The Nation of Qui, its health and wellbeing, and its survival takes precedence above all other things.

-Qui Law 2

If a choice is given between Qui and family, the Nation must be put first, for in doing so, the family will survive along with the Nation's survival. If this happens, and the family is passed over for the sake of Qui's survival, each surviving member of that family will receive a Gratitude of 5,000 Seeds and 1,000 hectares of Land.

-Amendment to Qui Law 2

The Arcs and Us got along well. Very well, actually. The quarters passed one after another, but what is time in the mind of children? Is it not just a thing that the Parents use to tell when the Repayment is coming? So it seemed at the time, and since it was not time for Our Repayment, We paid no attention to time.Instead, we filled our days with being in the company of each other, not that we had any other choice. But looking back now, none took the time to teach us anything of import. We knew neither shame nor manners; we understood no letters, only numbers.. And most importantly, we knew nothing outside of our enclosed yard. To our young three feet, seven inches, there was nothing beyond the walls. The sun only rose over the wall and only set over the other wall. Other than that, there was nothing. We didn’t stop to think where Father went, or how he went.

So, time passed, and so did the quarters. Until it was the eve of “Repayment of the Falcon.” Me and my Twin were going to be Repaid. It was a strange night. One filled with Father. We didn’t see much of him usually. He kept Us and Mothers separate. We were “in the countryside where boys can be boys.” I had heard through the cracks of the floorboards one night. He was “in the city making sure each Mother got the most Gratitude for her allegiance to The Nation.” And, “With each Gratitude, we will become the richest and most powerful people in all of Qui. Think about it! With the amount of Wealth we can accumulate from them is unparalleled. We will never have to worry about anything ever again. One little sacrifice to the Nation will bring us all a hundred lifetimes of ease.”

“Wealth? Sacrifice?.” A stiff voice rose up. I felt the floorboard creak. Someone moved. And so did I to try to find a way to see up through the boards. I climbed from my bed post onto the wood rafter, crawling along it until I found a small crack where the wood didn’t fit together quite right.

“These are my children." A Mother’s back was all I saw. It was stick straight. “They are not Seeds to be traded for more Land. They are—”

A muffled clap sounded. Her head spun around. Her body fell. Then a black orb ringed with white found itself staring right into my own.

I knew that she knew that I was there. Her black curved eye widened slightly, and I knew from her eyes that she was my Mother. What I didn’t know was whether I was one of her Wealths. But I don’t think it mattered for as Father’s heavy footsteps approached, she pulled herself over the small hole and kept herself there despite all the noises and thumps that followed.

“…you stupid bitch, who do you think you are to talk to me like that? Don’t I feed you and cloth you? Didn’t I take you out of your filth in Mara and give you a life of ease? And this is how you show your thankfulness? By claiming these to be your children? These are nothing. They are Twins. The moment they were born, they were cursed to have the fate of property. And since these are my property, I will do with them what I want…” His words that I heard that night still ring in my ears, for now that I am older, I can understand their meaning. And it fills me with the determination I need to survive this place.

The place of Repayment.

The place where Twins are sent, and “Violent offenders.”

This place…it is not like the house We remember. That place, while filled with its own fears, was still a place where the wind blew. A place where the sun rose and sank. And a place that, although rare, had been filled with laughter. Now, we live in this place that is filled only with white, harsh light that emanates from a gravel ceiling. The dust rains down on us as the taller ones in the group scrape their heads along it’s shell. It fills Our noses, our ears, our mouths. It gets under our fingernails and between our toes. It creeps into every crack on Our bodies where it scrapes away the flesh and leaves it burning. This place is filled with that scraping, burning dirt. We train in it. We sleep in it. We eat in it. We wear it.

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And it drives Us.

Drives us to feel what We never knew. Feel what it means to be angry. What it feels like to be Violent…what it feels like to be a Twin.

And We remember. Remember Mother. Remember Father. Remember Brother. Remember…for as many as there are of Us here in this place of Repayment, we all have a common goal: Live. Get out. And “Repay” our Father for taking Our Wealth.

But how many Us are left?

