Consensus: Part 1 - Citizen

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Rena wandered past one booth after another, each one representing some issue deemed appropriate for her age group—school dress codes, city-wide curfew, conversion rates, consequences associated with relationship associations in the system. They were all the same booths as before. In over a year of being absent, none of the topics had changed. None of the progress that the Founder lady had written of.

"Are you hungry?" asked a short, well-dressed man holding a tray of pastries.

Over his shoulder, Kirti was engaged in a heated discussion with another girl over something fashion-related. Rena shook her head and moved farther down the aisle.

What is the point of this if nothing ever changes?

It seemed like a waste of everyone's time to discuss the same topics over and over again. Especially when they just ended up voting with the average anyway. Rena wondered how often laws ever got overturned. Was there some metric within the system for how long a law had remained the same?

At the back of the room was a row of booths dedicated to larger social and political issues. Rena remembered it being vacant most of the time. To her surprise, there were actually a handful of kids speaking one-on-one with the adult leaders. It was still the least occupied place in the room, but the small indication of change was encouraging.

Before she realized what she was doing, Rena had drifted close to one of the conversations. And to her horror, she recognized Lukas as one of the students.

He turned his head.

Rena looked away, her eyes settling on the text floating above one of the terminals. Hundreds of layers of information sat atop one another, and the first one had something to do with the disparity of ratings between the segments of the city.

"Rena!"

It was too late now to pretend she hadn't noticed him. "Hi," she said with more kindness than she intended.

Lukas seemed happy to see her. "This is Dr. Kalmus. He used to teach at the university in Segment Eleven."

Rena shook the doctor's hand. "It's nice to meet you."

Dr. Kalmus was only a few centimeters taller than Lukas but much wider. And his loose-fitting, brown suit made his girth even more pronounced. He had thick glasses and a receding hairline, with tight, dark curls that clung to the sides and back of his head.

"This is the one you told me about from your debate class?" he asked Lukas.

"Actually, it was social studies," Lukas replied.

Rena suddenly felt flushed. Why was Lukas talking to anyone about me? Does that mean something? What did he tell him? But the only thing she revealed on the outside was a polite smile.

"I guess a little debate is inevitable when you're speaking with an intelligent person," Lukas added.

Dr. Kalmus nodded.

Intelligent? You said my argument was emotional! "Does that mean you'll be ready for another round tomorrow?" she asked, sounding perfectly composed.

Lukas squinted before the corner of his mouth turned up. "Absolutely."

His eyes seemed bluer than what should have been legal. It was impossible to look straight at them without being affected by their influence. Rena wondered how many citizens in Esh would agree that beautiful people should have to wear bags over their heads during debates. In the interest of fairness.

"Lukas and I were just discussing how each segment has its own subculture. Have you made any such observations?"

"I've never lived outside of Segment Three," she replied, realizing her response wasn't entirely true. Before her adoption, she'd apparently grown up in an orphanage in Segment Eight, but that was only what she'd been told. She couldn't remember being there until after the police had found her in a dumpster and had taken her back.