'I think everyone is here, so let's get started.' Max closes the conference room door. The way he looks in this ordinary environment is so strange, like he wants to cause chaos and break things instead of lead a meeting. 'You're all here because you've displayed enthusiasm for our faction and its future. Our city is changing faster than ever before, and in order to keep with it we'll have to change too.'

That's what Jeanine said to me. I'm sure she had some input in this speech. Max continues speaking as I watch Four, wondering what he's thinking right now.

'We'll have to become stronger, braver, better than we are now. And among you are the people who can get us there, but we'll have to figure out who they are. We'll be doing a combination of instructions and skills tests for the next several months, to teach you what you need to know if you make it through the program, but also to see how quickly you learn.'

That sounds more Erudite than Dauntless. Maybe Jeanine had more input in this than I thought.

'The first thing you'll do is fill out this info sheet.' Some Dauntless around me are smiling. It's amusing to see a Dauntless fighter brandishing pens and paper. 'All these will do is tell us more about you and give us a starting point by which to measure your progress. So it's in your best interests to be honest, and not to make yourself sound better than you are.'

I start filling out my sheet. Name, age, faction of origin, number of fears, what those fears are. I watch Tobias wince and scribble physical threats in confined spaces, knowing that's far from true.

After that, there's a list of statements, cryptically worded, that I'm supposed to agree or disagree with. Power should be given only to those who earn it. Difficult circumstances form stronger people. You don't know how strong a person is until they're tested. It's okay to steal if it's to help someone else. On and on, for a whole page. Some people look puzzled, confused. Tobias looks almost disturbed, and I wonder what's wrong with him.

I circle disagree for most of them and hand my paper back with everyone else's.

The next meeting is barely a day later, early in the morning. The sun is still rising, and I'm barely awake; hardly anyone is. I've already taken a freezing cold shower to wake myself up, but it did nothing. Tobias is the only one that looks properly alert. Well, of course he is.

I can guarantee that this meeting is going to be boring, not worth waking myself up for. Lauren is, as well as an initiation instructor, a computer technician, and she's going to show us about programming a computer. Like I didn't already know that.

Lauren claps her hands together. 'Right. Today we're going to talk about how programming works. Those of you who already have some experience with this stuff, please feel free to tune out. The rest of you better keep focused because I'm not going to repeat myself. Learning this stuff is like a language; it's not enough to memorise the words, you also have to understand the rules and why they work the way they do.'

I zone out completely as she talks, watching the stunning view out of the window; from this angle, the Pire gives an amazing view of the skyline and the city. The buildings look like they're shining, and the marsh is just barely discernible from between the towering skyscrapers. The Hub is the biggest of all, with its prongs piercing the sky. The sun has almost fully risen, casting a yellow-orange glow on everything.

I find a spare pen on the floor and start doodling on my hand, smirking to myself. Everyone else looks so overwhelmed; I'm the only one who knows all of this. I'm the only former Erudite here, except perhaps Lauren. Where else would she have learned all this? I learned to take apart a computer and put it back together for fun, it's not like she could teach me anything.

'On the desktop of your computer, you'll find a file marked Programming Test,' Lauren says. 'Open it. It will take you to a timed exam. You'll go through a series of small programs and mark the errors you find that are causing them to malfunction.' Child's play. I don't know why everyone is looking so worried. 'They might be really big things, like the order of the code, or really small things, like a misplaced word or marking. You don't have to fix them right now, but you do have to be able to spot them. There will be one error per program. Go.'

Everyone starts crazily tapping their screens. I see an opportunity for a dig at Tobias, and say, 'Did your Stiff house even have a computer, Four?'

'No,' he replies absently. Probably too tired to suspect anything.

'Well, you see, this is how you open a file.' I tap the screen, exaggerating the movement. 'See, it looks like paper, but it's really just a picture on a screen…you know what a screen is, right?'

'Shut up,' he answers without inflection, opening the test.

I race through the exam as fast as I can, faster than I usually would, looking at quotation marks and backslashes and numbers. Looking for code errors is strangely soothing, but right now my only goal is to get through this as fast as I can. For a second, I remember doing this with Alex, racing against him. I'm so much faster now; the last year before the Choosing Ceremony is, in Erudite, the most intense one. But I think he'd still be faster than me; he always was.

For a second, the thought sends a stab of grief through me. But I ignore it, no time for grief and memories now, and keep going. Eventually a window pops up; Exam Complete.

Lauren walks over to me and nods approvingly. I notice that no one else, including Tobias, looks even almost ready to finish. I decide to stay behind him and watch him complete the exam. Another thing I would do with Alex. Tobias is going faster than I thought he would. Since when did he get to this level of programming?

Eventually he reaches the same notification as I did; Exam Complete. Lauren notices and walks over. 'Good job. You're the third one to finish.'

As she walks over to someone else, Four turns to me, smirking. I don't like the look on his face, but before I can say anything he says, 'Wait. Weren't you about to explain what a screen was? Obviously I have no computer skills at all, so I really need your help.'

His grin widens, and I scowl. Sometimes I really, really hate him.

A/N: Hi! I've just realised what may be a source of confusion…Chapter 13 has been changed. It's now Amar's chapter, and Eric's chapter, the one after that, is now chapter 14. If you haven't seen it already, it's my favourite chapter to write.

Here's something to consider... What do you think
would've happened if Eric hadn't come to Dauntless? I know that Dauntless would be a better place, but that's as far as I've got. What do you think? Leave your thoughts in a review! Maybe I should start doing a What-If scenario every chapter…

Thanks so much for all the support! Still don't own Divergent…3rd time I remembered to mention this…Maybe I'll make it to 4 disclaimers soon!