I wish I knew. I haven’t even seen my Marking Twin for a long time now. I wait for his return as the lights change. Again and again. They change only three times:

Red to lead us all to training, and stayed red throughout that period.

Blue to lead us to the wash areas, and stayed blue until the last man or woman had re-entered the hallway.

Green to lead us to food, and stayed green until the last fork was dropped.

Other than those three times, the lights were white. Other than that, there is no telling of the passage of time. I eat. I train. I wash. Alone. there is no We. There is no day or night here. Everything blends together. All I know is that my Brother has been gone for 15,743 red light cycles…and that I have grown. Not so much that my head scrapes along the top wall, but enough to be noticed. Enough to be sent to the White Room.

The White Room was exactly that. A white room. Nothing about that room distinctly sticks out in my memory, except for the pain. Everyone in my group knew of the White Room. It was down the hall that that echos of screams during White Light periods. And, as I soon found out, was where many cruel looking devices line the white wall. Where a long table in the center site under lights almost as bright as the sun. I was taken to the table and and strapped upon it. A long black needle attached to a tube was jabbed through the heart of my Marking. The tube ran up to a small bag of clear liquid that was hanging from a black metal stand that looked like a coat rack. Within seconds, the liquid was streaming from the bag to the Marking. I began to feel dizzy, and the room began to move in strange ways; I fought to keep my eyes open, but it was no use.

That’s when they began.

I don’t know how long I was out, but when I woke, they had already worked on my body from the neck down including hands and feet. I was bleeding everywhere, and I began to feel the pain. But the worst part was when they began on my face. They kept me awake as they worked so I saw everything, but the tube now had a bag of blue liquid and I didn’t feel any pain; it was almost as though everything they did I saw in a dream. I could feel myself try to scream as they bent over my eyes cutting and cutting and cutting, but I couldn’t through the fog in my head. They moved on to my ears, and neck, but I still felt like it was a dream as they passed in and out of my fragmented vision.

Tell me…how many of Us are left?

**************************

“Age?” All was black around me. Where was I? I tried to turn my head, but nothing moved.

“Sixteen.”

“How long has he been in training?”

“This is his tenth year with us.”

“How long since the procedure?”

“Ten days.”

“Damn.” Then a sigh. “They say that the second Twin is always weaker than the first. Why did his pair have to be Kinged?”

“Brother?” I tried to move. Something, anything. But nothing happened.

“So it’s true Sir?”

A grunt. “Make sure this one survives. His Twin was a natural. This is a good line, and I don’t want to lose it beforeeven getting him onto the Board.”

The world was fading away. All that was black remained black. I was lost with no way of finding my way.

“Brother…!” I tried to call out. Grasping at anything I could to keep myself from falling.

Then something hit me. Not hard. But it was like a weight being placed on me.

“What about this one?”

“Also age sixteen, and also the second of the Pair.”

“…the Falcon.” A breath was quickly sucked in. “What State has jurisdiction of him?”

“Yamara.”

“Buy him I don’t care the price. I want them both. Alive.”

“But Sir, they are Seconds. They may not even last…”

“Buy. Him. And make sure that one lives.” Each word held a note of finality. It reminded me of Mother. She stooped for no one, not her posture and not her voice. I would’ve smiled if I could. But I couldn’t, “Their Firsts were some of the best fighters. They were defeated only by each other. If we pair them together just think about what we could accomplish!” The moment for smiling was gone. Replaced by the memory of the night of my Repayment when I had overheard heard my father. The man speaking held that same awe in his voice. That same greed that looked at Us as property.

Who was this person, Gavi Quintar? And where is Brother?

“Twins, either Firsts or Seconds, are the best Players. Remember that Shaw. They are the reason Amendments are passed and Laws restructured. They hold the keys to becoming and maintaining power. So never give up a chance to buy a Twin, even if it means cutting off your own arm.”

There was a snort.

“Trust me, boy, when I say something. I’ve more years as an advisor to you Generals than you have even been alive. And I can say with absolute certainty that Twins never disappoint. So, if you want Gavi Quintar to be stronger, you should Buy. Him. Now!”