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Disappointment

So deep it feels like heartbreak I brush the back of ainst my eyes

I didn’t realize until now that I expected to recognize the Pilot’s voice Did I think he would sound like Grandfather? Did I think the Pilot would be Grandfather, soue," the Pilot says "The Society created it and sent it to the Enemy in their water"

The Pilot’s words come into the silence like carefully selected seeds or bulbs, dropped into hollowed-out spaces in the soil The Rising hasthem This is the es; noe’re outside following someone up the steps of Central’s City Hall The view is clear, even in the night, and though the building isn’t lit up with special occasion lights, the look of thedoors o, I walked up steps much like those back in Oria What lies behind the doors of Halls across the Society now?

The caone," the Pilot says "But the Plague the Society gave to the Enemy lives on with us Look at what has happened in the Society’s own capital, in Central, where the Plague first ue within the s and apart, with even more of the patients

And noe’re outside, looking from above at the white barricade that encircles Central’s City Hall

"There are barricades like this in every Province now," the Pilot tells us "The Society has tried to keep the Plague fro, but they have failed So er keep up even its ht, the Match Banquets fell apart Soo to the , I seeThey fly over us in ships; they are a us in black How many of theed a set of clothes? How deeply and well had the Rising infiltrated Central? Why do I know so little about what is taking place? Is that the Society’s fault, for h in the first place?

"When the Plague was first developed," the Pilot says, "there were those of us who sahat ive some of you immunity For the rest, we have a cure"

And now the Pilot’s voice takes on er; it plays on our es from the Society, all the best parts of our way of life We won’t lose all the things you’ve worked so hard to build But we’ll get rid of the sicknesses in the Society

"This rebellion," the Pilot says, "is different than others throughout history It will begin and end with saving your blood, not spilling it"

I start to edge toward the door I need to run To try to find Ky He didn’t coet away But he ht

"Our only regret," the Pilot says, "is that ere unable to step in before any lives were lost The Society was stronger than ere, until noe can save all of you"

On the screen, someone in a black uniform opens a case It is filled with small red tubes

Like the tubes in the cave, I think again, only those were lit blue

"This is the cure," the Pilot says "And now, at last, we have h for everyone"

The man on the screen reaches inside the case and takes out a tube, pulling off the cap and revealing a needle With the ses the needle into the line I draw in a breath

"This illness may look peaceful," the Pilot says, "but I can assure you that it is still fatal Without medical care, bodies shut down quickly Patients dehydrate and die Infection can set in We can bring you back if we find you soon enough, but if you try to run, we cannot guarantee a cure"

The port goes dark But not silent

There are likely many reasons they chose this Pilot But one of the reasons has to be his voice

Because when the Pilot starts to sing, I stop to hear

It’s the Anthe I have known all my life, one that followed et

The Pilot sings it slow, and sad

The Society is dying, is dead

Tears strea for the Society, for its end For the death of what did keep so told ood at that

I feel reenoff in row here, below Soh the fear of putting outskin instead is always there

I couldn’t find Ky, so I’ve coht lean one way or the other--Society or Rising--but it seems to me that they are Archivists above all

Today, everyone isn’t hidden a their own shelves, tucked away in their own trades The Archivists and traders have gathered in the larger est group has gathered around the head Archivist Itime to speak with her To my surprise, when she sees me, she separates herself out to coue real?" I ask

"That infor "I should ask for soone," I tell her

Her face changes, shows genuine regret "No," she says "How?"

"They were stolen," I say

Her expression softens She hands al Archivist ports As I look around the room, I notice that many of the people hold slips of paper like mine

"You’re not the only one anted to know if the Plague was real," she says "It is"