Aella blinked as tears filled her eyes, pain flaring through her face as she stumbled backward and slammed into the holographic banner. The scene of peaceful waves on a glittering white-sand beach rippled as she slid down onto her side. She curled her body to protect her organs with a soft groan. The emblem of the 56th Quadrant's A.T. Facility shimmered like waves above her, sending rainbow flickers of light onto the hard-packed snow and her dark gray uniform. Her hand touched her lip, and when she brought it back to her sight, scarlet blood was smeared in the ridges of her gloves.

The snow crunched in front of her face, the tip of a boot nudging her face. "You don't belong in the Diplomatic Corps, hybrid." The rough ice crusted on the boot's surface scraped her chin, stinging as the cold wind hit it.

She pushed herself up into a sitting position and glared at the instructor standing above her.

"Everyone in this Facility knows you aren't going to get a sponsor. Your own parents didn't want you."

She smirked, ignoring the frozen tears that pulled at her skin, then nodded as she looked up at the sky. The Computer would see her, would see she had been attacked. The Computer would take care of her. Small snowflakes floated down from the dark morning clouds that rolled through the air, yet the sun would not rise for another hour. She sighed as she looked back at the man. The instructor was staring at her, the hard lines of his face in shadow as she turned to face him.

She straightened and stood to attention, her right fist snapping to her chest in salute. "Sir, I am a citizen of United Earth and a student at this Facility. I have not been proven to carry the genetics of Trinity."

He growled, moving closer, his breath warm on her face. "If I call you a filthy hybrid you green-eyed freak then you are a filthy hybrid. Do you understand?"

She stared straight ahead at his cheek, her training keeping her body and expression perfectly still. She must not give the Computer cause to find her in contempt. Her face grew warm as she felt her heart beat faster. But it would forgive her if she fought back. "Sir. Yes, sir." She shrugged. "It is a pity the Computer found your scores lacking, William. You would have been rid of me years ago."

He shoved her backward and she fell to the ground, her head hitting the black-painted skin of the Assembly Hall. Pain flared through her spine, and she blinked as hot tears came to her eyes and cooled instantly in the freezing temperatures. She stared at the snow below her, her fingers curling into fists as she felt her jaw clench. Her uniform quickly became soaked in the snow, and her body shivered in the frigid temperatures of the dawn. The wind whipped through the parade field and slammed into her, making her wince to keep her eyes protected. She bowed her head as the gust died down.

"That was a stupid move, Graduate. I could report you to the Councilor." He turned away from her, the snow muffling his footsteps into soft thumps. "But the visiting Advisor has an announcement before you head to the trials, and I'd hate for you to be late. He's known to have quite a temper."

Aella stood after he had moved out of her vision, straightening her uniform. She frantically searched for her cover, before spotting it a few feet away. She picked it up and shook out the loose snow before placing it on her head.

She shook her head and stomped her foot. "You wouldn't have the courage," she said, kicking a mound of snow. Her head jerked up at the as the massive clock on top of the Academic building across the parade field blared its morning peal. A yellowish light leaked out of the metal-bar and glass windows, creating a foggy apparition of light into the cold morning beyond the concrete walls.

"Curse them all," she growled, turning and running beside the wall toward the entrance.

She rounded the corner, then twisted and squeezed through the doors as they started to close, taking a deep breath as she stepped inside the warm lobby. She stopped in front of the wall console nearest her, bringing her hands together and raising them so her fingers touched her lips. She caught a quick look through her peripheral vision at the line of students filing into the Assembly Hall as she bowed. "Greetings, Computer," she said. "I ask permission to join the Graduates for the Ceremony."

"Permission granted," the familiar mechanical voice told her.

Aella waited until the scarlet light had scanned her before she stood. Aella snapped to attention, and brought her right fist to her chest and bowed her head to the console. "Thank you, Computer."

"You are dismissed," the console answered. "A health technician will be waiting for you at your trial site to clean your wounds."

She nodded and jogged forward through the lobby, taking her place at the end of the line.

She took a deep breath as she entered the Assembly Hall, moving to the right so she could take her place among the seats on the first floor. Middle-classmen had their seats on the second floor, with the youngest students on the third floor. She skirted to the right, avoiding the faculty section in the center of the floor. A hum of voices filled the air, and Aella smiled softly. Today was a day of celebration, of graduation, of acceptance into Consortium society.

