Free Violet by Rae Thomas Page A

with letters the same blood
red as his sleeve logo, but instead of a V, it says ALTER.
    “Yes, I am The Alter.”
    His voice startles me and I look up to find him
waiting to meet my gaze. I say nothing. Nor does he. I never
thought I’d be thankful for Madam Aldine’s History of Government
lessons, but I am. Without them, I would not know who I am up
against. On Cerno, there is one governing body. Every crop we
plant, every item we sell, every single decision is made by The
Sententia, our high council. The identities of the members of The
Sententia are kept secret in the hopes that without public
recognition, they cannot be corrupted. When a member is ready to
step down, he or she chooses a successor to be voted on by the
remaining members. The people have nothing to do with The
Sententia. The people have no say in the government. The rationale
is that governments by the people have failed too many times in the
past. Some of the citizens of Cerno agree with this line of
thinking; others do not. But no one challenges The Sententia.
    The Sententia uses The Vox as its physical
presence on Cerno. The Vox enforces every decree put out by the
council. The Vox is split into two factions: the Manus and the
Claro. The Manus is the military brawn; they are soldiers. The
Claro includes all of the academics within The Vox, such as
scientists, like my father, weapons researchers, and agricultural
engineers. The Sententia appoints two men to be the leaders of
these two factions. The Solus controls the Manus, and The Alter
controls the Claro. These men answer to no one but The Sententia.
These men are the most powerful public figures on Cerno. These men
are all but infallible. And one of them is sitting across from
me.
    I say nothing. The Alter places a small
spherical recording device in the center of the table and flips the
switch. “State your name.”
    “My name is Violet Massassi.”
    The Alter sneers at me. I can see that his rage
is thinly veiled. “We know that your name is Violet Price, daughter
of a defected Claro scientist. We know where you’ve been for the
past months. We’ve been watching everything that you do. Let’s go
ahead and assume that I know the answers to all of the questions
that I am going to ask you. Do not lie to me, and I will not lie to
you. Yes?”
    “Yes.” I lift my hands and place them on the
table, wincing at the pain from the cuts on my wrists.
    “What’s wrong?” He is feigning sympathy.
    “My wristcuffs, they’re very tight. They’ve cut
me.” I say this pitifully.
    He looks at my wrists and sees the bloody
scrapes. I can see him sizing me up. Deciding. I’m a small girl. I
pose no threat. I am no match for his training.
    “Here, let me remove them for you.” He produces
a small seal and presses it into an indentation on the cuffs. They
pop open, and I remove my wrists. He wants a cooperative witness.
He wants me to believe that he is on my side. I want him to believe
that my cuffs were too tight.
    “Thank you so much.”
    “You’ve been through a lot tonight, Miss Price.
Please understand that you will not be prosecuted for your father’s
crimes, but we do need your help. Your father stole some very
sensitive information. Were that information to get into the hands
of an enemy, our security could be compromised. Will you help
us?”
    “Of course.” I am being a cooperative
witness.
    “We are seeking a very valuable relic, and we
believe your father knew where it is. Have you ever seen in your
father’s possession a shard of broken stone?”
    “Broken stone?”
    “Yes. Bluish-grey in color, roughly the height
and width of two or three fingers.”
    “No. I have never seen my father with anything
like that.”
    “Has your father ever mentioned an artifact or
piece of technology known as The Cube?”
    The broken piece of a cube-shaped stone! Could
this be the artifact from my dream? Is this what my father was
hiding?
    “No. My father has never spoken those words to
me.”