"How much do you know about the Great War?" Dr Stone asked, studying me through his spectacles as he took a sip of his tea.

"Just what we were taught at school," I told him honestly as I mirrored his action and took a sip of my own. "Mass communication enabled the creation of insurmountable divisions in society, which led to almost global destruction with unprecedented radiation fallout. Many believe that the radiation from the Great War is what caused the Katki mutation."

"All true, as far as I know," replied Dr Stone, looking from me to Tobi and back again. "Only, we don't know whether the Katki existed before the Great War or not, because so many historical records from that time were destroyed. I'm sure you already know humanity was nearly wiped out by the worldwide conflict, and we were lucky to salvage the technology we did."

"Which is why the Andekas say they should be the only ones to have access to it," I nodded. "To stop any more fighting and keep our community peaceful going forward. But what I don't understand is why they tell us the Katki are violent, when they're clearly not?"

Dr Stone sat back in his chair with his tea and folded one leg over another as he seemed to consider how to start his explanation.

"My research has suggested that after the Great War, the population shrank to the point where humans needed to work collectively to survive, or we'd have become extinct. The radiation fallout from the conflict made it almost impossible, at least at first, for women to get pregnant. Those that were more attracted to those of the opposite sex needed to focus on building families and restarting the population. There was a big celebration whenever a child was born, and the community rallied round to look after the family to help their chances of survival. Those who weren't inclined to copulate with those of the opposite gender, those which we've now named the Katki, were encouraged to assist in any way they could, which most of them did.

"Over time it became normal practice for the Katki to become helpers to those who were raising youngsters in order to facilitate the survival of the species. But with the radiation levels diminishing, society changing, and the population no longer at critical levels, it got to a point where this was no longer essential for the continued existence of humanity. Understandably, the newer generations of Katki wanted lives of their own.

"But by then, most families had become accustomed to having the additional help, with a large proportion of them now relying on it as part of their lifestyle. They were reluctant to let go of what had ended up being some kind of established tradition that they had integrated into their lives. As time went on, a divide formed between the Katki, who wanted their autonomy, and the families who claimed to have become dependent on them.

"Despite being in the minority, the Katki eventually rallied together and rebelled. But it largely fell on deaf ears, since the general population had normalised taking advantage of them. Some even argued that the Katki were a drain on valuable resources if they weren't inclined to either procreate or to uphold what was widely viewed as their responsibility to help those that did.

"And so, the insurgents were apprehended. Many resisted, citing that the arrests weren't justified. However, numerous civilians then reported that they had seen how the Katki had expressed aggression and hostility in their efforts to break free of the lives they'd become bound to by the tradition and precedent of the previous generations. The defiant attitudes of these Katki were blown out of proportion, making it easier to demonise them. After that, it was relatively straightforward for those that would benefit from it to convince the general population that the Katki were unruly and dangerous.

"The Katki that were arrested each had blood samples taken from them. Extensive analysis found they all had a closely matched part of their genetic sequence that wasn't found in the general population, which is how the template was born. The creation of the Ravim was already underway as an alternative to prison sentences, but since its development coincided with the arrests of the Katki, it was instead heralded as a cure for their apparent violence and rebellion. Nobody seemed to complain when they received a Katki that was more compliant than they had been previously.

"That, as far as I can determine, was when the word 'Katki' was first used to describe this group of people. Labelling them with a word that meant 'broken' helped convince the public that this was for the greater good. A couple of generations later, most people had forgotten how or where the Katki originated, and just believed they were brutal, since the legends had been propagated by those who would gain the most from it. Over time, the populace was convinced that giving up children with the genetic marker would help make society safer."

My mind reeled as I processed the information Dr Stone has been imparting to us.

"Where do the Andekas come into this?" I asked him.

"Good question," he responded, picking up the plate of shortbread and offering a piece to Tobi, who obliged and thanked him. "Those in power found ways to stay in power by rewarding people with things that they couldn't get anywhere else," he continued, placing the plate back on the table next to the fruit bowl. "Like giving them Katki. Or children. But they also used the Ravim as a means of punishing those that didn't comply, thus keeping crime low and the general population satisfied.

"And so, sadly, what started for one reason, now continues for another. The Andekas would be nothing without civilians, so they do what they do to keep themselves in power. But why wouldn't they? We feed them and clothe them. Citizens enable them to live in relative luxury with free slave labour, while simultaneously looking up to them and treating them like gods. Why be one of the crowd when you can stand out and be revered?"

"Why, indeed?" I conceded. Everything the elderly gentleman told us was making sense and tallied with the evidence I'd gathered. "No wonder my proposal to find a cure for the Katki was turned down. The Andekas don't want anyone digging too deeply in case what they're doing is discovered."

"Precisely," Dr Stone agreed. "They won't approve of anything which is likely to uncover their ongoing deception."

"So, I'm guessing this is the real reason they don't like mass communication," I surmised. "The Andekas rely on society being under the illusion that they're preserving social order for the common good, and it's in their best interests to ensure that anyone who discovers the truth to not be able to communicate it efficiently to others. Did the Great War even start the way we're told it did?" I added, realising just how much of what I'd been taught may have been fabricated.

"It's difficult to know much of it is really true," admitted the older man. "After all, history is generally written by the victors."

He made a good point, and I sighed in frustration.

But there was another issue that needed addressing. If our social structure was predominantly based on an illusion, it raised an important question regarding the way in which the loyal were rewarded.

"Do you believe the Andekas have the power to grant fertility, in the way we're taught?" I asked, hoping Dr Stone might be able to enlighten us.

"Absolutely not," he replied adamantly. "I'm a scientist. I don't believe the Andekas have an ability to enable conception any more than you or I can. I've concluded that they must be creating the situation artificially, using smoke and mirrors to perpetuate a myth that will help them keep people loyal."

"What kind of smoke and mirrors?" I probed further, intrigued by what he might be getting at.

"I haven't quite figured that out yet," he conceded. "I was ostracised before I could test my theory on it."

"So, you have a theory, then?" I questioned him hopefully.

"Of sorts. You probably already know that the water supply to the Andekas territory comes from the mountains, and passes through the Kinnisvara before it reaches the villages?"

My stomach turned as I realised what he was implying.

"You believe the Andekas intercept the water supply from the mountains, and alter it somehow before the civilians drink it?" I realised. "It sounds like you think that people have to drink the water at the Kinnisvara to allow them to conceive naturally. And why the Andekas won't eat or drink outside the Kinnisvara - because they know the water elsewhere is contaminated."

"Exactly my thoughts," Dr Stone concurred. "Although, until we have evidence, it's just a theory. The water supply that we drink is easy to analyse, but we currently have nothing to compare it against. In order to see whether there's a difference between the water we're drinking and the water the Andekas are drinking, we need a sample of water from the Kinnisvara so that we can compare the two and see whether anything is significantly different between the specimens. But I haven't been able to get inside the walls of the Kinnisvara. It's too heavily guarded."

My mind ticked over what he was saying as I stared into the depths of my herbal tea, as if I'd find answers in the warm liquid.

"I have no way to get inside the Kinnisvara either," I concurred, recalling that Seren's twelve-week scan was due soon. "But I think I know someone who does."