She smiled as she saw an arm waving at her from the first row. The woman's short ponytail waved back and forth as she started to get up. Aella shook her head and smiled.

"Don't get up," she called out.

"You're late," the woman hissed as Aella sat down next to her. "What's wrong with your cap?"

Aella shook her head, looking down at the platform below. It was still empty so she had made it in time.

She flinched as the woman cursed, using her hand to pull Aella's face toward her. Her eyes were wide, her thin lips pulled into a thin line, matching the creases on her forehead.

"What happened?"

Aella shook her head. "Nothing I can support with evidence, Chloe."

"I call bruises and bloody lips evidence." Chloe shook her head, her hand moving from Aella's chin to the chair arm. She turned her head to the platform as the collective shuffle of seats, uniforms, and people began to quiet.

Aella frowned, gripping Chloe's shoulder. "No."

Chloe turned back to her, her face softening to a frown. She glanced at the students filing into the seats behind them as her voice dropped to a whisper. "He can be exiled for touching you again."

"Not if he claims insubordination."

Chloe rolled her eyes. "Of course you did."

Aella sat back into the plush cushion, her fingers making lines on the suede armrest. She closed her eyes as the music began to play, taking a deep breath and letting the soft strains of the strings and trumpets fill her mind. A shiver traveled up her spine as she stood to attention, crossing her right arm over her chest, her fist closed over her heart.

As one, the students on the third floor rose, a sea of gray and black uniforms in the scarlet theater. The music grew louder and she glanced down, watching the Governing Board take their places in the platform seats behind the holo-projector. It flowed bright orange, the image of flames licking at the air above its surface.

She glanced back to a random spot on the curtained wall on the opposite wall as the music stopped.

"Students," the Councilor announced. Her voice easily carried through the Hall, strong in its tenor. A resounding clap filled the air as the student's boots came together and they saluted.

"Today marks the one-year anniversary of the I.L.S. Alpha game, and the

anniversary of the Interactive Learning System. Our Graduates have reached their twentieth year, and have qualified for the trials. We give them our honor, our respect, and our blessing as they take the next step and transition to full status within our great society."

Aella grinned as the walls and ceiling blazed to life, scarlet lines crisscrossing through the circuits as they traveled toward the platform, and the United Earth Hymn started to play. She glanced down at her arm and saw the same scarlet lines crisscrossing the chip in her forearm.

"Please rise for the recitation of the United Earth Pledge and the opening remarks by Advisor to his Highness, Founder Alexander Diederik, the Honorable Hyram Wiggins."

Aella took a deep breath and projected her words so that even the Founder, in the Capitol complex far to the North could hear her. "To defeat the darkness, to rally the light, in peace and harmony, we rise to fight; crush the workers of iniquity and honor the glorious, this is United Earth," the voices repeated, echoing and building inside the Hall. Aella grinned as the scarlet lines met just above the platform and a bright scarlet light lit up the surface of the building, then faded to black. Even the building seemed to be roaring its pride.

"Dismissed," the Councilor called. "Take your seats."

Aella settled back into her chair and leaned forward so she could see over the small balcony.

"Still too short?" Chloe said, chuckling.

Aella grunted and strained her neck to see over the gilded railing that perched above the cushioned wall separating the seats from a deadly fall.

A man stepped forward on the platform, the lights dimming to a faint scarlet glow that pulsated around the platform. His silhouette was a shadow against the light, magnified on the wall behind him. Aella leaned forward, her eyes searching for any features to distinguish the man. He lifted his right hand and began to speak.

"The world is depressed. It needs someone who can take charge and bring Earth into its golden age." His words boomed in the hall, echoing through the curved seating areas.

"These wise words of the Founder, leader of the United Government of Earth, have come to embody the essence of the new world. A world of peace, of prosperity, of happiness, and of love. You, the students of the United Earth Advanced Education Facility of Quadrant 56, are incredibly privileged to be a part of the government that has truly brought Earth into her golden age. Never in the old days of single governments would the poor, the weak, the orphans, be taken in and educated, and been given every chance for success."

Aella raised her hand and roared, joining the throng of voices. She glanced at Chloe's downturned face and the shout died. She swallowed the lump in her throat as her eyes began to sting. She lowered her arm, the chill from the melting snow chilling her to her bones.

