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PART ONE

PILOT

CHAPTER 1

XANDER

Every , the sun comes up and turns the earth red, and I think: This could be the day when everything changes Maybe today the Society will fall Then night co But I know the Pilot’s real

Three Officials walk up to the door of a little house at sunset The house looks like all of the others on the street: two shutters on each of its three forward-facing s, five steps up to the door, and one sht of the path

The oldest of the Officials, a ray hair, raises his hand to knock

One Two Three

The Officials stand close enough to the glass that I can see the circle-shaped insignia sewn on the right pocket of the youngest Official’s uniforht red and looks like a drop of blood

I smile and he does, too Because the Official: isoccasion at City Hall The Society held a for your parents and your Match with you But the Official Cere Day, the Match Banquet, and the Final Celebration--and so it’s not what it used to be The Society has started to cut corners where they can, and they assuh not to cos

I stood there with four others, all of us in nehite unifornia onthe Medical Depart under the dome of the ed to achieve our Society-designated potential That was all I didn’t care that the cere special Because I’m not really an Official I

A girl wearing a violet dress hurries along the sidewalk behind us I see her reflection in theShe’s got her head down like she’s hoping on’t notice her Her parents follow behind, all three of the toward the nearest air-train stop It’s the fifteenth, so the Match Banquet is tonight It hasn’t even been a year since I walked up the stairs of City Hall with Cassia We’re both far away from Oria now

A wo her new baby, the one we’re here to na you" She looks tired, even on what should be one of the happiest days of her life The Society doesn’t talk about it s are harder in the Border Provinces The resources see here in Camas Province is kind of dirty and worn out

After the door closes behind us, the mother holds out the baby for us to see "Seven days old today," she tells us, but of course we already know That’s e’re here Welco Day celebrations are always held a week after the baby’s birth

The baby’s eyes are closed, but we know from our data that the color is deep blue His hair: brown We also know that he arrived on his due date and that under the tightly wrapped blanket he has ten fingers and ten toes His initial tissue sample taken at the medical center looked excellent

"Are you all ready to begin?" Official Brewer asks As the senior Official in our Coht balance of benevolence and authority He’s done this hundreds of times I’ve wondered before if Official Brewer could be the Pilot He certainly looks the part And he’s very organized and efficient

Of course, the Pilot could be anyone

The parents nod

"According to the data, we’re ," the second in coentle voice "Did you want him to be present for the ceremony?"

"He was tired after dinner," the etic "He could barely keep his eyes open I put him to bed early"

"That’s fine, of course," Official Lei says Since the little boy is just over two years old--nearly perfect spacing between siblings--he’s not required to be in attendance This isn’t so he’d likely remember anyway

"What name have you chosen?" Official Brewer moves closer to the port in the foyer

"Ory," the mother says

Official Brewer taps the name into the port and the mother shifts the baby a little "Ory," Official Brewer repeats "And for his middle name?"

"Burton," the father says "A family name"

Official Lei smiles "That’s a lovely name"

"Come and see how it looks," Official Brewer says The parents come closer to the port to see the baby’s name: ORY BURTON FARNSWORTH Underneath the letters runs the bar code the Society has assigned for the baby If he leads an ideal life, the Society plans to use the same bar code to mark his tissue preservation sample at his Final Celebration