"Scenario?" Carson frowned slightly. "What do you mean?"
Roman pressed her lips together. "Exactly what I said. Our situation is a lot like what Manhunter went through before. It's as if someone planned everything out, then forced us to follow along."
"Big sister, what should we do?" Aislin asked, tugging nervously at Roman's sleeve.
Roman gave a helpless smile and sighed. "There's no good answer. We'll have to take things one step at a time."
"Everyone, I'm from the Black-Bottom Zone. May I say something?" the Attendant suddenly spoke up. "In my experience, when you're dealing with people above you who hold your life in their hands, it's best not to get clever. Follow their scenario, and you might at least die quickly."
"Pah." Manhunter spat at the Attendant's feet. "Dying on your knees is the stupidest thing you can do. If that's how you want to die, go ahead.
"Even if I die, I'm taking a bite out of Code 18."
"But we don't even know what Code 18 is. We're like rats trapped in a maze, desperately searching for an exit and trying to find our enemy. We could die of thirst and exhaustion without ever realizing the real enemy was the human who built the maze."
"We still have to fight back. That's what gives any of this meaning!"
"Stop, stop!" the Oceanographer interrupted. "Enough with the grand speeches. What are we actually going to do?"
Everyone turned anxiously toward Xia Lun, who sat in a deck chair.
Xia Lun shrugged, his tone relaxed. "Don't panic. We'll stick to the original plan. No changes needed. We'll keep heading for White Moon Heavy Industries' Starlight outpost. If something's wrong there, we'll head to (-30, -150)."
Emotions were contagious. Fear and anxiety spread and fed on each other, but