I put on my body suit, making sure to cover it over my gasmask tightly so neither move. My bag fit snuggly in the baggy rounded stomach linen of the suit, not undetectable if the equalists decided to search me, but safe enough for now until I’m allowed to go outside.

  The doors open, slowly revealing a metallic hallway. Never different, even across all the different facilities I've currently explored.

  I keep a quiet track of how long it takes.

  36 seconds- the fastest time, and if I remember correctly facilities 3, 5, 9 had fast records, but I couldn’t be sure which facility’s doors held that time without my notebook. So I kept a mental track of it in my head and would wait to pinpoint an exact location until I’ve seen the other typical identifiers.

  Exiting the room, I join in the crowd of body suits pushing past each other to get to class. We didn’t have a designated time to arrive, so it always confused me on why everyone was in such a rush. Nonetheless it made it easier to explore the facility, since it only took a couple of seconds for the crowds to disperse inside the different classrooms.

  Seeing this as my chance, I made my way down to the cafeteria. My objective was always in the same place, always traced with the same markers, and always gained through the same cost.

  The elevator.

  Only provided to students as accommodation for disability or injury. Temporarily; I’m the latter, which means the equalists gave me an access card to use it.

  Riding the elevator was statistically an anxious experience for me. I can’t remember a time when it felt easy, since I could only do it twice or someone would get suspicious.

  If someone chose to report me I couldn't handle another restriction.

  Which is why it was so important to stay focused when I counted. The elevator took 57 seconds for it to power up, travel from the first to second floor, and power down again. I stepped out and in again, repeating the process, now getting 56 seconds. Choosing 56,5 as my in-between point, and including a ±1–3% margin of error, that made it anywhere between 54.8 and 58.2 seconds. Naturally depending on elevator speed fluctuations or slight timing mistakes on my part.

  My next objective was to check the weather. Windows were abundant in the equalist facilities. As narrow as my head but so long and skinny it stretched alongside the walls.

  Now, as a climate analyst major you would think it would be simple enough for me to simply look out the window to tell what kinda weather it is.

  And you’d be kinda right.

  I can’t calculate the exact density of rain or fog or tell you confidently how warm it is-Since you really can’t do much without the help of intricate complex machines- but through simple analysis of the eye and tracking across a long period of time I can get a general sense of weather patterns in different facilities.

  The only problem is finding a transparent enough window. Almost every window is covered in this thick, sticky layer that is possible to scratch through but that instantly gets replaced after only a few hours. The glass actually used to be thinner, the equalists used to allow visibility once in a while if it was important for schooling. However, due to a group of individuals that call themselves the host club repeatedly breaking them or painting unfamiliar words or signs on them, the equalists have become way stricter.

  I for one am conflicted in how I feel about them. It's comforting to know there’s another group of individuals that are rebelling against the system. They might even know so much more than me, after all they seem to have tools from the outside. However at the same time their methods have made my own research harder. Sometimes I wonder if it's a worthy sacrifice for the amount of research they can get with their unconventional methods.

  That doesn't mean all hope is lost, because this is where the slits come in, smaller even narrower windows in stairwells. For what purpose I could only eternally guess, maybe for emergency weather inspection? Maybe because something is out there the equalists have to keep an eye on? Like the host club?

  Nethertheless it wasn’t a current priority, since by using those I could find what I was looking for. I just had to make it look fast and natural so nobody notices me. Nearing a stairwell slit I examined the opening; The slit was foggy and warm to the touch, which meant that It’s warm, humid air outside meeting a cooler interior. Most commonly these signs are associated with: rainy, overcast, or pre-storm weather.

  Despite getting all the information I needed for now I couldn’t help but feed another craving;Knowledge bound by curiosity. Every other time I peaked out of the slit there had been nothing of notable value on the other side. Just other equalist students on garden duty, monitored by guards besides them. Though there could be value in just observing how other equalist students move, but that was an unreliable source of information

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  Most of them were born here, they would never behave the same as a real human from the outside.

  So I should have known better than to waste my time, but I just couldn’t in good faith live with myself if something popped up when I had chosen to give up. So, as the last couple of times, I peaked outside.

  As expected, there was a lot of movement done by bodies in formless body suits. The equalist student nearest to me was removing what appeared to be some Hedera helix vines that had attached itself to this current equalist facility. Though I couldn't be sure- the details of vegetalia blended together for me if the silhouette wasn't outrageously big or colourful. Everything just looked… green, and pointy.

