POV Seth

Seth held his breath, bracing himself against the unknown. The headmaster and sergeant pocketed their devices and put away their chairs, without sharing a word between them. They moved like men who had a lot of work ahead of them, despite not having received any new directives from the Councilman.

The headmaster swiped the tattoo on his wrist against the scanner at the side of Seth’s cell. A humble chime acknowledged the command, and the glass panes swung open. The headmaster returned to stand in front of Seth. Formally he announced, “There is no reason to detain you further, as your breach of curfew had been served as of this morning. We have unlawfully detained you for a further twenty-four hours, for which we will compensate you.”

His hard, indifferent expression faltered, grimacing at all the worry and stress the situation had caused. He held out his hand to Seth to shake. The action was odd, likely a residual action formed through habit. Not wanting to offend his superior, he shook the headmaster’s hand. “I’m sorry to say, m’boy, that I’m not authorized to wipe the infraction from your record. I know that none of this is your fault, but all the same, there’s nothing I can do about it. The A.I. doesn’t bend to circumstance with the Consistency Laws. Murder is murder. Theft is a theft. Breach of curfew is a breach of curfew, circumstances be damned.” Was he going to spend another night in his cell? If Consistency Laws flagged him as a deviant, then how were the headmaster and the sergeant able to move freely without triggering the system?

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All while still shaking Seth’s hand, the headmaster added in a formal tone, “Given the lateness of the hour, I’m authorizing Sergeant Noland to escort you to your barrack, as is permissible under Council Law.”

Relief washed over Seth. His part in this whole misunderstanding had ended. As he stepped out of his cell, the headmaster pulled him into a tight hug while pressing his lips to Seth’s ear, hiding his words from the ever-vigilant security systems. “I’m sorry you got mixed up in all this. You did the right thing.” He pat Seth firmly on the back, while gripping his hand in a painful squeeze. As the headmaster pulled away, he caught the man’s worry for him. There was lingering want in the man’s eyes, something more he had wanted to say, but walked away. The risk was too great.

Seth knew then that his part in this mess was far from over. He was drowning and had no way to gauge the depth of the situation. More than anything, he wanted to leave the campus tonight, because the G.C. or whomever was involved might decide to take their revenge. Most of all, he needed time to think.

Sergeant Noland stood in wait at the exit from his cluster of cells, chin up, stance wide, and hands behind his back.