The events in this story take place immediately after chapter thirty-two. At the start of chapter thirty-three, Tris is awoken by the sound of the other Dauntless being controlled by the simulation. In this story, the simulation was never activated, but the tension between the factions - between Erudite and Abnegation - is still at a high.
Page 415 of Divergent:
A moment later, Tobias's thumb brushes over the injection site on my neck, and a few things come together at once. I don't know how I didn't figure this out before.
One: Colored serum contains transmitters.
Two: Transmitters connect the mind to a simulation program.
Three: Erudite developed the serum.
Four: Eric and Max are working with the Erudite.
[...] "Tris?" [Tobias] asks, confused.
I shake my head. "Not now." I meant to say not here, not with [...] the clamor of the Dauntless surrounding us. But he has to know how important it is.
"Later," I say. "Okay?"
He nods. I don't even know how I'll explain it later. I don't even know how to think straight.
But I do know how Erudite will get us to fight.
I open my eyes. Take a breath. Today we're choosing our jobs.
And since I am ranked first, I'm the first to choose.
No pressure, right?
The words government job keep flitting across my mind, as they have been since last night. At first I banished the idea as soon as it sprung up, but now, I thought about it. What better way to get the inside scoop on everything the government was planning than to become a member of the government myself? There wasn't.
I still haven't told Tobias about my epiphany last night. I need to tell him, soon, because they injected us with the transmitter last night. And serums don't run through your blood forever. Soon they're going to activate it, and everyone who was injected is going to be at the mercy of the Erudite and the Dauntless-turned-Erudite. I only hope we're able to stop them in time. If not, who knows what they'll make us do. Well, everyone who isn't Divergent. I hope it isn't anything major they're planning to use us for, but I know in my heart that they wouldn't go through all the trouble if the outcome wasn't going to be worthwhile for them.
Sitting up slowly, I look around at the dorm room. Last night was the last night we would be sleeping in these bunks; after we choose our job, we get assigned our own apartments. Or, at least, we would get assigned our own apartments.
If the simulation doesn't launch.
I shake myself and climb out of my bed swiftly, quietly padding my way out of the room and down the corridors, my path set strait to Tobias's room. I have to tell him about the simulation, and the more I think about it, the more certain I am that they will launch an attack. Against who, I don't know. But I have a sinking suspicion that I know exactly who they will attack.
I find myself in front of Tobias's door. My hand comes up and I knock softly, all the while hoping Tobias is a light sleeper, or an early riser, because there was no way I was going to go banging around the Dauntless compound at five-thirty in the morning. Not with all the needles being shoved in everyone's necks.
Luckily, he is one of those two, and Tobias opens the door, a guarded expression on his face. When he sees that it's me, his features slacken and he steps aside, ushering me in silently, looking down the hallway to see if anyone is watching us. He closes the door and walks over to where I have perched myself on the edge of his bed. He sits down besides me and turns to look me in the eye, waiting for me to speak.
"Tobias," I squeak, and clear my throat, "Tobias, they injected everyone with a transmitter yesterday. They're planning on using us as an army, and we need to warn everyone."
He nods at me slowly, not looking surprised in the slightest. I should have known he would have connected the dots without me telling him. "If they were planning on using us – which I have no doubt they were – they would have launched the simulation by now. Either someone is getting in the way of the launch, or Jeanine is having second thoughts." He says, "The serum they injected everyone with is only meant to last a few hours, half a day at most, which would mean that the Erudite could have acted on their plans and launched their simulation any time during the night. No one acted strange last night, did they?" he asks. I shake my head no.
"I'm pretty sure someone stopped the simulation before it could go into effect, then. Jeanine isn't the kind of person to back out of things. Tris," he grabs my hands scooting closer to me on the bed so that our bodies are angled towards each other, our knees touching. "I suggest you get a government job. Being in the loop of the higher-ups may be the only way we can stop future attempts to brainwash our faction. I'm not saying you have to, what I'm saying is it would be a very, very smart thing if you get a leadership position."
"Will they still be able to kill me?" Stupid, I think. The second the words are out of my mouth I regret them. Of course they'll still be able to kill me.
Tobias smiles, but there is no humor in his eyes. "They'll still be able to kill you, but the higher up you are in the leadership hierarchy, the harder it's going to be for Eric and Max and Jeanine to pull off your murder as an accident."
My murder. The words bounce around in my head, and I ask a question that's been bugging at the back of my mind, "Who shut down the simulation? Who figured out what the Erudite were doing before we did?"
Tobias just shakes his head, laying back on his bed with his hands locked behind his neck. "I don't know. Most likely someone who's close to the leaders, or someone who works with simulations a lot and was quick enough to put two and two together the moment they were given the equation. I don't know." he repeats, sighing up at the ceiling. I curl up next to him, resting my head against his chest.
"Okay," I say, "okay. I'll get a government job. I'll need your help, though. I don't know how to be a leader."
His laughter rumbles in his chest, and he wraps an arm around my shoulders. "I know just about as much as you do when it comes to leading people, Beatrice. What?" he says when he sees the look of scorn on my face, "You don't like Beatrice? Ah, well, I thought I'd give it a try."
"Special occasions only, probably," I shoot back to him, settling back down with my ear over his beating heart. We stay like this for a while, him stroking my hair and me listening to the rhythm of his breathing, just content to be in the presence of one another.
We mull in our thoughts for a while, both of us thinking about the transmitter flowing through all of the Dauntless, until it becomes time for breakfast. I scurry back to my dorm room quietly and get dressed for the day, looking around at all of my fellow initiates; all who would have been soldiers, if Tobias is right in his thinking that someone stopped the simulation before Erudite could launch it. I'm already dreading the inevitable thing I have to do in order to protect all the other Divergent. Getting a government job is just about as desirable as getting a megaphone and announcing to the whole faction that I am Divergent. Christina chatters to me about how excited she is about choosing a job, and about how oh Tris you could get a great government position if you wanted to, and oh I hope Will and I get apartments close together, and oh I can't wait to see the look on Peter's face when you get a better job than him. I smile at her and laugh appropriately, but my heart isn't into the conversation, and all I can think about is getting it over with, choosing a job and then getting an apartment, and then I will be able to relax, at least for a little while, before Tobias and I can conjuncture up a plan to rot out the Erudite/Dauntless from the inside.
Yes, I have an interesting day ahead of me.
Short first chapter! I'll try and update every other day, to make the chapters longer, because I can't really stand short chapters. After the first few are up, though, I'm going to try and shoot for weekly updates. Thanks for reading, I hope you liked it! If you'd review with your thoughts on this plot that would be awesome, because knowing someone likes your story enough to tell you is an awesome feeling. Thanks!