In which Gage reflects on his mother's death

"You can't become a guard."

"It wasn't a question."

"You already have a job."

"I don't see you stepping down anytime soon," Gage said over his shoulder. He was sitting at his desk studying some material Luk had given him and doing his best to pretend his father hadn't heard the news from Leon. "And besides, you already have a son who is more willing than I am to be you."

"That's no the point. The position is entitled for you." Locke leaned against the door frame of his son's room trying to reason with him.

There had once been a time, maybe a long time ago though, when Gage and his father hadn't fought and Leon was too young to pick sides and their mother was still around. Back then Silver had been bearable, pleasant even, and the thought of succeeding his father had been a topic of pride.

It was just after Locke's own father had passed away and he was the newly appointed judge; young and eager for his new responsibility. He and his wife would discuss ideals in the little shop she ran in Silver's market as Gage and Leon made makeshift games with stones and buckets. Gage was being school with the other Silvers his age and Leon was too little to know that any world could exist beyond their own.

One morning, their mother wasn't there to prepare breakfast. Father had a straight face as he explained that she had left for the shop early; but, she never returned to night. Several days of his father's excuses persisted before an impatiently curious Gage set out for the market alone.

The first thing he found in his mother's shop was the leather necklace with the brass birdcage and flying bird hanging from it by a chain. She would never leave without it unless she planned to return. And then, he found his father weeping in the back room among the wooden boxes of supplies.

Gage froze, torn between going in and leaving before he was caught. Locke made the decision for him by looking up with his watery green eyes.

"Is she dead?" Gage asked, sadness creeping in his voice for it was contagious.

No," Locke pulled his son close and embraced him. His tears smeared against Gage's hair but he didn't mind. He hugged him back around the waist the waited for the sobs to subside.

The never had the chance to.

"Masters?" An official voice sounded deep in the echoes of the crowded room. "Chels Masters has been," the voice paused, "found."

Locke released his son swiftly. Public affection was frowned upon. "She has!" The tears dried. "Is she here?"

Gage followed as his father's shadow out of the little shop, with it's wooden shelves of coloured candy and pieces of soft fabric that must have taken days to prepare, to the street.

The voice belonged to a man with gray hair and a mustache that nearly drew all attention away from his thin frown and the sympathy that swelled in his brown eyes. He was the exact opposite of the young Locke who bore thick brown hair and hopeful eyes.

"Tom and Jean have requested your judgment."

"Judgment?" Locke had not yet lost the naivete that Gage would lose at more than half his age.

"For the," the official swallowed, looked to Gage and then away at the gray sky, "escapee."

"No. There is a mistake," Locke's words sputtered from his lips like water from a frozen tap. "She won't be punished."

The black and white representatives saw it another way.


Despite the disapproval, Gage had been brought along and Locke wouldn't let go of his hand as if it might cause his collapse.

"We don't make exceptions," Jean said, inspecting her nails and looking as if she didn't care that Chels Masters was bound just feet from her. "If we did, then everyone would act out and expect to get away with it. We have a successful society because of this deterrent that keeps people in line."

"But I am responsible for judging her crime," Locake replied, with eyes only for his wife.

"Then you better judge objectively," Tom added, although his gaze flickered to Chels who turned her blinded head in the direction whoever was speaking at the time.

"I will judge fair." Locke stood before the pair to form a triangle around them with Chels in the centre, blinded and bound to a chair.

"'Fair,' did not build the efficient faction you see before you." Jean glared. "Every escapee before her has been punished, why should she be different?"

At this point Gage had been begging for this to have been some sort of mistake. Maybe his mother had been lost when was found beyond the faction.

"But surely there is not a Silver precedent," Locke said carefully, with only a hint of desperation.

Jean smiled and looked to Chels who seemed as if she was returning the intensity of the look from beneath the cloth that his her eyes. "This is true. Now I am curious. Tell me Chels Masters, why would a Silver ever want to escape?"


"So she can provide a place for her family where they have freewill." It was bold and stubborn and Gage beamed at his mother but his father looked like he would be sick.

"There is no better place." Jean snarled. "The earth is destroyed. There is nothing out there."

"So you say," Chels didn't miss a beat. "Lock and I always spoke fondly of a city where there were no divisions and the citizen's lives weren't decided for them."

"There was a time before the words when those exact dangerous thoughts were what destroyed the world. Is that was you want? Don't you see we are all just doing the best we can!"

"I do believe the defendant has had her say and so have you Jean," Tom spoke up but looked agitated as his eyes nervously swept over everyone in the room and then repeatedly to the door. "Locke, it has been made clear what her intentions were. Please judge."

"Release h-"

"You don't understand you position yet judge," Jean made Locke's title sound like a dirty word. "Either make the correct judgment or we remove you from your position and throw your son with the other undecided children."

Gage realized two important things in that moment: first, a compound existed where others his age might be able to relate to him in a way the Silver children never had; and two, his father caved easily under pressure.

Locke looked defeated.

Chels gasped and shook her head, "take me over my boys!," she shouted, losing her composure at last.

"It's not up to you," Jean looked Locke in the eyes, not looking as pleased about winning over Chels as Gage had thought she would look. "Make the decision Masters."

Locke said nothing.

"Oh come on Locke!" Tom shouted, red face and trembling a small amount, and gazing at the exit longingly.

