The side passageway took them deeper into the labyrinth that was Government House. Glen had hardly ever been out of it. He had been born and brought up in the great central area that surrounded Government Park, now sealed off from both the People and the Civil Servants. Apart from a vacation trip to another city's Government House, this had been Glen's entire world. And two years ago he had passed the Examinations and become a full-fledged CS, with all the privileges—and perils, he was now realizing—that that entailed.
They turned into another corridor, went past a bank of elevators—turned off for the day, as all the elevators were in the official section of the building—and went up a long flight of stairs.
Glen stopped at the third level.
"This looks like as good a spot as any to wait for the first safety-holes to open. It's out of the way. And there's a hole right here, according to the map. It'll be opening in twenty minutes. The mob should be busy down there for longer than that." They located the almost invisible key square, and Glen pressed his Class-6 key to it. "Just on the chance they might have given us a break," he said half apologetically.
"Apparently they haven't," Joan murmured. "Let's see if my Class-5 has any better luck." She pressed her own key to the square, but the panel still refused to slide back. Class-5 shelters in this area were often combined with those for Class-6.
Glen looked at her quizzically. "Joan, we graduated at the same time, and you're already Class-5—Job Consultation—while I'm still Class-6—Secondary School Allocation. How do you do it?"
"Brains, personality and talent. Hadn't you noticed?" She pressed close to him.
He kissed her. "Mmm, yes. But I still don't see...."
"Darling," she said, "Joan Bourne is a young lady destined to go far. And fast."