The next day, Tris is moving slowly because she’s sore and hurting from getting the shit knocked out of her in her fight.  Look!  Consequences!  Look at it and marvel!  This book has some really shitty worldbuilding and some wallbanger ideas, but there are some parts where it’s vastly superior to the majority of YA books out there. 

That’s not exactly high praise for this book, because it’s approaching ‘average’ in a sea of ‘shit,’ but at least it’s something.

But Christina just passes me a muffin and crouches in front of me to tie my shoes. Gratitude surges in my chest, warm and a little like an ache. Maybe there is some Abnegation in everyone, even if they don’t know it.

Yes, indeed, maybe every single person is Divergent, because all that really means is ‘not lobotomized.’

Well, in everyone but Peter.

Okay, really, how do you know that?  He’s a bully to you, but that doesn’t mean he’s uniformly cruel to every single person ever.  And Christina said some pretty nasty stuff about him, so clearly her criteria for ‘a little bit of Abnegation’ doesn’t include kindness to everyone.

My mother baked bread like this once to give to the factionless, but I never got to try it. I was too old for coddling at that point.

So the factions understand that kids are going to be kids and not emulate their faction values until they’re old enough to understand them, but little-kid Peter still ‘can’t lie’?

We climb the steps from the Pit to the glass building above it and run to the exit. Every thump of my feet sends pain through my ribs, but I ignore it.

*sigh* Those consequences didn’t last long.

They’re all heading out to catch the train that doesn’t stop, because they’re going on a field trip to the fence to see what the Dauntless people do. 

Peter makes a lame joke at Tris’s expense, and only his two lackeys laugh.

He bursts into laughter at his joke, and Molly and Drew join in. Molly has an ugly laugh, all snorting and shaking shoulders, and Drew’s is silent, so it almost looks like he’s in pain.

Because we have to paint the bad guys as one-dimensional and ugly in every single thing, even laughter.  They aren’t allowed even one nice trait, no, because they are bullies, and as we all know, bullies are just steeped in evil and not even real people.

No one else laughs along and they sneer at Peter for making fun of Tris.  So she’s not even really being ostracized by this.  Once again we have a book where the main character is being teased by the school pariahs, so how are we supposed to take this seriously?  Tris doesn’t have to deal with Peter, because everyone else is dealing with Peter for her.  Yeah, it sucks to have someone harassing you constantly, and even a group of friends doesn’t always make that better, but she’s literally not having to do anything here.  She’s just sitting back while everyone else verbally beats him down.  That’s a really dull narrative choice.

So after Peter retreats, Tris wonders what’s beyond the fence.  Turns out the Dauntless have only been guarding it for the past five years, and none of the kids know what’s out there.  Really?  Humans have crossed oceans in tiny leaky boats just to see what’s on the other side (or if there’s another side) and you’re telling me that here we have a whole town of people who just…don’t care what’s out there?  Good lord, at least lie to them.  Tell them it’s a nuclear wasteland.  Tell them it’s full of zombies.  Tell them it’s a plague.  Tell them something, but don’t shrug and mumble, because then they’ll respond with “Well, let’s find out!”

Before being on the fence, the Dauntless used to patrol the factionless section.  But…all the faction-ed people were perfectly lawful?

I also remember that my father was one of the people who voted to get the Dauntless out of the factionless sector of the city. He said the poor didn’t need policing; they needed help, and we could give it to them.

WTF, no!  Those two options are not mutually exclusive!  I don’t even know what’s going on here.  Did the factionless need a police force because they were running around in anarchy and setting fires and killing each other?  Or were the Dauntless there just terrorizing people and calling it bravery?  If they were being excessive, then that’s a call for some oversight and moderation, not for completely removing a police force.  And you can still help them while at the same time making sure they don’t burn the town down because they’re so pissed off at you.

What is with these people and their insistence on bluntly back-and-white worldviews?

But I would rather not mention that now, or here. It’s one of the many things Erudite gives as evidence of Abnegation’s incompetence.

So what I’m getting from this is that Erudite isn’t playing the bully making up bad reports, they’re just being honest and Abnegation doesn’t like having their dirty laundry aired out.

You know, if they were so selfless and dedicated to fair and just ruling, they wouldn’t be clinging so hard to power; they’d listen to Erudite since they’re the ‘smart’ ones and work to better themselves.  Or hand over the power to someone more competent.

The train stops!  And no one makes a comment on this.  Nothing like “oh, so this is where the train goes.”  Did they all know this where it goes?  So they’re at a section of fence, and all around it on the inside there’s a large empty field and on the other side there’s trees.  Eh?  Where are they.  Not only is Chicago huge, but it’s surrounded by other towns, making the metropolitan sprawl even bigger.  And if it’s anywhere along the L-train, then there’s no huge fields and forests.  They could have built new tracks to somewhere outside the metropolis, I guess, but that’s a really fucking huge town.  I guess they could have removed the tons and tons of concrete that would have been required for this, but…why did that happen?  Is this a part of the city that used to be a large park?

