Veracity (The Seven Cities Book 1) (15 page)

If Sadie saw me talking to Jack, she didn't mention it. I guess there are perks to the "no asking questions" rule. It isn't easy to take my mind off of him, but Sadie can tell something is off and makes a valiant effort.  She drags me from one shop to another, helping me fill bag after bag full of clothes, jewelry, and every accessory you could imagine.

When every store has been visited, and we have more bags than we can carry, Sadie drags me down the street to visit the historian. Another example of an older person escaping the confines of the elder camp, Maxwell Anderson has used his seventy-five years worth of knowledge to keep himself invaluable to the General. Max's shop is a cluttered mess of books, ledgers, and paper stacked in tall piles on every available surface. Walking in, I'm assaulted by the musty smell of history and dust. Mostly dust. Max, himself, is a fragile, shriveled old thing, his brown vest and bright blue merchant's shirt loose on his brittle body. In lieu of a belt, his dress pants are cinched tightly with a thin rope knotted about his waist.

This shop has probably never been cleaned, ever. The dust is caked on every desk, table, and book. There are even faded words in the dirt where Max has taken notes in it. Row after row of floor to ceiling bookcases fill the back half of the shop. Giant cobwebs crisscross between them, creating the look of a deserted, and possibly haunted, library.

"Don't be fooled by the mess," Sadie tells me. "He knows exactly where every piece of scrap paper is in here. No one knows how he does it, and I am pretty sure that is the only reason he is still in Veracity."

"It's incredible in here, what is all this?"

"This is our history," Sadie says. "Or what we know of it. During the Cleanse the majority of the old world was purposely lost, so we only know bits and pieces from before these walls were built, but if it has happened since, it is recorded right here."

"So my life is in here somewhere?"

"Not necessarily. It takes time and credits to get your name in the history books. I doubt you ever thought about doing it when you visited. If there is any writing about you in here, it would all be second hand information from the citizens. The historian in Axiom might have something, but knowing your brother, I am sure he wouldn't let you anywhere near him."

"It drives me crazy that no one wants to talk about what my life was like before. They all expect me to just be okay with starting over fresh and somehow finding my way back to who I was. Everyone seems to think that me forgetting is actually a good thing, that the memory of my parents death would break me. Surely I am stronger than that?"

"I don't know. I do know that in the history of the new world, nothing like that has ever happened. It goes beyond what any of us thought someone could be capable of. Would you really want to risk bringing those memories back?"

"No, not really, but I feel like a prisoner of my own limitations. My whole life is gone. Am I just supposed to accept that it's for the best?"

"Would you ladies like to add your name to history?" Max's frail voice croaks from behind a stack of leather bound books. "For just a few credits, you will be remembered for all time! It's a great deal."

"Not today Max!" Sadie hollers. "You have to yell at him," she tells me. "He's practically deaf."

"Who have you got with you, Sadie-girl?"

"Katherine Winters!"

"Ahhhh, our little princess! What a joy to finally meet you in person," he crows as he hobbles out from behind the books, extending a tiny, wrinkled hand toward me. I notice a silver band around the wrist on his opposite arm. At least the history they are recording is accurate . . . 

"Little princess?" I ask confused.

"WHAT?" he croaks.

"SHE WANTS TO KNOW WHY YOU CALLED HER THE LITTLE PRINCESS!" Sadie roars.

"Goodness girl! You don't have to shout."

"Oh, for mercy sake." Sadie sighs, rolling her eyes.

"I'm not supposed to talk to you, young lady," he tells me, taking my hand and patting it like you would a child's.

"Please?" I ask sweetly.

"Sorry dear. Orders are orders. Best you two scurry along now."

"You really can't tell me why you called me that?"

"Not if I want to keep my position, but that little blonde trouble maker over there can tell you. It's common knowledge, and I doubt she has been specifically warned not to."

Sadie looks up startled, and then gives the old man a mischievous smile before pushing over a pile of papers next to her.

"Oh, you heathen-child, you!" he hollers, throwing his spindly arms in the air. "I should have kicked you out the minute I saw you. You think I forgot the trouble you made the last time you were here, but I remember! Took me a month to clean up that mess. I swear if you weren't my own flesh and blood I would wipe your name right out of these books," he says waving a handful of papers in her face.

"Settle down old man," she laughs. "You know as well as I do you have nothing better to do than shuffle around filing things. All I did was add a little challenge to your day."

The old man grins at her, hobbling over to one of the many dusty desks, carefully setting his aged body into the chair.

"Is there anything else I can do for you ladies while you are here?"

"You can't talk about me, but could you explain what happened during the Cleanse?" I ask. "I hear people mention it all the time but no one really knows what happened."

"Sure I can," he says. "That's my job."

"Well would you?" Sadie asks?

"Hush with your smart mouth you naughty thing you," he points a shaky finger at Sadie. "I'll get to the story when I am good and ready."

We wait several awkward seconds . . .

"Ok," he croaks, "I'm ready."

"Oh, for Pete's sake," Sadie mutters.

"WHAT?"

"I SAID, OH FOR PETE'S SAKE."

"Keep your voice down child, and learn to enunciate. You've got that 'twang that's hard to understand. Dirty farmer's talk it is."

"Watch yourself old man, your own son is one of those dirty farmers. Why don't you stop being difficult and tell your story?"

