“On the first of each month every child that is turning 13 that month goes on the PATH retreat. It’s supposed to be an assessment where when you return home on the last day of the month you receive your job assignment. Unless you are chosen to be a wait. Then you don’t go home….” she said growing quieter and quieter.
"Were you chosen to be a wait?" Gracie asked softly, sensing that this must be a sore subject for Ava.
Ava nodded staring down at the table. "Plus normal people don't remember the retreat. That entire month is wiped from their memory, but if you're a wait they won't give you the second dose of the memory altercation meds. This makes the memories from before the retreat slowly become hazy. I've only been at the academy for a few months and already the only vivid memory I have of my brother is during the retreat where neither of us was very nice," She was rambling now. Her eyes growing a little watery.
“Oh, I’m sorry. That sounds a little like a dictatorship doesn’t it?” Danny says.
Ava shrugged. "We have a leader that we vote for. Well, adult citizens do. The inventors usually stay out of politics. They can intervene but they haven't for generations," She explained.