Victor nodded, looking away from her. “I am not a psychologist, and I don’t pretend to be one either. I don’t feel qualified to counter Dr. Rhetta’s assessment of your situation, but I don’t completely agree with it either.”
Her mouth went dry. She sucked in a deep breath, searching for an appropriate reply. If she wanted to stay at her civil duty, it was in her best interest to shift Victor’s attention away from her home life. Victor may be sympathetic, yet it appeared Dr. Rhetta was the one who held the power.
“I appreciate your concern, Victor, but Dr. Rhetta has a plan and I feel it needs to be followed.”
He cast his eyes to his hands folded on the desk. “I know it is in the State’s best interest to keep couples together, I just question if Dr. Rhetta has underestimated Lance. I can see from your bruising, that was a heavy hit, not something that should be easily dismissed. I just want to ensure Dr. Rhetta has all the information available to her to ensure she is making informed decisions. I want to ensure you are safe.”
Chastity shook her head. It’s just like Dr. Rhetta said, Victor is too kind to me, inflating my ego. He has no power to change my situation, and any attempt to have him try would only make it worse.
“I have never had an injury of this nature to compare this too. I don’t know what it should look like, but I do know I have witnessed a shift in Lance’s behavior already. I think as a couple we need to explore the treatments and recommendations given. In order to do so, I need to move on from that night—which naturally, will be easier once I have healed.”
Victor gave a curt nod, retrieving his tablet once again. “I appreciate your work ethic and positive attitude. If anyone can put this behind them, it’s you. But I would feel a little better if we had some documentation.”
“Of course, Victor, whatever you think is best.”
He nodded and smiled softly. “I suppose you would like us to move onto our first matter of business. As usual, we have a lot of work to do.”
Relief washed over her as he shifted attention back to their work, yet she realized with his promise of a heavy workload to come, there was an additional personal matter needing his attention.
“Victor, there is one more thing. Dr. Rhetta has requested I make adjustments to my schedule. I would like to ensure I leave early one night a week, as I have promised to Lance. I need to plan with you in order to minimize disruption to your work.”
Victor pursed his lips, reflecting before answering. “I’ll let you decide with your partner which day is best, and I’ll adapt accordingly.”
Chastity’s cheeks flushed. “Victor, my time is not more valuable than yours.”
“No, but I will always take as much of your time as you will give. You should set a schedule for your Council training, your civil duty, and time with your partner. Dr. Rhetta said you need to have a better balance between the three. If it were up to me, I would say ‘to hell with Lance,’ and move you into the State House. But Dr. Rhetta has made it clear to both of us that is not an option. She requested you rework your schedule, and as I have no further power in this situation, I’ll adapt to whatever you decide.”
Chastity’s jaw fell open. “You requested for me to move in here?”
He smiled coyly. “I did, and she explained to me that I didn’t have the right to make such a request. She also explained that I am somewhat to blame for your predicament, that I have fed into your delusions of grandeur.”
Before Chastity could fully process his words, a warm droplet splashed onto her hand, alerting her to her tears. She quickly snapped out of her daze, shaking her head. “Dr. Rhetta made me feel like I was insane to think I was special enough to live in the State House without a partner, like you.”
Victor laughed, reflecting more of a bark than amusement. “I like the idea. It would be ideal for both of us.” He shook his head. “That is the part that infuriates me; I can’t do a damn thing to change it. I can’t get you out of your coupling, no matter how practical it would be to have my right hand more available to me.”
She wiped away her tears and took a deep breath. “Thank you, Victor.”
“For what?” He shrugged. “I just told you I can’t do anything to help you.”
She smiled. “For letting me know I’m not crazy.”
“Chastity,” he sighed, “please know that I support you. I think you are one of the most devoted, loyal, hardworking civilians under our dome. I feel you should be rewarded, not reprimanded for your commitment to the State. I wish I could do more to make this all go away. I wish female State House workers weren’t required to be coupled with a Security officer.”
She nodded. “Thank you.” Her eyes refilled with tears of gratitude.
“Speaking of balancing your schedule, why don’t you head down to the firing range? I’ve got a meeting to get to, and I’m sure you could use some time to clear your head, regain your focus.”
She jumped to her feet, instantly recognizing what a superb idea it was. “Yes, Victor, that is a great idea. I’ll regain my focus and be ready to hit the ground running when I return.”
Victor looked up at her. “Good, because everything is a mess. That temporary administrator doesn’t know her way around the State House, no matter how much military experience she has. I hope for my sake, you don’t require any further leave.”
