Lukas had sat through each of Mr Savea's classes at least once. Often more. He didn’t get bored by hearing the same information repeated by the teacher. Instead, the lessons were comforting. Like an old friend who Lukas could visit. They were always the same.

Or they used to be. Most of them still were. He would sit off to the side and listen. Just like a student. Like nothing had changed. And he didn’t teach. That would mean things had changed. And he couldn’t let that be true.

This morning Mr Savea had Year Eights for Earth Warfare II. The class he’d wanted Lukas to teach. With limited options, Lukas identified the only excuse that Mr Savea would likely accept. To finally relent to the teacher’s other insistence. To visit Isabella.

Since learning that she worked in the Library, Lukas had considered visiting her. But he’d put it off. Not for any good reason. Shouldn’t he be happy to meet someone with a similar experience? She might be the only person who could really relate.

Not that the hesitation mattered now. He was going. It was a desperate attempt to avoid something Lukas had worried about for months with something he’d only worried about for weeks. Hopefully he’d chosen correctly.

As he left his quarters, Lukas tried again to occupy his mind. It would do him no good to second guess himself now. The decision was made. So he set off for the Life Hall, keeping his head down as he walked.

There was a bright side to this. Even if visiting Isabella wasn’t helpful, avoiding the first Earth Warfare II class meant that Mr Savea might teach the rest of the lessons himself for consistency. Maybe. Lukas hoped. And if meeting her was useful, then she could provide some insight into what was happening. Maybe.

Lukas entered the E Bridge, passing the front of the school.

It wasn’t always this easy to quiet the thoughts. Some days were better than others. Or some hours. Today had started off well. It had only taken Lukas thirty minutes of coaxing himself to get out of bed this morning. That was the best he could hope for these days. It helped that he’d had good motivation. Meeting Isabella was a stressful thought. But now that he’d made the decision, Lukas had a spring in his step. For nine months, he’d felt like a total outcast. Today, he was visiting the only other passenger to graduate without a partner. The only person who had felt that isolation. Someone who understood.

He picked up his pace coming out of the E Bridge.

Lukas squinted as he entered the Life Hall. He often felt the lights around the ship were harsh. Here most of all. The white plastic walls reflected the Sun Lamp’s rays in a particularly blinding way. As his vision adjusted, he surveyed the hall.

There was a greater mix of people from other parts of the ships here. Lukas felt confidently hidden as most of them wouldn’t recognise him like in Atrium E. Looking around, it was almost a surprise to see nobody immediately staring. He hadn’t been to the Life Hall in a few months and had forgotten how easy it was to go unnoticed in a large crowd. That helped keep him calm.

The central atrium was about five times the size of the others. It had the same rounded walls, as well as the flattened roof. He thought about the Ambassador who worked somewhere on the upper deck above him. Was she still angry about his intrusion? She’d been talking to Mr Savea about Isabella. Maybe there was a connection. Or maybe it wasn’t that important. It was self-centred to think he was that important. Why would the ship’s leader give him any thought?

No. Lukas pulled his attention back to now. He was standing where the E Bridge met the Life Hall. It was busy for a Tuesday morning. He had somewhere to be. Lukas turned towards the A Bridge and started crossing the vast Atrium.

It was easy to forget just how large the Life Hall was. There was nowhere else this open on the ship. And it took a significant amount of time to cross. Relative to other areas. As he was crossing it, Lukas avoided the amphitheatre at the centre of the hall. This was a large, circular depression with tiers where people could sit. At the edge of the structure he heard the voices of children who were playing at the lowest tier as if they were next to him. Mr Savea had tried to explain the acoustics before. But neither he nor Lukas knew much about physics. The amphitheatre’s only official function was for the Ambassador’s increasingly rare addresses. More commonly, it was a meeting place for friends and partners to visit.

Passing the amphitheatre, Lukas came upon the other main attraction in the Life Hall. The curved section of wall between the A and F Bridges was totally clear. In front of it, some of the floor was raised. This made up the viewing platform. Watching the stars had never appealed to Lukas. Though it was obviously popular on the ship.