When I came here with my family as a child, we rode in a bus on that road and beyond, to Amity’s farms, where we spent the day picking tomatoes and sweating through our shirts.

So…the farms aren’t “far away?”  What the fuck is going on here?

Four explains to all of them that if you’re in the bottom half of your training class, you’ll end up on the fence and stay there forever.  There’s just no room for advancement there.  And…what, are all the fence guards of the same rank?

We learned about faction jobs in school. The Dauntless have limited options. We can guard the fence or work for the security of our city. We can work in the Dauntless compound, drawing tattoos or making weapons or even fighting each other for entertainment. Or we can work for the Dauntless leaders. That sounds like my best option.

Do you have a factory underground?  Are you claiming that you make all your guns?  Do you have any idea what kind of manufacturing input goes into modern firearms?  What are you doing, just repurposing scavenged materials from the town?  Even that would be really hard to maintain for any amount of time.  And how are you getting more gunpowder?

And what does that last option even mean?  Are you going to be a secretary? 

A truck comes in carrying apples, and the driver happens to be none other than Robert, her neighbor from back home.  Looks like he switched factions to Amity.  And…what?  His sister Susan was with Tris at the testing center.  So are Susan and Robert twins?  Are they really close in age, like Tris and Caleb?  Is this some sort of Abnegation trend, to have kids 10 months apart?

Molly comes up to make snide remarks about Tris’s full name, none of them are cutting or intelligent, and Tris and Robert both shoo her away.  After Tris mentally makes fun of both her voice and her looks.  I’m getting the impression that these kids are bullied at least as much as they bully others, and Tris isn’t wining any points by being nasty here.

So after Molly leaves, Tris and Robert talk.  I guess there’s no tour or structured class going on, because everyone else just lets them.  Are the other kids just standing around and staring at their navels?  Then Robert gets back in his truck and drives away as Tris stares wistfully after the happy, friendly Amity people.

The Dauntless guards close the gate and lock it behind them. The lock is on the outside. I bite my lip. Why would they lock the gate from the outside and not the inside? It almost seems like they don’t want to keep something out; they want to keep us in.

Almost?  Really?  You think it’s almost like they want to keep you in?  Just how brain damaged are you?

Four comes up and tells her that it was an ‘unwise decision’ to talk to Robert.  But he doesn’t say why it was unwise.  What was wrong about holding a conversation with someone in another faction?  What does he think will happen?  That they’ll get along? Oh, the horror!

He clears his throat. “Looks like the next train is here. Time to go, Tris.”

Go?  What?  They just got here!  That was the whole field trip, a two minute stop so they could just look around with their thumbs up their buts?  They didn’t even get to learn anything!

Next day at bedtime, a bunch of Dauntless people run into the dorm and wake all the kids up.  They’re told to get dressed and up to the train in five minutes.  Pretty standard technique to use.  It’s why it’s always a good idea to wear shorts to bed when you’re in the army.

Next to the tracks is a black pile. I make out a cluster of long gun barrels and trigger guards.

And…anything else, or are these guns disassembled?

Anyway, they’re paintball guns.  They’re all going out to play capture the flag.  Eric and Four are team captains and they split up the kids.  All of Tris’s friends get picked by four, and all the bullies get picked by Eric.  How…convenient.  And really dull.  Want an actual interesting conflict?  Make Tris and Peter be on the same team.  This way is just more of the same.  Also, no one learns anything.

Four’s team gets off the train and starts heading out to hide their flag.  Apparently they’ve got the whole city to play in?  They head for Navy Pier.

We walk across the bridge. We still need the bridges because the mud beneath them is too wet to walk on. I wonder how long it’s been since the river dried up.

I’m guessing not that long if they’re still wet.  Also, if Chicago used to be a marsh, and if Lake Michigan is now a marsh, then how is the city still standing?  It should have all turned to mush without constant, maintenance. 

Marlene takes out a flashlight and shines it at the street in front of us.

“Scared of the dark, Mar?” the dark-eyed Dauntless-born initiate teases.

“If you want to step on broken glass, Uriah, be my guest,” she snaps. But she turns it off anyway.

Are you not allowed to avoid broken glass, now?  Is stepping on broken glass considered ‘brave’?

I have realized that part of being Dauntless is being willing to make things more difficult for yourself in order to be self-sufficient.

That’s right, you can’t used a flashlight.  It’s not ‘self sufficient.’  But guns, oh, that’s fine.  Because guns grow on trees so you can go pick one whenever you need it, I guess.  But using something to light your way, well, there’s just no way you can build a light source on your own.

but we are not supposed to need help, even from light. We are supposed to be capable of anything.

In Fred, we teach you to be capable of making a torch.  We include ‘light sources’ under ‘anything.’

