6
The murmurs of the crowd in the room barely reach my ears. To me, they are an indiscriminate mass of strangers, milling around like insects under a rock, busy at seemingly nothing.
There are men and women in well-fit suits, with hairstyles that seem to defy everything we were taught about gravity, and faces that look probing and curious. There are others in shabbier coats, tagging behind them, some lugging cameras, other holding microphones attached to long sticks.
And everywhere, there are guards. Always there are guards. Not just our four, who stand near us, but members of the city's protection squads. Dressed in blue and tan, standing at attention - except I see one sneak a donut from the refreshments table and I frown to myself.
We stand in a tight little group near the front of the room, watching and waiting. Finally, at a nod from one of the event directors, Johanna stands up to the podium, and the crowd goes quiet. Everywhere, microphones are thrust in her direction.
"My name is Johanna Reyes. I come from Chicago." The room tenses, taut with the effect of her words. She continues. "Chicago was the first experiment to utilize a faction system to divide the citizens. It is now a factionless city. It is a free and open place, and many people have moved in and out of it. It holds a mix of all types of people. I'm sure you can safely say that our city is just like yours now."
The crowd bursts into more murmurs, more mutters. "But everyone knows that your city is full of GDs," says one of the women in a dark purple dress.
Johanna tilts her chin, strong and proud, and speaks. "My city is full of people. People whose genes vary, whose DNA strands are identical to no one else's in the world. People who have traits for certain things, others who do not. Now let me ask you, what about the people in your city? Do they not possess diversity in the way they look, think, and feel?" She smiles, and again the room erupts into noise. Flashbulbs go off, so many at once it seems like lightning has filled the room.
Cara and Matthew take over the podium together, and I give Johanna a hand as she comes down, squeezing it. She smiles at me, and I smile back, glad that she is here. Her scar is an ornament of mystery and strength on her face, and as she steps away, she brushes her hair away from her face.
On the train we watch the news, a replay of the live broadcasts earlier. It is filled with clips of our first press conference. Some news anchors seem incredulous, but others seem intrigued.
On the screen, we see Cara and Matthew, each expounding on things like DNA and evolution and genetic traits. Finally they pause, and present a question. Could the crowd guess which one of them was from Chicago, born in it? They couldn't.
"So you see. We are both two humans who are adept in a similar field. The only difference is where we were born. Do you really think that should determine the difference of our rights?" Matthew's voice comes over the speakers, and on the screen I see Cara look over at him, smiling shyly.
I steal a glance at them now, seated near me, and the look on their faces is replicated, but this time they aren't at a public broadcast, they're on a train together, and although it's not completely private here, they are sitting as close together as possible, and I see Cara steal a kiss.
Caleb Prior stands and tells his story. When he comes to the part about his mother having come from Milwaukee, a hush falls across the room.
"My mother was selfless. She was brave. She was smart, too. She was many things. I never really found out a lot about her, not until after her death anyway. She loved my father, she loved my sister, she loved me. My sister took after her. The women of our family were some of the strongest people I've known. Both of them died for us, died for me. So did my father.
My father was an intelligent man. I guess that's where I got some of my tendencies from. I am not being arrogant, it is just the way our genes were laid out. But I did things he himself would never do. I know from years of working in labs that while a genetic trait may be passed down from parent to offspring, there are other behavioral tendencies that spring up out of nowhere. Our ancestry may determine part of who we are, but it's really within our hearts that the rest of ourselves can be found.
I have committed a lot of mistakes, because at first I did not realize that our differences could be mended. I thought that once different, once separated in faction, there was no other way to mend a rift that behavior and society created. But it turns out that with love, anything can be surmounted, regardless of genes, faction, or anything else. It's one of the truths that the sacrifice of my family has taught me. The acts of love they gave as their lives showed me how much our differences cease to matter."
I'm surprised by how deep Caleb has gone – deeper than the levels of physics and matter, deeper than the physical and tangible. I catch his eye from across the carriage, and I offer a smile. There may be hope yet. After all, he has changed. And so have I.
George and Amar come next, talking together about how they are both people who enjoy doing policework and protection.
"For one thing," says Amar, "I can shoot from fifty meters and hope to hit something somewhere. There are other people I know who are much better, though. We all have different abilities and different interests, and our minds have different ways of working. I always like to adapt to situations. It means having a flexible mind when it comes to certain things."
George steps in, "For a long time, I wondered what was wrong with me. When I found out I was GP, I thought that meant everything. But I've met other GPs who are completely different, and also GDs who are so similar to me. So it made me wonder if there really was a significance. It turns out, we're all just people who think certain ways and are inclined to certain things."
The message in their words hits hard. Here is the truth, coming from two individuals who are GP, who they cannot peg with having lowly judgement because of "damaged" genes.
"I used to think that being brave was ordinary, because I came from a faction which used to emphasize that quality," says Amar. "But then I realize that being brave is hard, even for the Dauntless. Because when the definition of a word is warped, it's hard to become that. To some people, a real act of bravery would be suicide. Or doing and saying stupid, harmful things."
George smiles. "A real act of bravery is one with the intent to help others who have no power, no matter how small this deed is. We believe in ordinary acts of bravery, because we've seen them done by people like and unlike us. In other words, human beings, all alike and all different."
"Here's me!" Christina giggles next to me, as we see her rise to the microphone, her face somber.
"I'm Christina, and I have something to share with you." The crowd goes quiet, anticipating.
"I'm afraid of moths."
I lean over and say, "that's the bravest thing I've ever seen you do." She smacks my arm, just as the laughter breaks out, coming in waves from the speakers.
Back on the screen, the somber Christina has transformed into her usual lively self. She grabs a microphone and thrusts it towards a nearby reporter. "If you wouldn't mind, well, perhaps you would – could you name one fear you have? Any fear at all. Paper bags, perhaps?" her boisterous energy seems to invigorate everyone, and soon fears are flying into the air. Darkness. Socks. Snakes. Trains. Heights! Dogs. Holes. Wasps. My mother-in-law!
Everyone is laughing, including Christina herself. She struggles to catch her breath and finally says, "We all have fears. And, we all have things we are confident about. For one thing, I'm confident in my ability to forgive. But it would be pretty hard, if the offending crime had been unleashing a cage of moths on me." Again, laughter. She takes the opportunity to cast a glance at me, and the Tobias on the screen knows it's his time, to speak to these people, who are slowly starting to learn what we know, what we live by.
Oh my goodness. I'm so sorry it took me so long to update this! The storm wiped out our electricity and signal. Keep safe everyone :3