  I was about to remove my eyes and try to conclude my research until I saw a peculiar figure moving in the background. They were constantly looking around, their garden work more played with than tended too. What was so weird about them was their height- in contrast to the other equalist students outside, or even the guards they towered over them.

  I couldn't know for sure but could they maybe be a gen 2..? My mind didn't ponder further as the person suddenly started moving, no not just moving, running.

  Guards followed after them, and one managed to take a hold of the strap on their gasmask. In a flash the person released it, making the hood of the body suit fall down with it. My eyes followed downwards, the figure had yellow hair much longer than the standardised cut, and something unfamiliar smudged on their face. Almost like food but, intentional? It seemed too symmetrical to be an accident.

  My mind filled with questions and possible answers- but one stood out above all else: could they be a member of the host club?

  I never wanted to assume since I knew my knowledge was limited, but I hated stewing in uncertainty, so if I could I’d test out every variable. The person suddenly ran out of my field of vision, the guards following closely behind them. I was so focused on following them that my head hit the edge of the window. It snapped me straight out of my analytic trance, and I hurriedly got up and tried to follow them.

  There were only so many limited stairwells there could be slits in- so I had to run if I ever hoped to have a chance to catch up to down.

  I ran up and down the hallway. Only occasionally being met with other equalist students who wouldn't budge or react when I bumped into them. Alas I pushed through, following the person and their movements through the differing slits.

  So many thoughts were racing through my head. Positives and negatives piled up like waves inside my head, splashing me at differing interchanging intervals.

  ‘See? There was finally something worthwhile there!’

  ‘But you stayed too long, what if someone saw us and notified the equalists?!’

  ‘We’ll deal with it like we always do, and besides- whoever that person was surely wasn't an equalist! Which means that somebody from the outside or inside could get to or from the equalist facilities without an access card! Which means there’s still a chance for us, even with our restrictions..’

  ‘You know it’s pointless, as long as we can’t survive outside were trapped in here’

  ‘We can’t rely on absolutes when we know only as much as they allow us, so there’s gotta be some way out.’

  With all these thoughts piling up created a strange sense of nervous rigidity and giddiness. Like, finally finding another piece to the puzzle I had yet to complete.

  By the fourth rundown to the hallway I was starting to feel a tightness in my chest, and a lingering rigidity in my right arm and neck that felt like something inside it was hardening. My mouth was starting leaking with saliva that dripped through my gas mask to the metallic floor.

  Inside my body suit my heart monitor began shaking- if I continued running it would start clicking and notify the equalists. It wasn't like running was restricted, but I didn't want to be “checked in” before I could find the person…!

  I decided to push against it, and just as I neared the next slit a sharp, convulsing pain went off in my chest.

  Quickly I weighed the options in my head; I couldn't get medicalised by the equalists since they would force me to rest for at least a week. If that happened, I would miss out on valuable data.

  So getting up despite the resistance of my heart I went inside the nearest bathroom.

  Getting into a stall I took off my body suit, already feeling the sweat cling to my hair and arms. Taking off my inner layers I ripped off my heart monitor, and collapsed in against the toilet seat. Guilt flooded me almost instantly, overriding the temporary feeling of relief. Honestly- If my body worked properly like an outsider then I could’ve probably caught up with that person.

  If it worked properly I could've known what gender I was biologically. If it worked properly I could’ve known what race I was by simply comparing my appearance to others. But the equalists have made that all impossible- Yet I still believe that somewhere out there will be a place for me. People like me- that look like me, act like me, think like me that look at me dont question my origin. There I would be considered a part of the masses, not an outlier.

  That’s why it was so important to keep tracking. So with those heavy thoughts I retrieved my bag and took out my notebook. Flipping through the pages I compared the data from the different facilities, after my comparison I had come to a conclusion.

  It seems that I'm currently most likely in facility 5. The reason I couldn’t be sure is due to the fact that previous data showed that the elevator in facility 5 had a time off 55,2 seconds. However, I hadn’t ended up in facility five in four months now, the elevator could have naturally degraded in efficiency over time.

  But is four months really enough time for efficiency to drop? Only a select few depended on it to move around the facilities, so it feels statistically improbable.

  Then I heard a click in my earbud, followed by a robotic voice “Your daily buddy is waiting for you after the completion of your next chosen lesson.”

  Already? Well, I guess I better not keep them waiting. I need to finish my research by asking them something anyway, and for that to happen I need them in good spirits. With that, I put back my notes in my bag and sip up the body suit again, exiting the bathroom and heading to class.