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A feeeks later, Mission had told his friends this otherof revolution He had pretended to come up with it himself It was just the sort of pseudo-intellectual nonsense they regaled each other with late at night on dark landings while they inhaled potato glue out of plastic bags

His best friend Rodny had been the only one unie," he had said with a serious look in his eye

Mission wondered what his best friend was doing now He hadn’t seen Rodny infor on thirty-four kept hiht back to better days, growing up in the Nest with friends tight as a fist He rerow old in the Up Top They would live along the same hallways, watch their eventual kids play the way they had

But all had gone their separate ways It was hard to re expected by their parents, but eventually roup decision never discussed, like a dozen private revolutions They had left ho Daughters of the cafe learned to sew None of them bothered to ask howfelt new and unique, and so it had to be

Mission reht with his father, throwing down his shovel, proain He’d learned in the Nest that he could be anything he wanted, that he was in charge of his own fate And so when he grew miserable, he assumed it was the farms that made him feel that way; he assuht about hisof fire burned around his neck, the remnants of a rope’s embrace

He and Cam had flipped a dime back in Dispatch, heads for heads, and now Mission could feel a aze to survey the steps ahead, the back of his skull --birthdays and deathdays pressed tight, two halves of a single coin

Mission carried them both, that load meant for two He took the stairs a pair at a time, a brutal pace, up toward the farm of his youth

•2•

The coroner’s office was on the farm’s lower level, tucked away at the end of those dark and da was low in that half level Pipes hung visible frorily as pumps kicked on and moved nutrients to distant and thirsty roots Water dripped from dozens of sed metallic with each strike Another overflowed The floors were slick, the walls damp like sweaty skin

Inside her office, the boys lifted the body onto a slab of dentedShe tipped them for the speedy delivery, and when Carumpiness over the pace dissolved Back in the hallway, he bid Mission good day and splashed toward the exit to find some vice to pair with the bonus

Mission watched hi much more than a year older than his friend Caht rendezvous of porters This seeerous things It made him envy Ca to arrive at the far and have his father lecture him on laziness, Mission stopped by theup Winters was on duty, a dark arded Mission suspiciously and clai Mission explained he was going up anyway and that he was glad to take anything

"In that case," Winters said He hoisted a monstrous water pu," Mission told hi

Winters narrowed his eyes as if Mission had worked a bolt loose

The pump wouldn’t fit inside his porter’s pack, but the haul straps on the outside of the pack looped nicely across the jutting pipes and sharp fittings Winters helped hih the straps and the pump secured to his back He thanked the old man, which drew another worried frown, and set off and up the half level Back at the stairwell, the odor of mildew from the wet halls faded, replaced by the smell of loam and freshly tilled soil, scents of ho on nineteen was crowded as a jam of people atte apart fro child She had the stains on her knees of a picker and the agitated look of one sent out of the grow plots to soothe her noisy brood As Mission crowded past, he heard between the baby’s cries the words of a fahtfully close to the railing, the infant’s eyes hat looked to Mission like unadulterated fear

He worked his way through the crowd, and the cries froeneral din It occurred to Mission ho kids he saw any There had been an explosion of newborns after the violence the last generation had wrought, but noas just the trickle of natural deaths and the handful of lottery winners It

With e of a porter, he eventuallyhis ‘chief, Mission wiped the sweat frootten to top up his canteen a level below, and hisso swift a pace felt silly now It was as if his loo birthday were soot away the better But now in the wash of sights and sounds frohts ood it felt to be there

There were a few hellos and waves as he worked his way toward the gates Soetables to haul up to the cafeteria He saw his aunt working one of the vending stalls outside the security gate After giving up chipping, she now perfor she’d never shadowed for Mission did his best not to catch her eye; he didn’t want to get sucked into a lecture or have his hair htened

Beyond the stalls, a handful of younger kids clustered in the far corner where it was dark, probably dealing seeds, not looking nearly as inconspicuous as they likely thought The entire scene in the entrance hall was one of a second bazaar, of far in froet food they feared would neverfear, crowds becos, and it was easy to see how ate was Frankie, a tall and skinny kid Mission had grown up with Mission wiped his forehead with the front of his undershirt, which was already cool and damp with sweat "Hey, Frankie," he called out

"Mission" A nod and a ss froo Frankie’s father worked in security, down in IT Frankie had wanted to become a farmer, which Mission never understood Their teacher, Mrs Crowe, had been delighted and had encouraged Frankie to follow his dreams And now Mission found it ironic that Frankie had ended up working security for the farms It was as if he couldn’t escape what he’d been born to do

Mission smiled and nodded at Frankie’s hair "Did soed on his locks, which were nearly down to his shoulders "I know, right? My mother threatens to come up here and knife it in my sleep"