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But because the statue has cracked.

Sarai, who had spent five years sorting through the discarded memos of a dying bureaucracy, knew exactly what he meant. Republia had grown quiet lately. Not the quiet of peace—the quiet of a clock whose spring had finally uncoiled. The propaganda broadcasts still played at noon and six. The Party Youth still marched on Founders’ Day. But the slogans had begun to feel like old wallpaper: still clinging, but yellowed at the edges.

The current Minister of Information, Herah Dalmont, has issued a statement calling the discovery “a forgery of the highest order” and has ordered the immediate arrest of Emrik Thorne and Sarai Kessler. Neither could be located for comment. the republia times

Sarai read the sentence seven times. Then she blew out the candle and sat in the dark for a long while.

For forty-seven years, the bronze figure of First Architect Maldon Voss has stood at the junction of Reconciliation Way and the old river road, his outstretched hand pointing toward the eastern mountains—toward the border, toward the enemy who no longer had a name. Children were taught to salute it. Lovers held hands beneath its shadow. Dissidents were marched past it on their way to the processing centers, so they might remember what strength looked like. But because the statue has cracked

| Dawn’s Early Light Edition | Price: 2 Quell THE STATUE AT THE EDGE OF TOWN By Senior Correspondent, Elara Vance

And in Republia, that is the only permission we will ever get. Editors’ Note: The Republia Times will continue to publish for as long as its presses turn. If this is the final edition, know that we tried. Know that the truth, even buried in bronze, has a way of ringing out. Not the quiet of peace—the quiet of a

I hid them beneath the cornerstone of the old Press House—what you now call the Ministry of Information.