The drive over to the next district was lined with green. Trees pressed up on either side of them, towering over the road that led them out of town. But it wasn't the ominous shadows that caught Sistine's breath in her throat, it was the old buildings peeking through the mass of leaves and vines. Giant statues from a different time, the gaping window sills and doors making room for sprawling creepers.
"Do you think we would ever clear them?" Sistine asked, gesturing to the green blur outside the window.
Orion shook his head, his soft ebony hair brushing the tops of his cheekbones before he glanced down, "No. I think humankind is done pushing back against nature. We're starting a new initiative..." he paused abruptly, shooting her an appraising look and continuing when he found her listening with rapt attention.
"... we're hoping to become much more sustainable. Instead of rebuilding old cities, we want to learn to live with nature, as one."
Sistine's slitted eyes must have betrayed some doubt because Orion stopped, "What? Do you find that hard to believe?"
The girl didn't respond immediately, instead she looked out of the window to watch more of the desolate landscape pass them by, "It's not so much that I find it hard to believe, but... that's how humanity started out, didn't it?" Her voice was light.
"People lived off the earth and other, more powerful, developed races, tried to teach them a better way of life." What Sistine knew of this was from a book she chanced upon in the untamed outskirts. With so many empty houses fringing Society, kids would often disappear in groups to explore while they were in Prep, when they didn't have as many lessons and training as they do now. But she felt oddly intelligent, speaking about something that wasn't taught in their syllabus that she couldn't help but show off. It brought a wry smile to Orion's lips.
"I'm surprised you learned that, as a Rho."
Sistine simply smiled mysteriously, though the only mystery she was hiding was a book called The Romanticization of Pocahontas, which she placed carefully back in the dilapidated house that she found it in so that someone else may chance upon it.
"Well, we're not going to let that happen this time around. Back then, the human race united towards expansion because of the way that their society was built. I'm sure, then, that you've heard about money?" Orion settled back onto his seat, his sharp profile glowed in the sporadic bursts of sunlight that broke through the canopy of trees.
Sistine nodded.
"People were motivated by acquiring large amounts of it so that they may live more lavishly than everyone else, which is what Society sought to eradicate. If there is no money, there is no competition, everyone could live in peace."
An undignified snort escaped Sistine and she threw her hands over her mouth in shock, "I'm sorry– I didn't mean to–"
Orion roared with laughter, "You don't have to hide what you truly feel, Sixteen. I quite like it when you are candid. Tell me, what is so funny about what I said?"
Emboldened, Sistine peeled her hands away from her face and met Orion's gaze, heart hammering in her chest, voice small, "I expected District Leaders to be more... practical, instead of idealistic."
She held her breath when Orion failed to respond immediately.
"That's true," he finally breathed, "I guess, I've always been a dreamer. But why so cynical?" He furrowed his brows at her, as if she were a complicated knot that he was trying to unravel. A puzzle that he has never seen before.
"I'm hardly cynical!" R16 protested, "It sounds too much like going Native." Her voice trailed off into a whisper.
A silence stole over the two of them as if she had given life to an apparition. Natives are seldom mentioned in polite company. Instead, it was wilfully ignored by those living in the carefully constructed bubble of Society, but she couldn't help but think of a particular boy and his easy grin, his words of "they are most probably living wild" resonating in her ears. He didn't find it hard to talk about Natives, but she forgot her place. A District Leader is hardly the person to broach such a crude subject with.
"I–" Sistine opened her mouth to break the silence, intending to apologize, but Orion spoke at the same time and she let his voice wash over hers.
"Did you want to meet another R16 or did you just want to see her?"
Overwhelmed with a burning shame of committing a faux pas, Sistine couldn't quite think straight.
"M-m-maybe it's not such a good idea, after all?" She squeezed her eyes shut and gave herself a little shake of the head.
It was a true testament to his character when Orion nodded and said simply, "Okay then," instead of trying to convince her otherwise. Suddenly she felt light and empowered, all vestiges of shame melting away.
"I must apologize for bringing up such an unsavory topic," she said firmly and sincerely, seeking Orion's gaze which was trained on the scenery of District 6.
Feeling her eyes on him, Orion turned slightly and gave her a tiny smile out of the corner of his mouth, a reassuring lilt of his lips.
"There's nothing to apologize for," he said quietly, "you're right, of course. We will need to re-evaluate our new initiative. Allowing people to live like a Native might cause more problems than it solves." The man pressed his index finger against the space between his brows.
Sistine inched closer to him, "Doesn't Society work? Why are there plans of changing things?"
Orion looked up, "We have a bit of a population problem." His voice was wry.
"Smaller communities might be the answer, but it would be harder to control and we don't want to spiral and cause another Great Collapse."
