Free The Fourth Sage (The Circularity Saga) by Stefan Bolz

into the soul of a man who most likely had seen more than she would want to know. She can almost physically feel the door closing between them.
    "And I read somewhere," Ty replies, "that to many questions you will find no answers. Only more questions."
    "But I—"
    "Leave it alone, kiddo. Leave it alone. It's too big for you. Much too big. It would need a thousand of you and then a thousand more and still there might not be a dent."
    "Ty, I don't understand. What are you telling me?"
    "I'm telling you to drop it, to move on with your life. I'm telling you to forget this day and the day before and move on. Make the best of what you have, you understand? Don't ask questions. Questions around here are like razor blades on boomerangs that will come back to the one who throws them and cut off her head."
    "But Ty, there are things here that are wrong. Very wrong. We can't just not do anything. Not say anything. Pretend that we're all okay."
    Ty doesn't say anything, looks at her, pleading. This makes her angrier than she would have thought possible.
    "Why aren't you saying something? Have you given up? This... we can't go on like this! We have to change something. We've lost... we've lost our most precious possession, Ty, and if we don't start to fight, it'll be gone forever."
    Aries is surprised by the strength of her outburst. She’s never expressed her thoughts in that way before. Never had the opportunity to do so.
    "I know."
    "What do you mean, you know? If you know, why don't you want to do something?"
    The silence between them is almost impossible for Aries to swallow. She’s never had a fight with Ty. It affects her more than she wants to admit. And yet, the words she spoke, she knows needed to be spoken.
    "Ty, we’re being controlled. Our lives aren't ours. We're slaves. We just don't want to admit it."
    Ty nods while looking away and down at the DIAG.
    "Ty," she says quietly. "Ty, look at me. Look at me, please."
    After a moment he lifts his head. Tears run down his grease-darkened cheeks. As Aries is about to continue, he pushes the button on the DIAG once more and the high-pitched sound stops.
    "I think we must have gotten an erroneous message yesterday. I'll switch out the oscilloscope on the other DIAG when we get back. Looks like we're done here. Let's close this thing up, shall we?"
    Aries can't believe Ty wouldn't tell her more, why he would not want to. Obviously, there are many things he has not told her. She watches him close the bolts in the panel, unable to decide if she should be angry with him or hug him and tell him quietly that she understands. All she feels is confusion. His reaction had come completely out of left field. She’d expected anything but this. When Ty closes the last bolt and slowly gets up from his kneeling position, she grabs the DIAG.
    "Let me carry this for you," she says, and hangs it over her shoulder. She's the first to climb the ladder. Ty follows, closes the trap behind them, and they walk quietly toward the door. Ty punches in the code and the door opens. He walks ahead of Aries when they go toward the lift. He lets her enter first, closes the louver and pushes the buttons for their floor. The elevator begins its descent. Both look straight ahead, no expression on their faces. On the inside, Aries has trouble fighting her tears. The whole way down, Ty's callused hand holds hers tight within it.
     

* * *
     
    Almost ten hours later, Aries sits at a table watching the comings and goings in the dining hall while wondering how many shapes, tastes, and textures one single algae plant can generate. Even though there isn't really that much left of the plant other than a genetic blueprint so ancient that everyone has forgotten that it was once an actual plant.
    This has not been an easy day. Ever since this morning, an awkward distance has lingered between her and Ty that she couldn't shake before she left work. She saw Kiire when she got her food. Her first impulse was to talk to him,