He turned back to his tablet, her cue to exit. She quickly made her way to the military underground with a soft smile curling her lips. Her situation was still complex, but she felt better equipped to face it head on.
Chapter 31
Victor
Dr. Rhetta stepped into the meeting room in the military underground. “Gentlemen.” She secured the door behind her and took a seat, deliberately meandering as though they had an infinite amount of time available. “Welcome to the both of you.”
Victor remained silent, as did James. They smiled and nodded at her and waited for her to proceed.
“James, this meeting will be rather enlightening for you. I’m afraid there is much information to go over, which may come as a bit of a shock.” She glanced at Victor. “Whereas Victor has already been debriefed on much of this information yet is lacking the finer details.”
She lifted her tablet and scrolled through before she began again.
“This is a very interesting time in our history. So much will happen which has never happened under the State’s rule before. But before I walk us into the future, I need to bring you both into the past.”
James smiled warmly. “I look forward to learning all that you have to share.”
She shifted slightly in her chair and continued. “Since the State took power, we have had a practice, a hygiene, if you will, to keep our people pure. We find that every fifth or sixth generation, we need to perform a cleansing. It seems to be human nature that when the people are well fed and cared for, they turn and bite the hand that feeds them.”
Victor smiled and reflected on her words. Her statement made perfect sense in his mind. It seemed that if people weren’t in a constant state of panic, they were trying to start a war.
“You see, we perform this culling by creating an elaborate hoax to get all the cancerous cells into one location where they can be easily neutralized. We generally tell them we are about to start a new colony on the surface, and they are to be the first to arrive. Once we have enough of these vile rebellious types conveniently in one location, we bomb the area.”
He watched as James’ eyes lit up, excited to hear more.
“Then, we cut back on rations and health care in the dome and tell the people the fault lies on the rebellion for cutting us off from our new supply chain. Once people spend enough time hungry, they become highly devoted to our government once again. They will report any person whom they find suspicious of undesirable behaviors. They spy on each other as their fear turns from the government to their own friends and family. This fear will then be passed on generationally and give us a period with complete compliance. Unfortunatel
y, it never seems to last. The unrest grows once again, and it becomes necessary for us to purge this infection from our nation.”
James nodded. “That is interesting. I see both the plan’s merit and value. As the Head of Security, I’ve questioned if our Security practices are really effective.” He shook his head. “I question certain members of my own team and where their loyalties lie.”
“Yes,” Dr. Rhetta nodded. “Security is never immune to the infection. As you have just pointed out, I’m afraid it is now time for us to begin our culling once again.”
“Where will we send them this time?” Victor rubbed his hands together rapidly.
Dr. Rhetta’s eyes lit up. “I’m afraid this time is a bit more complex. We have been living under this dome for so long, I’m afraid a great deal of it has fallen into disrepair. We have decided it is best to move our population back inside the mountain, keeping only a skeleton crew under the dome for maintenance.”
“The mountain?” James winced. “It is far too small for our population.”
Dr. Rhetta gave him a knowing look. “Yes, that is exactly why this particular culling will be rather special. We need to kill off a larger number of the population than we normally would so we may once again fit inside the mountain. This will be the largest and most spectacular culling of our history.”
Victor rubbed his chin and nodded softly. “It will take more resources to move a large number of people to another area of the world. Will you be using an aircraft, or do we have something better?”
Dr. Rhetta placed her palm on the table as though she was bracing herself as complete elation washed through her. “That is a part of what will make this culling spectacular. We will use a combination of an aircraft and something our team of scientists have recently developed and perfected. We now have a device that will teleport civilians between the two locations.”
Victor looked to her confused. “I’m sorry. I’m not familiar with this teleport you speak of.” He smiled. “You will have to explain that one to me.”
“It will allow instantaneous travel between two locations. Teleportation requires two devices. It is almost as though we can scan a human being, dematerialize them, send them through to the other device where they re-materialized on the other side.”
“And this is safe?” James burst in.
Victor laughed. “Does it matter? We are going to kill them anyway.”
Dr. Rhetta raised her hands to regain control of the conversation. “It is safe enough. We have not tested the long-term effects of several trips through the teleportation device as their long-term health is not a concern of ours.” She gestured to Victor, and he nodded in response.
“We do however, need the teleportation device to be safe enough for civilians to pass through more than once. You see, we will send the first group on a vessel. Upon arrival, they will set up the transport device, and at least one of them will have to teleport here and then back to the colony world. This will make others feel safe traveling through our device. Then, we will declare the colony open for migration and let people who feel their lives would be better outside of the State, walk willingly to their own deaths.”
