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"The dead are not the only ones who leave Atlantia," Maire says, her voice a whisper, even though there is no one here but o Above, like Bay" Maire pauses "But there are others The Council, when occasion requires it"

I already know this Soh the locks--the series of compression and decompression chambers that lead to the surface It’s part of their work The Council otiate with the people who live Above, to oes The Minister’s safety is too precious to put at risk, and his or her place is in the Below

"Did you know that this ti to take the sirens, too?" Maire asks "Rumor has it that we’ll leave very soon If you let me, I could take you with us Above"

Remember, I tell myself, you can’t believe what she says But I can’t help it I could go up with them and perhaps, once I was Above, I could find a way to escape

"Sirens are miracles," Maire says "Remember that"

"Then why are you all at the mercy of the Council?" I ask

"Because we are human miracles," Maire says "And so there are people we love, and the Council can hold that over us Reet people to agree to stay Above by sending one of their loved ones to live safely Below? That manipulation is very like what the Council does with the sirens It’s how they control us We do what they ask, and our loved ones have better lives If we don’t do what they want, they can s difficult for those we love"

"Who do you love?" I ask Maire, because I cannot picture her loving anyone Especially now that hs "I love myself," she says "I do what they ask because I want to live"

I understand her

She and I are alike

I love Bay, and my mother, but I also want to survive Perhaps that is what I wantelse If I’m honest withain and howcertainty that, if I don’t get Above, so in me will die?

Maire and I are two sides of the same dark coin

"And of course I loved your mother," Maire says She walks out into the ate chamber "She was in this chamber years before her death, you know All potential Ministers come here The Council and the priests close off the public viewing area One by one, each candidate for Minister lies down in the middle of the floor, in the same spot where their bodies will be placed when they die Did you know this?"

No My rowing, pushing, pulling on me, "because I was there"

"You couldn’t have been there," I say "They would never consider you for Minister, and you’re not part of the Council"

"That’s true," Maire says "But as you know, a Minister has to prove that he or she is either ih to resist theht, while the rest of Atlantia sleeps The priests and Council watch as witnesses And then the sirens co The other priests and the Council don’t hear e say They watch our lips, of course, they see the words, but they stay safe from our voices"