8 : Their Choice -

Elias looked back at the hallway. It was white, warm, and silent. Then he looked at the dark, jagged silhouette of trees visible through the outer glass. He didn't know if he would survive the night, but for the first time, the outcome would be his own. He stepped forward.

"Why do people leave?" Elias asked, knowing the machine wouldn't answer with anything but logic. 8 : Their Choice

Elias looked at his hands. They were clean, uncalloused. He had spent thirty years as a Data Refiner, moving numbers that didn't matter to people he didn't know. Elias looked back at the hallway