'That wouldn't have been a good idea.'
They turned. V-Davi, the slight boy from class, stood in the doorway.
His hands were stuffed in the pockets of his tunic.
'The Security Guides have great power here,' he said. 'It's not wise to oppose them. And be sides, it's against the General Good.'
'Thanks for the tip,' Obi-Wan said.
Sir! picked up a mop and began to clean up the water and suds she'd spilled. 'Why are you here, V-Davi?' she asked in a kindly way. 'You don't have punishment marks too, do you?'
'No. I have food preparation duty tomorrow. I thought I would get a head start tonight.' V-Davi headed for a bin of vegetables. He started up a grinding machine and began to toss them in.
'You mean they actually prepare the stuff they serve?' Siri grumbled.
'I thought they just scooped it out of the trash bin.'
Obi-Wan grinned. It was true; the food at the Learning Circle was terrible. All vegetables and meats were ground into a paste and then formed into round disks and cooked. The disks were so tasteless and tough that they could be used for shockball. He glanced at V-Davi to see if he had taken offense.
V-Davi's face was frozen in surprise, as if he'd never heard a joke before. Then he laughed. 'The food is bad, yes. But it's not my fault. They tell me how to cook it.'
'I wasn't blaming you, V-Davi,' Siri told him. 'You'd have to be a genius to come up with food this bad.'
'At least I can help you finish cleaning up,' V-Davi offered. 'I don't mind.'
'Don't worry about it,' Siri told him as she finished mopping. 'I got us into this. But you can tell us more about yourself while we work.'
'How old were you when you came to the Learning Circle?' Obi-Wan asked.
'It was seven years ago. I was two years old,' V-Davi said as he ran more vegetables through the grinder. 'My parents died during the great Toli-X outbreak. I was sent here. Most children on Kegan don't start The Learning until they are four years old.'
Siri exchanged a glance with Obi-Wan. Toli-X had been a deadly mutated virus that traveled through asteroid molds from world to world ten years before. A vaccine had been developed shortly after it had appeared. In other words, if Kegan had been in touch with other worlds in the galaxy, no one need have died.
Between them, a silent message was passed: Don't tell him. Not if we don't have to.
'Do you like living here?' Siri asked, turning to dry the dishes on the rack.
'Of course,' V-Davi responded. 'Thanks to The Learning, I am preparing how to best serve the General Good.'
It sounded like one of the rote responses they had listened to in class. Obi-Wan helped Siri dry the tall stack of dishes. 'Do you ever get to leave the Learning Circle?'
'When your course of study is complete,' V-Davi said. 'Usually around sixteen. But you know this.'
'We aren't from here, V-Davi,' Siri said. 'O-Bin doesn't believe us, but it's true. Where do you go when you leave the Learning Circle?'
'Where the General Good is best served,' V-Davi responded promptly. He scraped the vegetable mush into a big container and placed it in the cooler that ran along one wall. Then he began to carry the dried plates to the racks. 'When you are twelve, you appear before a committee in which your aptitude is assessed. Then you receive more specialized training in your area.'
'But what if you're assigned to something you don't want to do?' Siri asked.
'You are happy, because you know you are contributing to the General Good.' V-Davi mopped up a bit more soapy water that Siri had spilled. He leaned against the sink and put his hand in his pocket nervously. 'I'll probably go into food service. There is a shortage.'
Siri gave him a shrewd glance. 'What do you want to do, V-Davi?'
'I want to work in the Animal Circle,' V-Davi admitted. 'But there is a surplus. So it wouldn't help the…'
'General Good,' Siri completed. 'I get it.'
Suddenly, Obi-Wan heard a peep peep. Was it a warning security device?
He looked around quickly, but could see no lights or indicators.
V-Davi looked nervous. 'We'd better go.'
Again, Obi-Wan heard the peep peep. He realized that it was coming from V-Davi's pocket.
'What's that?' Siri asked bluntly.
V-Davi moved toward the door. 'Nothing. I must go. Lockdown is soon.'
He hurried away, and something floated through the air back toward Obi-Wan.
He caught it. It was a feather.
'V-Davi,' he called. 'Stop.'
V-Davi stopped.
'What are you holding?'
