted you."
The sound of the slap startled Senna from her hiding spot. She bolted down the hall without checking to see who it was that delivered the blow. From the flow of the conversation, she assumed it had been her mother. It wasn't okay, either way. That kind of argument was never okay, even before it got physical. It didn't matter who started it. It didn't matter why.
What was she supposed to do?
Senna was crying by the time she reached her workshop. She sank into the chair in front of the scattered parts of the HMD and buried her face in her hands.
-
"How was school today?"
Senna poked at her dinner, sliding a chunk of the lamb meat through the decorative lines of glaze on her plate. The words were stuck in the pit of her stomach. Oh, it was great. A girl told me to remove myself from the gene pool and then I came home to hear the two of you fighting over what I'm guessing is my own arranged marriage — how was your day?
"It was fine," Senna lied, though she had never been good at lying.
"What did you learn about today?"
Senna shrugged, toying with the same bite of lamb at the end of her fork.
"Oh surely you remember something you learned today," Nami pressed.
Yeah, Senna thought grimly, I learned the word 'dirtskin'. How about you?
"Well, I learned that Kagerou Sato isn't in the history textbook."
"Well of course not," Zed interjected. "She was written out of the curriculum years ago."
Senna set her fork back down with the bite she had been playing with still on it.
"What? Why!?"
"Because she was a political terrorist who murdered people, Senna." He responded as if it were common knowledge. Maybe it was to him, or to everyone in Central, but it certainly hadn't been common knowledge to Senna.
"I... don't... that can't be right..." She turned to her mother with pleading eyes, but Nami seemed as shocked by the news as her daughter.
"Unfortunately, it's true. Kagerou Sato bombed a hospital as some kind of political protest and killed twenty innocent people. Fortunately, she was taken down before she could harm others. There was at least one more bomb found after the attack and two more half made bombs found in her home, along with evidence of severe substance abuse. The general consensus is that she started abusing those medications and doing so altered the balance of chemicals in her brain so severely that she went mad."
Senna gaped, all of the thoughts in her mind coming to a stuttering stop. Kagerou Sato had been her idol—an inspiration! How could something like that happen? Substance abuse... murder... a political terrorist...
"Clearly that isn't the sort of person one flaunts as a great inventor and role model of our time, so unfortunately she was written out of the school texts."
Senna's meal sat largely uneaten, but somehow her stomach was churning. The news had utterly defeated her, draining the last of her energy. She felt like the color had been sapped from her, like the persistent monotone of the city was seeping into her skin and smothering the happiness that once gave her warmth.
"I... I'm not hungry anymore."
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(Author's Note: This is a rather short chapter, in comparison to my others, so I'm considering posting Chapter Twelve early to make up for it. What do you think?)