"But there were billions too many, weren't there? We're hardly close to those numbers, are we?"
"No," he said gently, "but it was the way that people were living. Culture plays a big part in how Society is run... If we leave people to their devices..." Orion shook his head.
"I'm sure you'll figure something out," Sistine reassured, putting a small hand on his forearm, "you are a District Leader, after all. You were born to lead."
The radiance of her smile warmed the cockles of his heart and he placed his larger, warmer palm over hers, patting it as he said, "Thank you for your kind words. Now, shall we head back? Or would you like to take a walk around the neighborhood?"
"Ooh! Can we?" The girl was almost jumping up and down in excitement, "I would love that!"
The Alpha parked the vehicle at a neighborhood garden and the two alighted.
"Thank you, A42, we'll meet you at the Mess Hall." Orion tipped his head forward and watched as the Alpha drove off.
Gardens planted by Society houses endemic plants in the area and Sistine was slightly disappointed to find that the plants that existed in District 6 were identical to what she found in her own district, though she should have expected it. They weren't more than an hour away.
"Do you think that Gardens up North would look different?" She asked as they passed a huge bush of red furry flowers.
"I suppose so," Orion answered, pondering, "though we've been trying to get different species into our Gardens." He pointed to a spray of white flowers, "Those are Lilies of the Valley, one of the newest additions."
Sistine went up to the plant and peered at its blooms, "It's so pretty."
"To be sure," Orion nodded in agreement, "come, there's something I want you to see."
The two trekked up the gentle slope and as they came to a peak, Orion paused and pointed to the occupied buildings in the District.
"Those are Delta Houses, next to Kappa." It was impossible to guess what colors the buildings used to be under the coat of Delta and Kappa colors. But the light blue law enforcement building stretched high into the sky while the fabricators lived in a squat orange building where they carried out their duties of clothing Society in their uniforms and lavish costumes for event nights.
"That must be their Rho Academy!" Sistine exclaimed excitedly upon spying a green warehouse fringed with bright yellow.
"And that," Orion took Sistine by her shoulders and rotated her so that her outstretched hand pointed towards another green warehouse, "is also Rho Academy."
"Yes, but that's the boys'," said almost condescendingly, but she added gently, "look at the colors. Our house has a lighter yellow... theirs is almost ochre."
The District Leader squinted, trying to discern the shade.
"Why separate us?" Sistine asked suddenly, "If Society needs a boost in numbers, wouldn't it make more sense to house boys and girls together?"
"You would think so..." Orion mused before picking up the pace again, this time moving towards the direction of the Mess Hall, a squat building much like Kappa House, but colored in steel gray with a distinct signboard erected over the front of the building with District 6 Mess Hall written in blocky letters.
"But it would have created complications. Humans, by nature, are possessive and selfish. People would want to have ownership over one another–" he trailed off at the look on Sistine's face.
"Ownership? Like we are things?" She said indignantly.
"Seems like I may have said too much," Orion smiled stiffly. There were a million questions running through Sistine's head at that point but she couldn't quite string the words together to ask what she wanted to know. It was a relief when Orion broke the silence.
"In the past, people weren't just controlled by greed for power or riches, wars were started over wives and love." The word was uttered as if it fouled the air.
"But what's so wrong with that?" Sistine asked in a small voice, vowing never to share her secret aspirations with him or anyone, for that matter.
"Humans aren't made for love," His mouth twisted in a cynical fashion and Sistine had to bite her lips in order to stop herself from making a snide remark about how he called her cynical but now he was the one who disavowed such a pure and simple thing.
"We are selfish creatures with a penchant for destruction, even when we claim we love, we stifle with our own selfish desires," he said passionately.
"Don't you love our people? The Society we have built?" Sistine ventured tinily, paying no heed to the well-worn path and the intricate layers of greenery that boasted succulents and tropical plants with variegated leaves.
"That's different," he said gruffly.
"It's not that much different," though her sentiments were a direct challenge, her voice was soft and persuasive.
With a smile, he let the discussion die and they entered the town area where he pointed out minor differences between their District and this one. Most notably were the Epsilons and Etas who worked closely with each other, instead of independently in District 7.
"One would think that scientists deserve Names of their own," Sistine pointed out almost sullenly, "like poets and writers, they think up new ideas and help build a better future."
"Unlike poets and writers, some scientists might feel they own their valuable ideas and might try to leverage that to have a better life. But whether a Name or a Number, don't we all live the same?"
"If we did, why the distinction? Why couldn't we all have Names or all be Numbers? Why is Society segregated into two classes?"
Instead of brushing her aside, Orion thought about it and stopped walking so that he may look her in the eyes and tell her sincerely what he thought, "It's all about control."
