One had to tread carefully. “I hardly think you’re the one who owes her an apology.”
“I know you’re worried she’ll try to convince me to leave Wisewood, but I’m strong enough to ignore her opinion. I don’t care about her disapproval anymore.”
“If you knew what I know about her, I doubt you’d be so eager for a reunion.”
She tilted her head. “What do you mean?”
I let the silence hang between us.
She scooted forward on the couch, hands clutched. “What do you know?”
“From everything you’ve told me about your sister, she’s a classic skeptic. There’s nothing wrong with that—I have more than a healthy dose of skepticism myself—but it risks annihilating every shred of optimism. People like Natalie and I are resilient. We are doers; we take care of the weak among us. But we also have a tendency to behave like bulls in china shops. In our eagerness to defend, we steamroll. We have a hard time letting others resolve their own dilemmas.”
The girl deflated, leaning back against the sofa.
“You will not get the closure you want,” I said softly. “You think she’ll accept and protect you, but ultimately she’ll watch out for herself. Sisters are fallible that way.”
“You’re right. It was a stupid idea.”
I patted her knee, the epitome of magnanimity. “Ideas are only stupid if you make hasty actions of them. I’m glad you brought this one to my attention. Now, what updates do you have for me as regard your peers?”
She shifted uneasily. Since her q1, I had tasked the girl with reporting any gossip or disobedience among her fellow IC members.
“Sanderson is less engaged than usual. But then, we’re all working so hard that it’s tough to say. He might’ve taken on too much.”
I sipped my tea. “I didn’t realize there was such a thing as taking on too much when you’re working on a mission as important as ours.” I sniffed. “Do you no longer find what we do compelling?”
“Me? You know how much I believe in the work. I’m down to four hours of sleep a night. But maybe Sanderson isn’t up to the—”
I raised a hand. “That’s enough. Let’s not unnecessarily bad-mouth our colleagues. What else?”
“Gordon is pretty interested in Jeremiah’s whereabouts ever since my initiation. He gives him the third degree if he’s so much as a minute late to something.”
I smirked at my mug. “Gordon can be a bloodhound, sniffing out anyone uncommitted to our cause. He is fiercely loyal to me.” My jaw clenched. “Jeremiah, on the other hand, I have my doubts about.”
“What’d he do?” she asked, failing to keep her voice steady.
“It’s not so much what he’s done as a feeling I have.” I forced myself to blink. “I don’t like the way he smiles at me.”
She wrinkled her nose. “He admires you. He’s so dedicated to the cause.”
Perhaps this one was not to be trusted either. My foot jiggled, though I loathed fidgeting. “I understand he’s become something of an avuncular figure to you.” I could stay seated not one minute more. I stood and paced. “I want you to stop spending your free time with him.”
A flush crept from her cheeks to her neck. “Teacher, I’m sorry but . . . I think you have this all wrong.”
“Ruth too.” I wrung my hands. “They might be working together.”
The girl rubbed a hand over her head. Downy hair had begun to sprout from her scalp. She bit her lip. “Jeremiah and Ruth both work tirelessly to improve Wisewood.”
How na?ve she was, even after all of my tutelage.
“Mark my words, someone will slip up at some point. When they do, the cameras will catch them.”
She blinked. “Cameras?”
“The monitoring system.”
“What monitoring system?”
“Did Gordon not tell you? Everyone in the IC knows.”
She stared stupidly.
“We have cameras in the rooms.” I waved a hand around my head. “They’re all over campus.”
The girl struggled to keep her face neutral.
“It only takes one bad actor to bring down the entire ecosystem.” A crackle of energy ran all the way to my fingertips, a great swelling of power （+2）。 At times like this I was a conduit. I knew not from where the message came, only that I’d been called to deliver it.
I am goddamn invincible.
“That’s why you have to keep an eye on your fellow students, to pick up whatever the cameras miss. I don’t relish having to ask for reports behind their backs, but mainland ideas are so deeply ingrained in us that they’re difficult to let go of. Gen pop has a hard time acclimating to this lifestyle for a few measly months, so imagine how difficult the transition is for the staff. Anyone who comes from that mainland brings with them treacherous ideas. Every time the Hourglass drops off a new group of guests, we risk subterfuge. This is why I pontificate about loyalty. Do you understand?”