Once he was on the far side of the viewing platform, Lukas stared straight down the A Bridge. Further on and to his right was the infirmary. Lukas thankfully had never needed to visit it before, but he knew where it was. Today its main function was to provide a waypoint. He started walking. Mr Savea had told Lukas that the library was directly across the way. Similar to where the school’s entrance was in Bridge E.

As he walked, Lukas questioned his directions. The wall across from the infirmary ran as normal. Then it was broken by an empty archway leading into a large, dim room. The wall continued at half-height on the other side of the archway. It was topped with a flat, wooden countertop. It stretched around the corner where the Bridge met the Atrium. There looked to be another archway at the end of the wall. The room beyond looked totally empty.

Now that he thought about it, Lukas didn’t know what he’d expected. He had never seen a library. Maybe this is how they had all looked on Earth. On Veritas, even the simple wooden counter stood out from the uniform plastic around it. Lukas approached.

The counter was empty, save for a thin layer of dust and a sign made of thick paper. More features which were out of place here. Folded in an A-shape to make it stand, the sign read Back in 5.

The handwriting was neat enough to seem printed. When Lukas lifted it, he noticed a rectangular patch of dark wood beneath. Seemingly unbleached thanks to the shadow. He replaced the sign carefully. Then Lukas walked over to the archway and entered the library.

Immediately past the front counter, there was a small lobby. Deeper into the library there were six large bookshelves in rows. Between him and the bookshelves were four wooden tables and nineteen unevenly distributed chairs. All of these were empty. Lukas could also see stairs in the back wall. This place felt bizarre. It was as if he had walked into a building back on Earth. Or his own approximation of what that might look like.

Lukas navigated the tables and chairs, moving into the rows of books. He walked down one aisle and read the spines. All of these were digitised and available on the ship’s intranet. It began to make sense why the library wasn’t busy. Though the books still seemed to have been moved. The ventilation on the ship meant dust didn’t build up easily. But if these books had been left for even a year they’d have at least a light amount. Granted, it could have been cleaned. But if the books were kept clean, why not the counter outside?

Lukas rounded one shelf and walked back towards the lobby, reading more titles. There was something unsettling about being here. He took another step. It felt wrong. His footsteps seemed lighter, and the sound was muted. He looked down.

Almost all of the ship’s flooring was some kind of plastic. There were variations, but not much. Here in the rows of shelves, Lukas stood on a soft floor covering. It was like the rug in his quarters, but thicker and stretched across the whole floor. When he adjusted his weight, there was a springiness to it.

“It’s called carpet.”

Lukas looked back towards the entrance. A tall figure was walking towards him. She placed a bag on one of the tables and stopped. Staring.

“It seems exciting that there’s something different here, but it’s very mundane by Earth standards,” she said. “This whole place was modelled after what one of the Ambassador’s Councilmembers believed libraries should look like, and apparently carpet was a big enough feature to have it included even though it wasn’t installed anywhere else on the entire ship.”

From this distance it looked like she stood almost a head above him. She wore a navy, buttoned shirt and standard, grey trousers. They were the same hard-wearing material as most pants available to residents. The shirt was a softer, warm flannel. Lukas was sure he had the same one at home.

“So I’ve never seen you before and that’s not common for people entering the library. Honestly, if I did know you, I might even be more confused. Who are you?”

Lukas watched her, blankly. “Isabella?” he finally asked.

“Okay, no, I’m Isabella. I asked who you are.”

Lukas took a second to readjust. The surprise had thrown him off.

“I’m going to assume you have no name,” Isabella continued before Lukas could respond. “That's fine, I really don’t care anyway, it was more of a formality. So now that we’ve given up on it, could you please just tell me why in the name of the stars you’re here so that you can leave?”

“Mr Savea told me that you talk a lot.”

