OUR FOREST OF THORNS | tbosas ✔️

019 || Motherland Calls

Daphne turned to him once they were all alone, and much to Coriolanus' surprise, she didn't seem in any way confused by his demand to stop there for a moment. "You're thinking of the rebellion," she said, merely pointing out.

"An underground, illegal operation, making use of communication channels between District people that should not exist," Coriolanus put into perspective for her what he had noticed so far. "Yes, I am thinking of the rebellion. So please, Daffy, tell me I am wrong."

"I thought about the rebellion too," Daphne admitted with a long sigh. "The thing about nuclear research is that it requires knowledge from branches we've separated across several Districts now in order to specifically avoid minds coming together to do something like this. So yes, I was skeptical too when I realized I will not find in the Capitol what I needed to even learn everything that is to learn to start this up, far less do what has to be done."

Coriolanus wanted to tell her that her being just as uneasy about this as him did not in fact make him feel better, but since he had faith there was more for her to say yet, he bit hard on his tongue and clenched his jaw, waiting for that punchline which will ease his senses away from what was now an anxiety, plaguing his mind as grass roots in fresh soil.

"Thaddeus helped me connect with the first district people. All of those had been engaged in working for our military before and during the war, so running their background checks wasn't exactly hard. But while I checked their history, I realized one thing, Coryo dear," she stepped forward and took his hand, "scientists today are the closest we have to the Russian people of Aksakov's essay."

At long last, the punchline hit him and he had finally turned intrigued enough to give a break to his ever-growing dosage of panic to be on what could easily be called 'enemy territory' these days too.

"They're apolitical," Daphne explained. "None of the people Thaddeus referred had been part of the rebellion because what the rebellion did was bring chaos. Scientists want order. They want reason and to make sense of life and its happenings."

"But they're still District people," Coriolanus' eyebrows furrowed down. Those words felt bitter on his tongue. "You can't possibly trust them," and though he knew he was stating a fact, a pause prompted him to reconsider. "Do you?"

"God, no," Daphne chuckled, shaking her head. "I said they're the closest we have to Aksakov's utopian world, but they're not actually it. I trust none of them, Coryo. But I also trust the fact that this isn't a project that I can complete on my own, and definitely not one I can complete without dangerously trespassing into what would be considered treason. I needed to recruit them to make this possible, so I did. And when they endanger what we do here, I will make sure they don't undermine the product of their own labor too, if you know what I mean."

He knew exactly what she meant and, knowing her, he had too little a doubt about her determination not to swallow his concerns and finally accept going past the double doors. After all, he reasoned within his thoughts, it is not them I have to trust, but her.

Just before the doors would close behind them, someone burst through. A woman with wild brown hair with a strange aspect of wool blocked Daphne's path within the second and held up a long piece of paper, "It's going to be bigger."

"Yes, Dr. Birches," Daphne sighed. "I already anticipated that, as I am sure Dr. Watt told you."

"But this changes everything!" Birches flicked the back of the paper before lowering it down. "The radiation damage done to the marine biome will certainly affect the fishing—"

"How much fish did District 4 provide to the Capitol this year?" Daphne interrupted, waiting only until the woman's lips pressed together in a thin line before continuing. "That's right. They didn't. They haven't provided substantial quantities of supplies to the Capitol since the first year of the War. I fail to see why we should halt tests for a District which does not aid the larger Panem."