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They passed the dirt farured this to be a key asset The thirties of IT were a long hike up, but if they had to fall back, they would need to hold at Supply Between their , the food on this level, and the ht be self-sufficient He could think of a feeak links, but many more for IT They could always shut off their power or stop treating their water--but he really hoped, as they approached Supply on weary legs, that it wouldn’t co of one-ten by frowns McLain, the elder woman and head of Supply, stood with her ar unwelcome

"Hello, Jove" Knox fixed her with a wide smile

"Don’t Jove me," McLain said "What’s this nonsense you’re after?"

Knox glanced up and down the stairwell, shrugged his heavy load higher up his shoulder "Mind if we step in and talk about it?"

"I don’t want any trouble here," she said, her eyes blazing beneath her lowered brow

"Let’s go inside," Knox said "We haven’t stopped once on the way up Unless you want us collapsing out here"

McLain seemed to consider this Her arms loosened across her chest She turned to three of her workers, who for wall behind her, and nodded While they pulled open the glearabbed Knox’s aret comfortable," she told him

Inside the front room of Supply, Knox found a s Most of the counter where the people of the silo normally waited for whatever parts they needed, whether newly fabricated or recently repaired The parallel and deep aisles of shelves beyond ran into the gloo off of them The roo and clanking sounds of fabrication could be heard worht hear workers chatting unseen back in the stacks while they sorted newly fashioned bolts and nuts into hungry bins

Noas just silence and distrustful glares Knox stood with his people, their sacks and loads slu exhaustedly to the floor, sweat on their brohile the

He had expected ahistory together They jointly ran the small mine beneath the lowest levels of Mechanical that supplemented the silo’s stockpile of ores

But now, as McLain followed her boys back inside, she graced Knox with a look of scorn he hadn’t seen since hisof this?" she hissed at Knox

He was taken aback by the language, especially in front of his people He thought of hi snapped at as if by one of Supply’s dogs

McLain ranged down the exhausted line ofback to hi this proble your eh hi to do with this, right? That you’ve coize and shower , but Knox waved her off There were a lot of people in the rooo undiplo his teeth together and bowing his head "And no, I just learned of this earlier today After I found out about the cleaning, in fact"

"So it was all your electrician," McLain said, her thin arht But--"

"I’ve meted out punishment to those involved here, let me tell you And I suppose you’ll have to do hter behind the counter Knox put a hand on Shirly’s shoulder to keep her in place He looked past McLain to the ed behind McLain

"They came and took one of our workers," he said His chest may have been heavy, but his voice still boomed "You kno it happens When they want a body for cleaning, they take it" He thumped his chest "And I let them I stood there because I trust this systean, but Knox continued in that voice that routinely gave calm commands over the racket of machines run amok

"One of my people was taken, and it was the oldest of us, the wisest of us, who intervened on her behalf It was the weakest and most scared of us who braved his neck And whoever of you he turned to for help, and who gave it, I owe you ave her more than a chance to walk over that hill, to die in peace and out of sight You gave e to open my eyes To see this veil of lies we live behind--"

"That’s quite enough," McLain barked "So to such nonsense, to such drivel--"

"It’s not nonsense," Marck cried down the line "Juliette is dead because of--"

"She’s dead because she broke these very laws!" McLain snapped, her voice high and shrill "And now you march up here to break even more? On my level?"

"We aim to break heads!" Shirly said

"Leave it!" Knox told theer in McLain’s eyes, but he also saw so the rank and file behind her

A porter entered the room with empty sacks in each hand and looked around at the tense silence One of the large Supply workers by the door ushered hi hi the interruption

"No person has ever been sent to cleaning for listening, however great the taboo" He allowed that to sink in He glared at McLain as she ainst it "So letby any of you for what I’m about to say I elcome it if these facts do not move you to instead push forith me and my men For this is what Walker and a few of you brave souls have shown us this ive us There’s more at our disposal to broaden our horizons than they’ll allow We have been raised on a pack of lies,on the hills, but now one of us has crossed over that! They have seen new horizons! We have been given seals and washers and told that they should suffice, but what are they?"<ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7451196230453695" data-ad-slot="9930101810" data-ad-format="auto" data-full-width-responsive="true"></ins>