"Every day, students are taken to the Capitol to work under the Founder as his advisors, military leaders, and quadrant heads. The I.L.S. Game was created by our loving Founder, as a way to bring the world together and educate the strong people of the United Government, to create hope and be a symbol for the good the Founder has accomplished."

Aella leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes, wincing as her skin ached at the movement. She squeezed her eyes tighter as another roar ripped through the building.

"But even in this grand Age of Enlightenment and freedom from pain, from suffering, there is still pain. There is still suffering. Still, there are humans under oppression. Just beyond our borders lay the independent nations who harbor the Trinity who destroyed so many of our own. And even though it has been twenty years, to this day, that the nations of the United Earth Consortium sent them fleeing to the hills, to the ice fields of the South, to any cave or hole in the ground that they can find, still they approach. Still, they seek to make their way to the heart of our empire and destroy all that the Founder has worked so long to build. The threat of human-Trinity spies in the form of hybrids has caused the Founder to seek out the strongest and smartest of our citizens in the hopes that one of them will be able to crack the Trinity technology and give us an edge over our enemies."

Aella sighed, and hung her head forward. She jerked as someone punched her shoulder from behind and she twisted in her seat, glaring at the man behind her. His face was in shadow, and she could barely make out his features in the dim light. He held up his hands in defense. "Sorry," he whispered. She turned back and looked down at the Advisor. Aella took a deep breath and turned her head to Chloe as she felt the woman's hand on her arm. She smiled, even though she knew Chloe couldn't see it. She patted Chloe's hand and closed her eyes as she leaned her head back against her seat.

"Today," the Advisor said, pausing again. "Is the day that a number of you will graduate and go on to serve the Founder in a great many positions. Some of you will become soldiers to fight the threat that is coming closer to our borders every day. Already there have been multiple terrorist attacks in increasing intensity in cities around the world. Spies have been caught, and traitors apprehended. Trinity has infiltrated nearly every aspect of society and they wait for the opportunity to strike. Some of you will become diplomats and will serve the Founder as ambassadors to the Quadrants, and the independent nations. You will be the hand of United Earth, and act as the Founder's eyes and ears in a foreign land. And a few of you will become players."

Aella's head jerked toward the platform, and she held her breath. The Advisor moved around the stage now, and the red light faded, the back wall showing pictures of jungles, oceans, planets, and raging beasts. A melody of tinkling flutes and rumbling drums filled the air.

"As the players of the Alpha Game approach the last gate, two hundred new players are being selected to join the Alphas at the Game Center, to begin training for the next installment of the I.L.S. game: Beta. Fifteen members of this year's graduating class have been selected from the Facilities to join the Founder in the Capitol Complex. May fortune smile upon you as the Game commences, and may your destinies and dreams be fulfilled. And now, let the trials begin."

Aella's muscles refused to move as the students around her began to shuffle out of their seats. She felt heavy, and her head swam from nausea. She felt bile rise in her throat.

"El," Chloe said, shaking her shoulder. "You can't be late for your trial."

Aella stared up at the woman's warm brown eyes, her normally golden skin paler than normal. "I can't--I can't."

Chloe knelt down next to her and placed her hands on Aella's shoulders. "You have trained for this day for fifteen years, Aella. You have the best grades of any of us here. You have the gift of creativity. Any situation they throw at you, you rise up from and come back stronger than ever. And you have me to protect you, wherever you go." She glanced at the line of students filing out of the seating area. She bit her lip and sighed. "I was going to give this to you after the trials, but I think you could use it more than I can."

Aella frowned as the woman used a hand to pull a necklace from underneath her jacket. The single blue crystal dangled from a chain, shimmering in the lights. Aella's eyes took in the small charm, and tears came to her eyes. "But--"

"Shh," she said, placing the necklace in Aella's lap. "It's my birthday gift to you. I hate that you have to face the trials today of all days, but even if we can't celebrate the normal way, I still wanted to get you a birthday present. And no buts--I'm going to leave now--I have one of the first shifts. But I want to see you after the trials with a smile and the confidence that you did what you could, and you never gave up who you were."

She stood and kissed Aella on the forehead. "Now go and prove them all that you are worthy of their attention, little sister."