"Alright, alright . . . Before the Cleanse, the world was populated with more human beings than we have numbers for. They stretched from one end of this planet to the other, breeding and dying so fast that life became a blur. They raced to each milestone, so greedy to get to the next big thing that they lost sight of the world around them. Their technology was so vast, and so incredible; it would sound more like a story than real life. They had many great achievements, but had forgotten how to truly appreciate what they had, so their accomplishments were joyless and bitter.

The people of the world divided themselves into different groups, each with their own government.  Every society had its own set of rules and morals, which often caused devastating wars, resulting in great famine and death for its people. Things grew even darker near the end, with the government full of power-hungry deviants who would do anything to keep their secrets. This desperation was the final piece of the puzzle for the creators of the Cleanse. It was the perfect time to introduce the scanner.

It was the Seven who created the scanner. They were a group of scientists who had big plans and innovative ideas on how to save both the planet and the human race. The scanner was used secretly at first to trap and manipulate the members of their government into doing exactly what they wanted. You would be surprised how quickly a man will fall when his many lies are threatened to be unraveled.

Once in control, the scientists orchestrated a great war against their own people. Most were cleansed right away for failing the scans or having genetic defects. Only those who had lived a flawless life, and children under the age of six with perfect DNA were spared.  As you can imagine, that wasn't very many. The adults who survived the initial cleanse were rounded up and used to build these cities, the perfect shiny examples of order and harmony according to the Seven. Once they were done, however, they were sent to live the rest of their lives in work camps. Only the children were let into the city to be raised in the image of the Seven.

In one generation, the history of this world was forever changed. The knowledge of our people was lost, replaced with what the Seven deemed worthy for us to know. The Seven knew that the power to fundamentally change the world resided in the minds of the children."

"That's terrible!" I cry. "Why didn't any of the other governments step in?"

"The other countries were disabled in the first wave of the cleanse. With our country's powerful military, it was easy to take out all the opposition. As far as we know, we are the last people on the planet."

"How long ago did all of this happen?"

"Six, maybe seven generations ago?" he says. "It's hard to tell. They weren't as concerned with tracking history in the early days."

"All of this. Everything that happened was made possible by a government afraid to have their lies brought to light? Could people have really been so bad then, to be so ashamed of what they had done?"

"It was a wicked world," he says. "And the Seven were clever, attacking each politician in private, never letting on they were doing the same to all the others. No one realized they had even taken power until it was too late.

"And we celebrate this?"

"As bad as The Cleanse was, it managed to do what it set out to do. They wanted to create a world without disease or war, a world of order and obedience. The way we live life today is almost identical to the first post-cleanse generation. Our system may have been built on blood, but it works."

"All right old man," Sadie says interrupting. "No more story telling today. We don't need to depress Kat with our sordid past."

Max grumbles about ungratefulness as he pushes her out the door. Laughing, she turns and kisses his head before pulling me out with her.

"I never knew you were such a trouble maker," I say. "Tormenting that poor old man."

"That poor old man would be bored to death if I didn't stop in and make a little trouble from time to time. He loves it, trust me."

"He said you were related. I thought you came over here from Axiom with Maggie?"

"I did," she says pointing to her mark, "My father was from Axiom but my mother was born here in Veracity. When she graduated, her and her twin sister were sent to Axiom. That old man is their father, my grandfather. I am lucky that he is such an important man or I never would have met him."

"I thought only soldiers were given wives from other cities. Didn't you say you grew up on a farm?"

"My father was a soldier first, but he was injured in an accident. When he couldn't serve anymore, they sent him home to the farms."

"I'm being rude again aren't I? I'm sorry. I can't seem to stop myself from asking questions."

"Don't be silly. I don't mind answering your questions. It's understandable that you would want to know about the world around you. Although I would suggest not asking so many questions to other people," she laughs.

"One of these days I will stop embarrassing myself."

"Probably not," she giggles. "Any other questions before we head out?"

"Why did he call me a princess?"

"Because he is a crazy old man who doesn't know how to keep his mouth shut. It is something your father used to call you, and the people here picked it up."

"Why couldn't Max tell me?"

"We have been ordered to tell you as little as possible about the past.  So, if you like having me around, I would limit the questions to anything but you." 

"I hate that you have been put in this position. I promise I would never do anything to put you in danger."

"I know that, now cheer up! We have another stop on our adventure before heading back to the Big House."

"What would that be?"

"Lunch at the farm," she grins.

Sadie's Uncle, Maxwell's only remaining child in Veracity, works one of the farms close to the entrance of the city.  Walking down one of the alleyways we pass the row of residential apartments and like crossing some invisible line, we are immersed completely by the rural environment.  The roads and sidewalks fade away and are replaced by soft grass and dirt paths. Endless rows of crops stretch out before us like a living maze. After being cooped up in the Big House for so long, the freshness of the fields is soothing. It all feels so alive. Sadie reaches down and grabs a handful of the rich, black dirt.

"I miss the farm," she says. "Every time I come here it makes me miss my family."

"It must be hard for girls to leave everything behind the way you do."

"The way we do, you mean. You were leaving your family when you were taken. Once those papers were signed and your marriage finalized, you would only have seen your family a couple of times a year at most."

"I never thought about it that way, but at this point I would give anything to see my parents even that much. It is still hard to believe they were murdered, that they were put through so much pain.  Sorry, I know the last thing you want to think about is death right before a party."