Isabella had begun rummaging in her bag, but stopped immediately. She frowned and glared at Lukas. Her demeanour hadn’t been particularly welcoming, but now it was outright cold. Lukas had enjoyed walking here unnoticed. He suddenly felt very aware of Isabella’s scrutiny.

“Did David send you? Why?”

“He said you might speak with me,” Lukas said. “I’m Lukas. I haven’t been Matched. I thought you could help.”

“I will never understand that man,” Isabella said, quietly. She looked back at Lukas, then shook her head. “Look, I’m not sure exactly what David said to you, but I can’t help. If you’re worried about not being Matched, wait another year. Everyone gets a partner by the end of Year Fourteen. He could have told you that.” She turned back to her bag, removing a book and a tablet.

“I’m not…” Lukas trailed off. He considered how to explain. “I graduated last year. I’m not a student. I’m Mr Savea’s teaching assistant. Like you were.”

Isabella perked up when he said this. She put the bag away on a chair and stepped towards the shelves. “That can’t be right. I’m the only person who graduated without being Matched.”

“So was I. Or. I thought I was. I graduated this August and I don’t have a partner. So maybe we are the same.”

“I didn’t think that there was anyone else.” Isabella eyed him. Her brow was furrowed curiously. She turned and walked towards the tables, waving for him to follow. He did. “Did you really graduate already? You look pretty young.”

“I’m almost twenty.”

“Oh, sorry.” she said. Though it seemed unnecessary. She had no reason to apologise.

Isabella took a seat at the desk with her belongings. She gestured for Lukas to do the same. “But even if you haven’t been Matched, how am I supposed to help?”

“Mr Savea-”

“Please,” she interjected, “call him David if you’re not a student any more.”

“Okay. David thought it would be good to talk to you. There’s nobody else who understands. I thought you might have some insight.”

“Insight to help you feel better?”

Lukas shrugged, looking at the table. “I don’t know. Maybe you know the reason why I’m not Matched?”

Isabella sighed. “I’m afraid that you’ve come to the wrong person. I’m not sure what I can do for you, Lukas. Plus, if you’re a friend of David then I’m not sure we’ll see eye to eye. Did he tell you why we don’t talk anymore?”

“You had an argument.”

“You’re not wrong, but that’s not very specific. Did he tell you what it was about? How I stood up to the snide comments and lies about the Project that he puts into his lessons? If you’re still working with him then I can’t imagine you’re against those things. So do you oppose the Ambassador like he does?” Isabella levelled a stare at him.

“I don’t really care.” Lukas said plainly. “I like history. I don’t think I’m for or against the Ambassador. She exists. She created our society and I live in it. That’s it.”

Isabella continued to watch him. Maybe she expected a different answer. Lukas kept focused on the grain of the wooden table.

“Even if you aren’t like him,” she said “I still don’t think I can help you. I don’t know why I didn’t get Matched.”

“How long was it until it happened?” he asked.

“Until what happened?”

“Until you were Matched.”

She stared at him for a moment. Then she smiled. It seemed out of disbelief. “I don’t know what David told you, but I haven’t been Matched. I’ve even stopped saying ‘yet’ at the end of the sentence. It’s been more than three years since I graduated, I can’t imagine it would happen now.”

A sting. Lukas felt it in his chest. It was cold. His breath caught.

Lukas had considered that he might never be Matched. He’d just rejected it. Being Matched late was unheard of. But it was always more plausible than never. Now he knew that the only other person who had graduated single had never gotten a partner.

His thinking about when would have to go to if. And it was a big if. Most people were Matched by the time they were eighteen. How would he be Matched if he was turning twenty soon? It suddenly made too much sense.

Isabella snapped her fingers in front of Lukas’ face. “Are you still there?”

Lukas looked back up at her and nodded. He tried not to look too shocked.

“You look pretty shocked. Did you really not think about that possibility?”

“I tried not to give it much thought,” he admitted.