Locke nearly broke all the fingers in Gage's hand as he returned fire with a glare to match theirs.

"Say it!" Jean shouted.

"Guilty." The voice was small but decisive.

Locke didn't even have enough time to let go of Gage's hand before a gun erupted and sent the bullet flying that would end Chels Master.

"I hope you learned something about being objective," Jean glowered as she stormed out passed them and the body in a swish of white robes. Tom followed her but touched Locke's shoulder briefly.

Gage pried his hand free and ran from the room until he found the Silver gate.

Locke hated himself.

---

"I don't want it,' Gage flinched as he remembered the exact moment when he had made the decision to not follow as his father's shadow anymore.

"Being a guard is dangerous."

Gage would rather endanger his body than mind. "Why don' we go ask the representatives their opinion?" Gage suggested smugly as at last he turned away from his desk to face his father. "I'm sure they can convince you of the right judgment." he knew the words were cruel but they came out anyway. "They know Leon is better than me."

"That is not a good idea."

"I think it is," Gage got to his feet and shrugged on his jacket. "I'll ask them if I'm allowed to be a guard as they always get the final decision."

Locke didn't react at all, which disappointed Gage, but followed him from his room, then the unit, through the halls and into the main office. Not every Silver lived in the main tower; just the important ones.

Gage recognized the girl working the desk. She was a year older than him and had been his first. He grinned at her and she glared and would have made things very inconvenient had Locke not been standing behind him.

"Can you get us in to speak with them?" Gage asked leaning against the desk and admiring her curves that came from a good diet in Silver. Shea definitely didn't have curves like those.

"Yes Masters, I can," she looked passed him to his father and Gage frowned.

"Are you sure they are not busy?' Locke inquired hopefully.

"No sir. In fact they had messaged me to ask for you. You may go right in."

Locke sighed but led his son in to circular office. Each representative had a desk of their own and behind them were wide windows where the compounds were easily viewed from. Directly across from the entrance was a map of the faction. It was a circle divided in two large parts one slightly smaller in the north, Silver, and a small section in the middle for the undecideds. The black and white compounds mirrored each other structurally on the map, which Gage now knew was not true, for they had once been built the same when the faction was first formed. But buildings do not last over a hundred years and no Silver had been willing to go in and redraw the map. Beneath it was their code and above was the engraving, 'this is what peace looks like.'

"How convenient," Jean was always the first to speak. Gage theorized she loved nothing except the sound of her voice. "You and your son was exactly what we required."

Locke's job was easy. He did as he pleased except when the representatives couldn't agree and then he stepped in. Or when a trial needed to be affirmed or a young undecided's life ruined. The rest of the time he was at the beckon call.

He nodded them to them each and pasted on his cool smile and waved Gage to the back of the office where they both had a seat.

"Luk had put forward your son to be considered a candidate for the guard," Jean said with a small smile."

"We have agreed this would be a good fit for him," Tom nodded, and caught Jean's smile and passed it to Gage where it hit the wall instead.

Gage would not smile and give the them the satisfaction that they had done something right; bt, he was pleased with the way this is going.

"I would agree; however," Locke lied, "he is to fulfill his prior promise to be my successor."

"You have two sons don't you?" Jean asked pleasantly, even though the answer was an obvious one.

"Yes."

"Then better luck with the next one!" Jean clapped her hands like it was a done deal. "He is much better suited for guard duty, aren't you Gage."

Gage swallowed his rage at actually agreeing with the woman under the condition to himself that he was doing all this with the hope of ending her reign. "Yes."

"Like father like son." Jean smiled, and Gage's 'first' brought in coffee on cue and they all pretended that there was no tension in the room.

"I hear you have already escorted Luk down to each compound," Tom mentioned as warmly as as the awkward silence would allow. "What did you think?"

Not wanting to waste a word on these people Gage considered it a moment. "By the book." But then another thought nagged at him. "However, the whites are cold and the blacks," he paused and stared out the window, "have made many attempts to structure themselves."

"Yes they have," Jean said knowingly as she sipped her coffee.

"You know?"

"Yes. The are persistent but the whites have their ways."

Gage looked at her unsure of the meaning but not actually wanting to ask her of all people for more. "How?"

"The whites are just people. You must know that only the best go there. It is their responsibility to make the world a better place."

"You make it sound like black is evil," Tom grumbled into his black coffee.

"Evil may be a little far." Jean paused seemingly thoughtfully. "Uncivilized yes. Any structure they'd have would resolve in a more efficient way to kill."

"Black is trying to survive too." Tom put down his coffee and stared at Jean who brushed it off.

"But white is surviving and improving the world. They don't want any harm to come to anyone so they try to save the blacks. Quite noble really."

Gage looked skeptically at her. How could white cross the wall. They had no involvement with one another. It was impossible. He shook it off as her enjoying the way her sharp words pierced the air.

"You begin tomorrow Gage, officially." Tom never mentioned how unorthodox it had been for Gage to be involved with the other compounds prior to this and that was just fine for him.

"We will take our leave now," Locked rose to his feet and Gage did the same. "Thank you for your hospitality."

"Our pleasure," Jean smiled and waved them off.

Gage grinned triumphantly at Locke and despite his 'firsts' resolve to hating him, as soon as his father was around the corner, he managed to pick her up a second time.