It takes a few seconds to untangle herself from the netting, even with the help of the two silent young men—identical twins—who accompanied Macy to retrieve her, “Did you have a fun trip?”

“I thought…I was going…to die…”

“I wouldn’t let that happen. Plus, if we did miss you it’s not like you would have burned to death: the impact would have killed you for sure.”

“That’s reassuring.” Siff is starting to regain herself, along with her sarcasm. She pulls her headset off and glares at her…rescuer? She feels some anger is justified, “What the hell was that? I’m assuming you’re the one who was leading me through the headset?”

“Yep, that’s me.”

“Leading me to a furnace chute, then giving me an ultimatum? Then cutting off all communication while I plummet to my death?!”

“Almost death.” Macy is beaming, on closer look Siff reckons they are about the same age.

“What the hell?!”

Macy puts her arm around Siff’s shoulders, “Yep. That’s where we are. Let me show you around. C’mon.” She practically pushes Siff away from the ledge and into a semi-lit hallway. The two men follow silently. “What you’ve never been told is that the lower levels of Janus, filled with the engines and tech that powers the ship, is actually filled with people. And we’re the ones that run those systems. Everything from the rotation of the Chosen Ones’ environment to the grav controls for each level, we make sure it all runs smooth and you all have a great day.

“‘But why would they lie to me?’ I hear you say! Great question, Siff! Why would they lie to you? Because to keep your upper levels in line, the less they know about what happens down here, the better. You see, if everyone up there knew how things were down here it would break your precious belief of how perfect you all are—some might even dare challenge the way things are!—and we can’t have that!

“We are the detritus of humanity. The scum beneath your feet. The forgotten souls in the machine. The dwellers of Janus’ anus. The undiscovered underworld…” they come to a door and Macy hits the button to open. It hisses as it slides to the left, “Welcome, to the Lower Levels!”

Siff looks out upon a shanty-town style city. Barely anything over five stories high, with dirt, grease, and rust on every…home? Those are homes, right? I mean, it looks like people live in them. And speaking of people: there are thousands of them. Siff cannot believe what she is seeing. She gawks at the scenery as she is ushered down into it, “Come on, Siff. It’s not a good idea to be out in the open for too long. Might get the Brainers noticing you.”

They walk down into the city and make their way to a small, rusted building. Inside there are stairs that lead down to a living area. Macy points to the couch and Siff takes a seat. The smell of dirt and sweat is difficult to ignore. Macy sits on a chair across from her while the two men stand guard: one upstairs and one beside Macy, who just sits and waits.

“Ummm?”

“Yep?”

“What are you doing?”

“You said you had questions. I didn’t have time to answer them before you got here. Now I do though.” Macy leans forward excitedly, “Sooooo…?”

Siff is a bit disconcerted, but takes the opportunity to get her thoughts in order, “How did you hack those headsets, when you first contacted me?”

“I’ve got a bit of a gift with electronics and systems. I can find the pathways and stay hidden. It’s a fun pastime and also a useful one. This is fun. Next!”

“How did you get that headset outside my door just now?”

“That was tricky, but we’ve been watching you for some time and playing different scenarios so we weren’t completely caught off guard. It’s not just me that has an interest in you.”

“You didn’t answer the question.”

“Oh, you are quick! Good job! And you didn’t even get distracted by my other statement. I think we can use you.”

“Well?”

“You’re not the first Upper-Level dweller we’ve contacted.”

“So someone dropped them off?”

“Yep.”

“Why are you answering my questions?”

“Because there’s no turning back for you now.”

Siff is a bit shocked by that statement, “Why me?”

“That, right there. That is the question. Why you, Siff?” Macy grins and leans back, “Why you? I think it’s my turn to ask some questions.”

“But don’t you already know everything about me?”

“I guess we’ll find out. Tell me about school.”

“What about school?”

“Do you like it?”

“I mean, I guess. To a point.”

“And which point is that?”

“The point where I’m not allowed to think for myself, or question anything.”

“And?”

“The point where people would rather betray and lie than care about me.”

“Yep. There’s a word for that. Some call it education, but that’s the wrong word. Indoctrination. Now that’s a good word. That’s the right word. Your whole life you’ve been told what to think, what to believe, what to know. But you’ve never really bought into it, have you?”