“In ten minutes, the other team will pick their location,” he says. “I suggest you take this time to formulate a strategy. We may not be Erudite, but mental preparedness is one aspect of your Dauntless training. Arguably, it is the most important aspect.”

So everyone in Dauntless is Divergent, then?

Really, the concept is getting more and more shaky as we go along.

So everyone argues about which strategy to use while Four watches and Tris thinks about how hot Four is.

The best way to find them is not to argue about how to search for them, or how many to send out in a search party.

It’s to climb as high as possible.

In an urban environment.

Full of tall buildings.

At night.

How much do you think you’re really going to see, Tris?

So Tris decides that she’s going to sneak away from the group and climb the Ferris Wheel.  She notes that it’s so dark she can barely see her own group.  I have no idea how she thinks she’s going to find someone else’s.  Four comes up to see what she’s doing.

He doesn’t look at me the way Will, Christina, and Al sometimes do—like I am too small and too weak to be of any use, and they pity me for it.

Huh.  I hadn’t gotten that impression from the others.  So either they’re pretty crappy friends, or Tris has some crazy self-esteem issues that she’s projecting on to them.  Considering her upbringing, I’m leaning toward the second option.

Four climbs up with her, and along the way they talk about the purpose of the game.

“Maybe not,” I say. “Teamwork doesn’t seem to be a Dauntless priority.”

That’s because Dauntless is stupid as fuck.  They’d rather kill each other and call it brave than actually accomplish anything at all.

Then I realize what it is. It’s him. Something about him makes me feel like I am about to fall. Or turn to liquid. Or burst into flames.

Yeah, we already figured out he’s the love interest.  But whatever.  He’s done nothing but brood and snap and stand around looking muscle-y, so of course this is the perfect time for Tris to fall deeply in lust with him.

They reach the top of the ladder, and Tris learns that Four is afraid of heights.

The city is pitch-black, but even if it wasn’t, I wouldn’t be able to see very far. A building stands in my way.

Really.  You didn’t see that coming Miss I Could Be Erudite?

“We’re not high enough,” I say.

There is no such thing as high enough for this purpose.  You could be on top of the highest building in town, and you still wouldn’t be high enough to see the whole town.  Why?  BECAUSE IT’S FULL OF BUILDINGS.  YOU CAN’T SEE THE STREET LEVEL WITH ALL THE BUILDINGS BLOCKING YOUR VIEW.  THE ONLY HIGH ENOUGH IS IN A FUCKING PLANE.

So Tris decides to climb even higher up the Ferris Wheel.  Now she can magically see everything, somehow.  She can see over the top of the building to the Chicago skyline, fine, but why can she now suddenly see all the streets?

What about the street on the backside of that building in front of you, Tris?  Can you see that?  NO YOU CAN’T BECAUSE THERE’S A BUILDING IN THE WAY.

They find the other team anyway, because (lucky lucky) the other team is in a park at the end of the pier, not in the urban sprawl, and also they have a light on.

While climbing down, a piece of the wheel gives way and Tris is stuck hanging onto a bar.  Four saves her by starting up the Ferris Wheel so she can reach the ground.  Because he could have just given her a hand, or directed her on where to put her feet.  It’s unclear where she is on the wheel, but one would assume there’s other stuff she could grab onto.  But no, instead he’s going to start up a piece of machinery that’s been hanging there for god knows how long, that probably doesn’t work, and that has a high chance of breaking catastrophically.  Oh, and it’s noisy, so the other team knows where they are now.

They go back to the rest of their team, where someone smart points out that they gave away their position.  They said it doesn’t matter, because they know where the other team is.  Well, Four, if it doesn’t matter that they know where you are, then doesn’t also mean that it doesn’t matter that you know where they are?  Now everyone knows where everyone is.

Tris suggests that they do a flanking movement, send some in to directly attack while the rest slip behind enemy lines to get the flag.  While they’re all doing that, no one guards the flag, I guess?

As I run, I realize that only one of us will get to touch the flag, and it won’t matter that it was my plan and my information that got us to it if I’m not the one who grabs it.

…Tris, you’re the reason sports aren’t always fun.

The plan goes off without a hitch and very easily, which is quite dull.  Also unrealistic.  Most plans turn to shit as soon as you add in the opposing side.  That’s just a fact of life.

Christina gets the flag, because she’s taller, and everyone gathers around her and cheers.  I see, Tris.  It doesn’t “count” because you didn’t get to bask in adulation and attention right away, you’ll have to wait a few moments for the rush to wear off.  Yeah, I don’t give a shit.

Because, seriously, everyone congratulates her once they’re on the train going home.  And one girls seems to catch on to the idea that she’s “Erudite levels” of smart after that climbing thing.  Eh, she mostly just got lucky.  It wasn’t very smart to think you could see through buildings if you’re just high up enough.