“How will we control this?” Victor leaned back in his seat. “What if too many civilians want to go? What if we don’t have enough workers to stay behind and keep our civilization afloat?”
James nodded. “I’m sorry, I have to agree with Victor. I think the idea of living out in the open sounds exhilarating, even though I am fully devoted to the State.”
Dr. Rhetta smiled coyly. “That is where the fun begins. It is also part of what will make this so complex. We will create the illusion that the rebellion has won the upper hand. We will see to it that one of their own becomes the Head of State once Victor is gone. That leader will make them believe that all they have to do is shut down the teleportation device on their colony and they will be forever free of us. We will lose some of our compliant civilians, but as we need to reduce the population anyway, this is no concern of ours. Besides, the Council will retain control over the selection process of who is granted permission to go. We will keep those behind that are needed here.”
Victor raised an eyebrow and looked at her sideways. “Why would they believe for a moment, they are free of us? How can they think that simply shutting down the teleportation device will keep us from coming for them?”
“Because, they will believe they are on a colony planet.”
“Come again?” Victor leaned forward.
Dr. Rhetta’s eyes glimmered with delight. “Yes. Most people outside of this very room will think that this colony is on another planet, twenty-two light years away. Therefore, they will believe that by disassembling their transport device, they will take control of the colony world.”
“And where will they really be?” James raised an eyebrow.
“Portland. It is always Portland.”
Victor took a deep breath. “And you think people will believe this?” His shoulders tensed.
“Yes,” she answered without hesitation. “Trust me when I say, everyone will believe that colonization is real. We’ve planned it perfectly from compartmentalizing the team of scientists down to the rebellion, who have already gotten wind of this project and are acting accordingly.”
James and Victor both glanced at each other as though uncertain they could believe her. Victor looked over at Dr. Rhetta and then back at James a few times before he burst into laughter. He laughed a deep full bellied laugh, James joining shortly after.
Victor laughed and clapped his hands as a few tears escaped his eyes. “That isn’t only brilliant, it sounds like a lot of fun. I can’t wait to get started.”
Chapter 32
Chastity
She looked at the time once again, confirming it was just shy of when most of the State House workers went home for the day. She pushed through the front door without greeting another worker and set off on a brisk pace back to her apartment.
Once on route, she realized there was another form of resistance haunting the back of her mind: I have to spend time with Lance tonight. She lost the spring in her step. The reason she was leaving early was to spend time with her partner, to mend their broken relationship. The challenge was, she wasn’t sure she wanted to.
She knew she had to, her future at the State House depended on it, but it was a different motivation than actually desiring him. The first day they met, he offered to take her on a tour of the area. She had wanted to go then, excited to learn about both her new home and the man she was to share it with.
She had felt infatuated with him when their relationship was new, something she accepted as love, but it quickly dwindled with her hectic schedule.
Does this mean Dr. Rhetta is right? Did I push my partner away because I only cared for my civil duty? Or had he not been enough to hold my interest in the first place? It hadn’t taken us long to drift apart, to conduct polite conversations in passing rather than sharing any real intimacy.
She pressed forward. Regardless of what had driven a wedge between them, it didn’t change the fact that she had no alternative. She could not leave him and ignoring him wasn’t an option. Somehow, the responsibility of maintaining a healthy relationship had fallen on her shoulders.
It didn’t feel fair, but as Dr. Rhetta had said, it wasn’t about being fair.
She made it to their apartment shortly before Lance. She quickly changed into her exercise clothing and was securing the laces on her shoes when he walked in the bedroom.
“Oh, wow. You made good time.”
She nodded. “Victor knows of this situation and Dr. Rhetta’s recommendations.”
He unbuttoned his jumpsuit and stepped out, leaving him standing in his underclothing. Chastity stood from the bed, not caring to watch him change.
“Where are you going?”
She turned and looked at him, dumbfounded. “I’m ready to leave. I was going to wait for you in the living room.”
He shrugged, yet t
here was nothing casual in his gesture. “Is it really necessary to wait in another room for me to change?”
Her eyes darted back and forth between the two rooms, feeling trapped regardless of what room she chose. “I don’t know.” She shrugged. “I just thought I would get out of your way.”
His jaw clenched as he raised his hand, pointing a stiff finger at her. “No, you didn’t. You are avoiding me. Even on the night you set aside to spend with me, you are still avoiding me.”
“Lance, I think you are reading too much into this. I don’t see how waiting in the living room is avoiding you. We are still in the same apartment which doesn’t have the space needed for us to avoid each other. If you had something to say to me, I could hear you perfectly well from the living room.”
Betrayed: Book Five of the State Series Page 21