“I guess not.”

“And why is that, Siff?”

She pauses for a second, “Because I can’t believe there is no hope for us. I have to believe humanity can be redeemed. Or what’s the point?”

“What is the point? Exactly. Exactly. But this isn’t about humanity, this is about you. Do you have hope, Siff?”

“I don’t know. I…I’d like to believe I have hope. But the only people who have any kind of hope on this ship are the Chosen Ones. And being one of them is just an impossible dream.”

“Hmmm,” Macy appears to be deep in thought, “Maybe you’re right.” She picks up a tablet and turns the display toward Siff, there is an image of her drawing on it, “Tell me about this picture, Siff.”

“I dunno. I was just dreaming what it would be like to be one of them, you know? To have hope and to be allowed to live and think for myself.”

“And when they found out you like to think for yourself, what happened?”

“…”

“What happened Siff?”

“They turned against me.”

“Who turned against you?”

“Everyone.”

“Who?”

“My boyfriend, my parents…everyone.”

“That’s not quite true, you know.”

“What isn’t?”

“The people didn’t turn against you; society turned against you. And the people who are trapped inside of that society. Is this the first time something like this has happened to you?”

Siff glances down and feels the guilt of a past memory push its way into her heart. Macy continues, “I only ask because Mars said he wouldn’t help you a third time. Which implies this was the second time. Which means…?”

“Yeah.” Siff is getting increasingly uncomfortable.

“What happened Siff? You can tell me. We’re all rejects here.”

“I just,” she starts to tear up, “I just…if I would have just…if I could have just kept my mouth shut…”

Macy leans forward again, empathy in her gaze, “You can tell me, Siff. It’s okay.”

Siff wipes her eyes on her sleeve, looks to Macy for strength, and begins, “I was seven, and I had a best friend. Idun and I would always study and play together. We loved to sit in the gardens and watch the animals and birds. Even though they aren’t real, we would pretend they are. We would pretend a lot of things. We would pretend to be Chosen Ones, we would pretend to be explorers, we would pretend to be on Vesta. My favorite times were when we played at being on Vesta: imagining what it would be like to live on a planet and get to build our own futures.

“We had already been taught by our guardians, but when we started school it was drilled into us that we are worthless, hate-filled, and irreconcilable to the universe. We were taught over and over about how evil we are and how the Chosen Ones are the only hope for humanity. We were taught that no matter how hard we might try to be good, we will never be good enough to deserve a place among the Chosen Ones, or on Vesta.

“It really hurt me, and it hurt Idun as well. We couldn’t bring ourselves to believe we were irreconcilable. Though we could see flaws in ourselves, we both wanted only good things and always tried to be good people, even when no-one was watching. We were sure we could be a healthy humanity, if only the mission would give us freedom to question and grow. We would sit and talk in the gardens about these things, and never stop imagining what beautiful worlds we could create if given the chance.

“One day at school I told the teacher that I didn’t think we were so evil and that I think we deserve a chance at living on Vesta. Security was called and I was pulled in front of a tribunal. My dad wasn’t Jupiter then, but his friend was Mars. They had grown up together and Mars went easy on me; I was only suspended.

“When Idun found out I had said these things and not gotten into much trouble, she also decided to speak up. I remember being in class holding her arm, trying to get her to shut up. But she was emboldened by me and spoke her mind. Security was called, and she was taken away…and I never saw her again.”

Her lip trembles as she remembers, “If I had just kept my mouth shut she would never have been taken away. It was all my fault. It was all my fault.”

This is the first time Siff has ever shared this story out loud; the emotion of it hits her as if she just watched it happen. Her shoulders slump as her heart breaks, she covers her face with her hands and the tears fall. Her mouth opens in silent agony and the sobbing convulses her. Macy moves to sit beside her and holds her close. She doesn’t speak for several minutes, letting Siff’s broken heart pour out.

“We live in a society that destroys lives and destroys hope. It wasn’t your fault. Society is at fault. You are told that your Upper Levels are the pinnacle of what you can attain, but I want to show you something.” Macy stands and gently takes Siff’s hand, “Come with me.”