Control, maybe? Control the genetically damaged population by teaching them that there’s something wrong with them, and control the genetically pure population by teaching them that they’re healed and whole?
They say that if the sacrifice is the ultimate way for that person to show you that they love you, you should let them do it.
Power itself is not evil. So knowledge itself is not evil.
It takes me five rounds to hit the middle of the target, and when I do, a rush of energy goes through me. I am awake, my eyes wide open, my hands warm.
They don’t want people to listen, they want people to agree,” I reply. “And you shouldn’t bully people into agreeing with you.
I feel myself acting like a lunatic, but I can’t stop.
Some days I feel like I’m still not okay. Some days I feel fine. Happy, even.
Don’t get angry. He wants to get a rise out of me; he won’t.
When he touches me, I feel like everywhere his skin meets mine is changed by the connection. It sends a thrill through my stomach. Not just fear. Something else, too. A wanting.
Winter will be here soon.
Intelligence must be used for the benefit, and not to the detriment, of society. Those who use intelligence for their own personal gain or to the detriment of others have not properly borne the responsibility of their gift, and are not welcome in our faction.
These days it’s easier for me to fall asleep when there is noise around me. I can focus on the sound instead of whatever thoughts would crawl into my head in silence. Noise and activity are the refuges of the bereaved and the guilty.
I don’t know how, but the dormitory smells like sleep – like laundry and shoes and night sweats and morning coffee.
They died for me,” I say. That feels important. “They loved you,” he replies. “To them there was no better way to show you.
Selfless and bravery aren’t that different.
Like a wild animal, the truth is too powerful to remain caged. – From the Candor faction manifesto.
I think we cry to release the animal parts of us without losing our humanity. Because inside me is a beast that snarls, and growls, and strains towards freedom, toward Tobias, and, above all, toward life.
To my mother, who gave me the moment when Beatrice realizes how strong her mother is and wonders how she missed it for so long.
Maybe you were cut out for Candor, Four, because you’re a terrible liar.
I feel something hot and violent writhing in my stomach. I want to hurt them. I stare at my eyes in the mirror. I want so, so I will.