Twelve minutes looked smaller on a wall.
The number appeared above the stairwell in blue block light.
11:59.
11:58.
11:57.
Sam unfolded the paper with both hands.
He hated that Caleb could see the shaking.
Caleb hated that Sam kept reading anyway.
The paper had been folded into the back cover so long that the crease had browned through. Old glue clung to one edge. Marcus's handwriting ran across it in tight, slanted lines with three places where the pen had cut the paper.
At the top, he had written:
PAGE ZERO.
Below that:
IF THE CENTER ASKS FOR THE RECORD, IT HAS ALREADY LOST THE RIGHT TO HOLD IT.
Sam breathed out once.
"Dad," he said, and made it sound like a lawsuit.
The speaker above Window Three clicked.
"Present Page Zero for name release review."
Sam folded the page halfway closed.
"No."
The timer kept counting.
11:41.
Tali stepped closer. "Recommendation. Clarify refusal before the room calls it noncompliance."
Sam looked at the screen.
