Unchanged by Jessica Brody

play.”
    Dane nods fervently in agreement. “Nothing to concern ourselves with.”
    â€œExactly.” Raze jumps back in. “I recommend we continue to focus our resources on Peder. His numbers are growing by the day. He’s getting more and more airtime on the Feed. And he’ll be all over the Unveiling tomorrow morning.”
    There’s a tense silence as we wait for Dr. A’s response. For that long, thick moment, no one even chews.
    â€œVery good,” Dr. A finally agrees, lowering himself into his chair and picking up his fork. I feel the room deflate in simultaneous relief.
    â€œAlso,” Director Raze adds, and my muscles tighten again as I take a hesitant bite from the food on my plate, “I’ve taken care of the other matter.”
    Dr. A shares a knowing look with Kaelen. “Very good.”
    I know that I’ve missed something in the past few hours and even though my common sense is telling me to tread lightly on this thin sheet of ice Dr. A has frozen around us, I hate being out of the know.
    â€œWhat other matter?” I ask.
    I don’t expect to receive an answer, which is why I’m surprised when Dr. A says, “The matter of the paparazzi who found us at the hyperloop station.”
    My heart starts to pound. “What happened to them?”
    â€œThe four who lived to tell won’t have anything to tell.”
    Dr. A’s words are like insects crawling up my spine.
    â€œThe four who lived to tell…”
    That means two of them are dead. The two Kaelen attacked. And the other four have had their memories altered.
    Dane catches my eye, offering me a sad smile. “We couldn’t have them selling those memories to the tabloids,” he explains.
    His answer makes me want to scream. Doesn’t he get it? It’s not the four altered memories that make me want to vomit right now. It’s the two people who will never have another memory again. Kaelen killed two people. And everyone is sitting around acting like it doesn’t matter.
    There’s an uncomfortable pause and I sense Dr. A studying me. When I look up, his eyebrows are knit together and his head is cocked. “Do you have a problem with how this was handled, Sera?”
    I realize that my face has betrayed me. Exposed the horror behind my mask. I will it back into submission. “No. Of course not.”
    Because how else can I respond? Anything I say that opposes Dr. A or Director Raze is the same as opposing the Objective. And that will only make things way worse.
    I can see Dr. A’s tongue stabbing the inside of his cheek. “Hmmm,” is the only thing he says. He wipes his mouth with his napkin and sets it down on the table. “Now, I’d like to discuss something very important.”
    My breath ratchets up a notch. Does he know about the drive? How could he?
    I look to Crest for any indication of what this is about. She shakes her head subtly.
    â€œYes?” I say, but my throat is parched. I take a large gulp of water from the glass in front of me. It burns going down.
    â€œYour first interview is tomorrow morning,” Dr. A begins calmly.
    Don’t remind me.
    â€œIt’s important that the two of you”—he nods to Kaelen and me in turn—“appear as connected as possible when you’re presented to the public. Viewers can see right through romantic façades. They see them every day on the reality shows.”
    Why would Dr. A ever compare us to a couple on a silly reality show? We are nothing like them.
    â€œSo why, may I ask,” he continues, “are you refusing to complete the act of ultimate intimacy?”
    My cheeks instantly warm. I peer at Dane, then at Director Raze. Both of them are staring awkwardly at their plates. I cast a sidelong look at Kaelen but he gives me an unassuming smile. Does he not find this question inappropriate?
    Particularly after the conversation we just