When Jemmi runs into the archive, they startle everyone in the room. They usher their friends into a back office.

Iris looks worried, "What's going on?"

"We're waiting until Ayshi gets here," Jemmi says, catching their breath, "Then I'll tell all of you at once."

The archive door slams open and they hear Ayshi loudly asking where the four in the office are. One of the other archivists points them to the office.

Ayshi slams the door open, TemPad in their hand, "The status changed. He's been caught."

Jemmi sighs, "Yeah, that's what I wanted to tell you."

Iris leans on the desk, "Can we see him?"

Ayshi shakes their head, "Not according to this. He's...probably going to be pruned."

"Is he dead?" Cyd asks.

Jemmi shakes their head, "Not yet. But I heard things... And he came through with a woman."

"Were you out sneaking again?" Tam asks.

"Yes, and you'll be glad I was."

Cyd places a hand on Jemmi's shoulder, "What did you hear?"

"I was at the intersection when they passed. Two guards, Mobius, and Loki. So I followed. I know it was risky, but I know how not to be seen. There was all sorts of commotion and whatnot so I hurried to the nearest entrance to the ductwork- you know, the one that's in the supply closet, and did what I always do. From above, I could hear a lot, even though I couldn't see it. I know Loki was sent...somewhere. It was quiet in the room. But he told Mobius he was being lied to by the TVA."

"Who was being lied to?" Iris asks, "Loki or Mobius?"

"Mobius," Jemmi replies, "And then, after a while, Mobius brings Loki out and...things were...cruel." Jemmi squeezes their eyes closed, "Cyd...it sounded like what you said it was like when he was yelling about his mother." Jemmi starts to quietly cry.

Iris walks over to Jemmi and wraps their arms around their friend, "Can you tell us anymore?"

Jemmi takes a deep breath, "He started with insults. A cockroach. And it was insults back and forth. Then Mobius said things about the Variant, the woman, being the planner of...whatever happened. Loki then tried to take responsibility. Mobius said something about the woman being pruned. He lied. Loki got upset. And Mobius said Loki was this Variant's romantic partner and Loki just kept getting more angry until Mobius said she is alive. And...and...Loki said something that scares me."

"What?" Tam asks, taking the TemPad from Ayshi.

"We're all Variants."

The room is absolutely silent, "What?" Ayshi says.

"We're all Variants," Cyd echoes.

"Then it makes sense," Tam says. Everyone looks to them. "They don't let us talk to those outside of our department. They have to know we watch other lives to keep ourselves busy. What if we came across the story of someone we know?"

Ayshi starts crying, "What does this mean?"

Cyd stares blankly towards the TemPad still in Tam's hands, "If it's true, it means we had lives. We had memories. We were someone. We had families." They pause, then sweep a book off the desk, "We had names! For the love of all that's holy, we had NAMES! And they stripped them of us and gave us numbers and told us this is all we're worth!"

Iris, leaning on Ayshi, their heads resting together, whispers, "And what did they do to us to make us forget?"

Tam hides the TemPad in their clothes, "There is only one way we can figure out who we are."

"And what's that?" Ayshi asks.

Tam gestures to the room beyond the office, "We start watching lives. We do it when others aren't looking."

Ayshi shakes their head, "That would be millions of lives. We can't manage that. There are five of us. And no one can know what we are until we have proof."

"We can't even ask Mobius about this, can we?" Iris asks.

"No, we can't. But...I also think something bad happened to him. I went away to a quiet place in the ducts. And when they all passed under me again, he wasn't there. It was Loki, the one he called Sylvie, guards, and the Judge. They were headed to the golden elevator doors."

Iris' face falls, "Oh. That's...that's not good."

"Nothing good ever comes from the golden elevator," Cyd says.

"I know," Tam says, "So...what do we do?"

Jemmi sighs, "We start watching lives." They walk out of the office and meet one anothers' eyes. Jemmi can't help but feel as though they face the impossible. Iris looks sad. Cyd's face is hollow and hopeless. Ayshi's jaw is set, determined and defiant, knowing that if they know who they are, it may be the last thing they know. Tam's hand brushes the TemPad under their clothes.

Ayshi bites their lip, "They won't let us live and know this."

Iris nods, "But at least we'll know who we are. And maybe we were even loved, not just told we were the mindless nobodies in the archive." There is a tinge of uncharacteristic bitterness to their voice.

Cyd shakes their head, "I can't believe this is what we're facing. I hope it's worth it."

Tam takes Cyd's hand and squeezes it tightly, "It is. No matter what they do to us." Tam faces the other, "Because we're in this together, and at least we know that, even if we never know who we were before."

The five friends nod to one another and go separate directions into the archive. They get their daily assignments and each of them takes a reel from next to the one they're assigned, the first step in a job that will likely take them centuries to complete.