Many of the things that they had shared between them didn't come as a surprise to Sistine, it felt logical and reasonable, if albeit swept under the rug. She hadn't thought about the inner-workings of Society before, unquestioningly following the rules that had been set for everyone. But hearing the answers out loud made her feel almost stupid for asking. Of course the rules were in place to enforce some higher purpose.
Nodding, Sistine ducked her head as they passed the threshold of the Mess Hall, ornate arches welcomed them into the mass canteen which served the tens of thousands that lived in the District.
Being a little past lunchtime, the mess hall was half-filled with Numbers that worked outside of their respective houses. There was bound to be an errant Name here and there, but it largely catered to those that are not expected to show up to a particular place consistently. Many of them were Alphas, like A42 who drove them there, but there are also Thetas in between houses, Sigmas who have different routes every day to service different parts of the District, law enforcing Deltas, Mus visiting archeological sites, as well as performing Rhos, who found themselves outside of their dance academy during mealtimes.
R16 had only been to the Mess Hall in District 7 a handful of times, and she discovered that while the outside building may look more or less the same due to the shape and color of it, the interior is widely different. Instead of hanging fluorescent solar lights, District 6's Mess Hall was lit with an array of lamps and chandeliers. A haphazard mix of repurposed lighting fixtures that were found around this part of town. It was also much more populous than what she remembered District 7's Mess Hall to be.
The two sought out their driver and found him nursing a bottle of white liquid.
"Soy milk," he said, lifting up the glass, "better than what we have back home. Come, you must try one!"
A42 flagged down a working Theta and grabbed two more bottles and placed them on a cheery red round tabletop that he was sitting on. The chairs, Sistine discovered, were more like barrels than actual chairs and she found the novelty charming.
"I like this place," she mused, taking a sip of the soy milk and her grin deepening even more, "I love this milk." Sistine shot Orion a pointed look at the word love, wondering whether he might connect the dots. He didn't seem to as he picked up his own bottle and gave it a deep swig.
"It is delicious," he agreed. "Are you hungry?"
"I wouldn't mind some of that, what is that? Flatbread?" Her gaze was captivated by a cart a few tables away where there were plates of crinkled fried dough with a smattering of what looked like custard sauce.
Smiling, Orion waved the Theta working the cart and asked for two of the dishes, which they learned was called roti canai, a flatbread fried in a generous amount of oil and served with curry.
Dipping her bread into the curry, Sistine sniffed it gingerly, unaccustomed to the pungent smell of foreign herbs. But the aroma was forgotten when she placed the morsel in her mouth and she discovered a whole new world of flavor that she never could have imagined.
"This is heaven," she announced, "and I want to move here."
A burst of laughter escaped Orion, "I'll see what I can do, if you're serious about that."
"I have never had anything like this before," Sistine gushed while scarfing down the food, pausing momentarily to offer A42 some, who ended up getting a plate for himself.
"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself. Would you like a second serving?" Orion continued to be amused by her, chuckling inwardly at how she seemed to have such a bright mind and yet still so fresh to the world around her. It struck him that maybe she had struck a chord earlier, and that Names and Numbers didn't quite share the same lifestyle.
"Oh, no, I couldn't... I want to try something else!" She sprang from her seat and hunted down another cart, bringing back three plates bearing different dishes. One carried three triangular puff pastries, while another was covered in a dark brown sauce with cucumber and pineapples peeking through, and lastly, green rolls stuffed with coconut sugar.
By the end of their meal, the three of them were chatting like old friends, bonding over the scrumptious dishes they had just tasted and Orion announcing that he was going to send some of their own team of Thetas to learn from their master chefs in District 6.
The ride back was a lot less tense. Sistine pondered whether there was something about food that brought people together, while A43 thought about how lucky he was assigned to drive the District Leader around today. Orion was steeped in bliss, savoring the entire day he had spent with a Rho that made him open up so easily, whose every touch and glance made him quiver with excitement, though he doesn't show it outwardly. He has been trained since a young boy to learn how to identify his emotions or emotional reactions, compartmentalize them, and show only what was apt. Right now, that meant his face was shut off but kind, and they shared polite conversation all the way back to District 7.
It was with a bitter twang of disappointment that Orion went straight to Rho Academy to drop R16 off. She hadn't wanted their delightful afternoon to come to an end so soon, which came as a bit of a surprise as she remembered how uncomfortable Orion made her feel during their first encounter.
"You will hear from me again," he promised after walking her to the door, "and I'll make sure I go through the proper channels. I hope I don't get you in much trouble with R100."
Before she could say how she doubted a Number could find fault with a Name, Orion was jogging down the pathway to the road and all she could do was raise an arm to wave goodbye.