Jen's father says that there is plenty of food, but it isn't distributed correctly. The Government is afraid that they would run out of food if the population kept growing, so they passed laws to keep the population at replacement levels. Jen tells Luke that the Population Law is all about food. Luke says that his family just lets the grain rot in their fields since they can't feed it to their hogs anymore, a piece of information that Jen shares with on a Department of Agriculture bulletin board. Jen is surprised to hear that Luke's family is able to eat meat because of their status as farmers, since meat is a rare commodity that utilizes a lot of resources, and the Government has pushed the populace to become vegetarian to conserve resources. She also mentions that some Shadow Children go hungry because their families do not have rations to spare for a hidden third child. She also offers him chips and soda, junk food that is technically illegal, but obtainable by Barons. This has made Jen decide that he is trustworthy, so she says that she can show him her secret chatrooms. Luke is a little frightened that she did this, but he doesn't bring up his concerns. She did this by dusting for his fingerprints and submitting them to a Government database, but the fingerprints didn't turn up any matches. Jen also mentions that she checked on her computer to see if Luke officially existed in any databases, and he did not. Jen explains that shopping is extremely important to her mother. Luke is shocked that Jen can actually move about in public, but Jen explains that her mother has obtained a shopping pass for her and hides her in a secret compartment in her car until they're reached a distant shopping area. When he finally does get the chance to see her, she explains that she went shopping with her mother in the meantime. It is a few days before Luke gets to see Jen again, and he worries about her. Luke is even more shocked by the loyalty she shows him by doing this, even though they have just met.
She punches through the screen and cuts her hand in a similar way. He immediately panics because someone will notice the blood and realize he snuck in, but Jen says that she'll just tell them it was her. On his way out, Luke notices that he bled a bit when he punched through the screen into the house.
Jen says that she Government leaders break all the laws, even more than average people. She mentions that her father (who is technically her stepfather) is a governmental lawyer, and Luke is shocked to learn that a member of the Government is hiding a third child. She immediately backs away from this statement when Luke asks more. Jen also explains to Luke that he's the first person she's ever met who isn't a Baron, but that this will help her with the rally. Her parents actually had her on purpose: Jen's mother had two sons from her first marriage, and but she wanted a daughter, so she and her husband paid a doctor to ensure that they had a female child. She is surprised to learn that Luke has never used a computer - his parents have one, but his mother heard that the Government can use it to track people, and so his parents have never let him use it. His head is swimming over his experiences with Jen, and they have set up a signal using porchlights that she can use to show him that it's safe to come over. That night at dinner, Luke can barely pay attention to his family.
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