The Earth was completely in ruins, and people lived in a few round, dome-like cities.
Alec Hartin, 19 years old, was the genius leader who fixed the broken machines in his dome. Everyone relied on him, and he was confident in his talents. His only emotional support was Silas Vane, his best friend since childhood.
But one day, while repairing a crucial life-support machine, Alec fell into a terrible trap. The dome's air leaked, an explosion occurred, and when he came to, he had been cast out a
The Question Blooming on the Star of Ash - Collapsing Trust—The Maiden Name Hidden in the Observatory
Cold air from before dawn flowed in through the small vent in the tool room.
Hartin Alec woke on the hard floor. His back ached. But that was nothing new.
He sat up. The Orbita Key, placed beside his chest, was glowing blue.
(Today.)
(I'm going to the observatory.)
The structural map of the old observatory that Graver Hans had given him last night lay spread across the floor. The paper, reviewed countless times, had grown soft, its creases worn thin.
Alec reached for the map.
The old-era observatory. A practical base for the Selection, located on the north side of the dome's outer wall. An administrative death-processing facility where the upper echelon sent residents without resistance to the outside.
(Everything is there.)
(About Lana. About the Selection.)
He stood.
His body creaked in a dozen places. The old wound on his right arm throbbed in the morning chill. The bones the Gravekeeper had shattered had long since knit back together. But they were weak against the cold.
Alec picked up the Orbita Key.
The blue light spread as if drawn into his fingertips. The terminal activated. A faint vibration told him it had connected to the Helios Net satellite array.
(Using the power is a last resort.)
(Only the scanning function. Only to map the blind spots in the surveillance net.)
Alec told himself this.
Subduing them with satellite power would be easy. He could burn the entire observatory to the ground. But that would solve nothing. Forcing his way in with power wouldn't give him the truth.
(With my own feet. With my own eyes. I'll confirm it myself.)
(That's what I decided.)
Alec opened the tool room door.
The groan of metal. A dim corridor. The lower engine block was still silent.
He started walking.
His footsteps echoed through the passage. Pipes lined the walls. Cables hung from the ceiling. Everything was the same as three months ago.
(Maybe what's changed is me.)
He climbed the stairs to the mid level. When he emerged into the residential block, the air changed. There were people here. But perhaps because it was still early, there were few figures about.
He passed by the distribution center.
The few residents there quickly cleared the way. As if a contaminant were passing through.
(...This again.)
Alec didn't stop.
(Say what you want.)
(What I am isn't for you to decide.)
He passed the Commons Hall. The place where, that night, Alec had called Silas's name. No one had answered. Only silence remained.
This morning the hall was slightly busy with distribution preparations. But as Alec approached, the bustle receded like a tide going out.
(This is a different kind of loneliness from the wasteland.)
(People are here, but no one enters my world.)
He pressed deeper into the mid level.
The block once assigned to the Chief Repair Engineer drew near. When he turned the corner just before it, a man was standing there.
Tall, broad-shouldered. Cropped blond hair. Sharp green eyes. Old restraint scars on his right wrist.
It was Graver Hans.
"Hey. Did you sleep?"
Hans's voice was low and carried well.
Alec let his shoulders relax, just slightly.
"More or less. You?"
"I catnapped in a corner of the engine block. I'm used to places like that."
Hans, still leaning against the wall, directed his gaze down the corridor.
"You looked at the observatory map?"
"Yeah. Several times. It's adjacent to the north outer wall."
"Right. It's a building converted from an old-era weather observation facility. Two floors above ground, two below. The storage room is underground."
Hans pulled a folded slip of paper from his pocket. A small note, separate from the map.
"I looked into the guard shift changes. Between six and seven in the morning, the north watch drops to one person. That's our window."
Alec took the note.
"Thanks."
"But don't do anything reckless. If something happens inside, get out immediately. I'll be waiting outside."
"I know."
Alec tucked the note into his jacket.
(Between six and seven.)
(Less than an hour.)
"...Hey, Alec."
Hans called out in a low voice.
"What?"
"What are you going to do about Lana?"
Alec's chest grew slightly heavy.
(Lana.)
(What is she hiding?)
"...I don't know yet. But if I go to the observatory, I might see something."
"I see. Well, if it's what you've decided, I'm with you."
Hans said this and lightly clapped Alec on the shoulder.
"Let's go. I'll take you to the north outer wall."
The two headed north through the mid-level corridor.
***
As they approached the dome's north outer wall, the air grew colder.
The junction branching off from the outer wall gate, "Last Door." Beyond that point was a restricted area for general residents.
Hans stopped.
"From here, I'll go ahead and check things out. You wait in that shadow."
Where Hans pointed, there was a shadow formed by stacked old pipes.
Alec nodded.
"Alright."
Hans crouched low and moved ahead down the corridor.
Alec hid in the shadow of the pipes.
(From here, I go on my own feet.)
(Don't rely on Hans too much.)
He took out the Orbita Key. The blue light pulsed quietly in his hand.
(Scanning function.)
(Map the blind spots in the surveillance net.)
Alec's fingers ran across the terminal.
Data from the Helios Net satellite array flowed in. Heat source distribution on the dome's north side, guard positions, surveillance device placement. They appeared before Alec's eyes as a map of blue light.
(One watchman on the north side.)
(Three surveillance devices on the west. Two on the east.)
(The blind spot is the northwest corner.)
Alec put the terminal away.
(I'm not subduing anyone with power.)
(I only used it to map the blind spots.)
(Right. That's what this is.)
Hans returned.
"One watchman. We can go now. There's a gap in surveillance at the northwest corner."
"Yeah. I saw the same."
