Evolution by Kate Wrath

tend to me when I'm sick.  Why
should I have to pay if I'm not going to use it?
    If you let people with contagious diseases go there, it
won't be safe for the rest of us.
    Five percent?  Isn't that a bit high?
    Why doesn't everyone have to pay if everyone is going to
use it?
    Shouldn't it be a set amount?  A few coppers a
month, I could do that....
    Everyone is talking.  No one is listening.  I make
no attempt to answer.  I give them a few moments to run down, then I hold
up one hand.  I lean back casually in my chair like I don't have a care in
the world.  I wait for complete silence.
    "This is not the same Outpost it has always
been."  I wave one finger back and forth between them. 
"From now on, you're going to start looking after each other, instead of
tearing each other to pieces.  That's how we're going to be strong enough
to stand against all the things that are going to come against us. 
Because I can tell you, there are going to be a lot of them."  I raise
my eyebrows in authority and give them a moment to mull that over. 
Uncertain glances fly around between them, but not a word.  They're all
considering an enemy from outside, whether it be someone like Grey, or an army
of Sentries.  They're considering that we might need each other after
all.  Before they can start up again, I dismiss them with a wave. 
Most of them go away.  Most.
    Canson and Julian nervously pull up chairs at my table and
lean in.
    "Do you really think there's going to be more trouble
from outside?" Julian asks quietly.
    I shrug.  Better not to focus on the Sentries. 
"Think about it.  We're building something better here.  Right
now, the only people who know are scared of us.  We're a wild card. 
But eventually people are going to see how good we've got it.  Then
they're either going to want to be part of it, or they're going to want to take
it away from us.  We have to start thinking about that now, while we have
time."
    "There will always be people like Grey out there,"
Canson mutters.
    I nod.  Realistically, we should be preparing for more
Sentries.  We clearly don’t know enough about them.  Part of me
expects them to show up in numbers at any moment.  Maybe Matt thinks he's
prepared.  Maybe he has his own Sentries, and men ready to run out and
yank crystals as necessary.  That could still be done with Sentries that
haven’t been reprogrammed.  But I'm not so sure it will be that
simple.  My instincts are telling me they are more complicated than we can
know.  Nevertheless, I don't bring it up.  Right now, that would
weaken Matt's authority, and by proxy, my authority.  I only want to give
them something nameless and distant to unite against.  A reason to
actually make things better.
    Julian is silently having a conversation with himself. 
He's talking it over in his head, staring at the table and nodding. 
Finally, he looks at me.  "Imagine if no one in the Outpost was
sick," he says.  "No diseases to catch.  Everyone able to
work.  We'd be almost twice as strong."
    I smile and pat him on the shoulder as I leave. 
Strolling down the streets with Jacob and Taylor behind me, I can’t help but
feel cautiously hopeful.  Things around me are changing.  There’s a
different feel in the air.  My heart does a few little jumps as I wonder
if things might actually continue to get better.  And the Sentries… I
could be worrying over nothing.  If more come, we’ll handle them the same
way as before.
    For the first time, I allow myself to ponder and consider
Matt’s words from our earlier conversation.  His assurances.  His
hopes.  Even his explanations.  Before I know it, I’m wondering if he
was right.  If his actions, however harsh, could be justified by the end
result.  Part of me resists even considering it, but part of me is
softening.  A little chill runs through my whole body as my eyes are
suddenly opened to how much I’ve changed.
    When I see Matt now, I see Matt.   It’s