Isabella shrugged. “I can’t really blame you, actually. It’s definitely a unique situation. It took me a few weeks to come around to the idea, but it makes a little more sense to me now.”

“How can this make sense?”

“The way I see it,” she said, “is that the Project is an incredibly intricate and meticulously planned feat of human endeavour. One of the core beliefs of the Ambassador and the Council was preparation. The less variables there were, the more successfully they could plan for their success, right?”

She was asking if he was following what she said. Isabella knew what it was like to be Mr Savea’s teaching assistant. Surely she realised that he would know all of this? He nodded anyway.

“So the idea that something as huge as a person being left single isn’t part of the plan? When the Matching process is the key to the whole Project?” She shook her head. “No way, I don’t believe it. Some of the greatest human minds engineered everything about our society. And Matching is famously scientific and exact. So yeah, that’s how it can make sense to me.”

Lukas had to admit. It sounded plausible when it was laid out like that. Logically speaking, it must have been accounted for. And yet something nagged at him.

“Okay.” he said. “But why weren’t we Matched? If it’s part of the plan there should still be a reason.”

Isabella sat back in her chair. She had a relaxed posture, but Lukas saw her legs bouncing furiously under the table. “I’ve had some theories over the years. Nothing concrete - I wouldn’t claim to be able to know what the Ambassador might be planning.” She began wringing one hand with the other, absentmindedly. “It’s even more unlikely that there would be two people without partners.”

“If it’s possible for one person, it’s possible for multiple.”

“Sure. I guess.” She shrugged again and looked off to the side.

So it was possible that he wouldn’t be Matched. Likely, even. As upsetting as that was, Lukas accepted it. At least it was an answer. One of the hardest things since graduation had been the uncertainty. Now he had something to work with.

“Will you help me look for a reason?” he asked.

Isabella stopped ringing her hands. She turned back to him. “How?”

“Research,” he said. Then gestured towards the shelves.

She laughed. “Lukas, I’ve read almost every book in this library, and definitely everything that could be relevant. What makes you so confident that you could find something I missed?”

“I don’t think you missed anything. But have you read them specifically looking for a reason you weren’t Matched? Data is one thing. The context that it's put into is just as important.”

“I haven’t read them in that context, no.” She continued to watch him warily. “But what would you even look for?”

“I’m not sure,” Lukas admitted. “Maybe any references to the possibility of lone passengers. Or details about the Matching process. The wider the scope, the better.”

His mind came alive with ideas. Getting to research texts and maybe even find a reason for not being Matched. The possibility was so exciting. There had to be something in the records. Lukas had read many of the volumes too. But he needed to look at them through this new lens.

“I still don’t think it’s a good idea.” She stood up from the desk. “If there’s a reason I haven’t been Matched then I’m happy to learn what it is when the time comes.”

“What if they want us to seek it out?” he asked.

Isabella froze for a short moment. “I… No. I’m not going to stop you, but I have no desire to help you research.” Lukas watched her shake her head before she turned away from him. She didn’t seem to say this in a mean way. He understood. Their goals simply didn’t align.

“Can I still use the library?” Lukas asked. Doing the research here seemed like a better prospect than sitting at home reading from his tablet.

“Why?”

“I’ve already read some of these digitally,” he said. “Reading them in a different medium might help me look at the information differently.”

Isabella’s brow furrowed again. Then, she shook her head dismissively. “I can’t stop you, it’s a free ship. Just try not to get in my way.”

He nodded. “I’ll only be here on weekends anyway. When I’m not working.”

Isabella nodded back absently as she picked up her book and brought it towards the shelf. She seemed deep in thought as she pointed a finger, going through the different titles. Lukas took it as his cue to leave.

Isabella didn’t respond as he said goodbye. Lukas left the library with a spring in his step. After nine long months, he knew something about his situation. The thought of not being Matched wasn’t comforting, but it was information. He would use it. Even if he had to read every book in the library.

He wasn’t close to an answer, but at least he knew that there was one. In this moment, that was everything to him.