The two slipped out from cover.
They moved silently along the narrow passage by the outer wall. The wall was cold—icy to the touch.
(The observatory is close.)
(The truth is there.)
They reached the northwest corner.
There was a small maintenance passage cut into the outer wall for repairs. A blind spot in the patrol. A place the surveillance devices couldn't reach.
Hans pointed to the passage entrance.
"This connects to the observatory's outer wall. I'll wait here. If anything happens, come back immediately."
"Got it."
Alec entered the passage alone.
Dark. Narrow. The ceiling was low—he had to hunch to move forward.
(Once I'm through here, the observatory.)
(The practical base of the Selection.)
(The place where the upper echelon discards people.)
A faint light appeared at the end of the passage.
Alec quickened his pace.
***
He reached the observatory's outer wall.
A building converted from an old-era weather observation facility. Two floors above ground, two below. The walls were cracked, with repair marks here and there. But even from the outside, the tightness of the security was obvious.
(One watchman on the north side.)
(I need to get underground while I can.)
Alec called the map to mind.
The underground entrance is on the east side of the building. From there, stairs lead down to the storage room on the second basement level.
Crouching low, he circled along the outer wall to the east side.
Killing his footsteps. Keeping his breathing shallow.
(No one here.)
(Now.)
Alec slipped through the east entrance.
The door was old metal. Locked. But Alec pulled a small tool from his pocket.
(A lock like this.)
(Don't underestimate a Chief Repair Engineer.)
Click.
A small sound, and the lock opened.
Alec pushed the door open.
Inside was dim.
Red emergency lights cast a faint glow on the walls. The air was cold and musty. The sealed smell unique to old-era buildings.
(Underground.)
(The storage room is on the second basement level.)
Alec descended the stairs.
One step at a time, carefully.
The deeper he went, the heavier the air became.
(People are being Selected here.)
(No resistance — external transfer.)
(In other words, killed.)
He reached the second basement level.
At the end of the corridor, a metal door. The storage room.
Alec stood before the door.
It wasn't locked.
(Careless.)
(No—maybe they think no one would ever come to a place like this.)
He opened the door.
Inside was overflowing with documents.
Files lined the shelves. Boxes piled on the floor. Maps pinned to the walls. All of them Selection-related documents.
(So this is the heart of the Selection.)
Alec stepped into the room.
The first thing he saw was a large roster pinned to the wall.
"Selection Subject List."
Over thirty names arranged in neat rows.
(No resistance — external transfer.)
(These people will be thrown outside.)
Alec approached the roster.
He read the names, one by one.
Unknown name. Unknown name. Unknown name.
And then—
(...Riina Sol.)
Alec's finger stopped.
Riina Sol.
A girl he'd known by sight back when he lived in the mid-level residential block.
(She's a Selection subject?)
(She should only be fourteen or fifteen.)
Alec gripped the roster.
The paper crinkled.
(Scheduled transfer date: tomorrow morning.)
(Tomorrow morning, that girl will be thrown outside.)
Something cold spread through his chest.
(The Selection has already begun.)
(It's not a plan on paper. It's a reality about to be executed.)
Alec peeled the roster off the wall, folded it, and tucked it into his jacket.
(I have to save Riina.)
(But how?)
(If I use the power, it's easy.)
(I can stop the transfer with satellite power.)
(But that's no good.)
(If I rely on power, I become one of those who Selects.)
Alec scanned the room.
Another stack of files sat on a shelf.
"Upper Echelon Internal Documents."
(Internal documents.)
(What's in them?)
Alec picked up a file.
He turned the pages.
Inside were the upper echelon's personnel records.
(This is...)
(The upper district staff roster?)
Alec's hand stopped turning the page.
(...Vincent-Ald.)
(Lana Vincent-Ald.)
His heart lurched.
(Vincent.)
(Lana's surname.)
Alec stared at the page.
"Lana Vincent-Ald."
"Former Position: Upper District Information Coordination Assistant."
"Current Status: Records Erased."
(Upper District Information Coordination Assistant.)
(Lana was originally from the upper echelon.)
(And she held a position handling information.)
Something crumbled with a sound inside his head.
(She said she was a wasteland Dustwalker.)
(She used her information network to give me advice.)
(But was all of that a lie?)
Alec gripped the file.
His fingers trembled.
(She kept dodging questions about her background.)
(She was unnaturally knowledgeable about dome internal affairs.)
(Everything fits.)
(Lana was from the upper echelon.)
(Did she approach me from the start to monitor me?)
(Or did she have some other purpose?)
He didn't know.
But one thing was certain.
(Lana lied to me.)
(She's not the wasteland ally I thought she was.)
Alec tucked the file into his jacket.
(I'll bring back the evidence.)
(And I'll confront Lana directly.)
(No, wait.)
(Should I throw the evidence in her face?)
(Or should I hear it from her own mouth?)
His head spun.
(For now, let me get out of here.)
(Before the watchman comes.)
Alec left the storage room.
Back down the corridor. Up the stairs.
(Hurry, outside.)
(To Hans.)
He emerged from the east entrance.
The outside air was cold.
But that cold felt good right now.
(Along the observatory's outer wall, north.)
(To where Hans is waiting.)
Alec crouched low and moved along the outer wall.
That's when—
He heard voices.
Alec stopped.
(Someone's there.)
He hid in the shadows.
Holding his breath, he looked toward the voices.
Along the observatory's outer wall.
In the dim morning light, there were two figures.
One was a man who appeared to be in the service of the upper echelon. He wore a black coat, hood pulled deep. His face was hidden.
The other was—
(...Lana.)
Ale
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