""It's not as if I have a choice, Mother. I'm exiled. I won't waste my time with appeals. You know how headstrong everyone on the council is." Headstrong might be the wrong word choice here. Pigheaded, perhaps. Unfair to pigs, though. And bigoted to boot. "You'll die out there, Penelope. Over a rat?" "Over Jeffrey. And he's not just a rat. He's Rattus rattus anosophoros." He stirs in the side pocket of my jacket."
"I keep shoving things into my backpack: warm clothes, energy bars, ammo, med-kits, socks - one can never have too many socks in the wastelands. Or caramel-flavoured bars - to reminisce about the times I shared those with Jeffrey on my breaks. You keep sniffling. I keep my eyes on the task. I need to leave while the sun's up to find shelter outside, in a world full of hungry, desperate survivors. Jeffrey's warmth in my pocket adds to my resolve. I won't be alone."
Penelope is exiled and prepares to leave home despite her mother's pleas and tears. She carries Jeffrey, a lab rat identified as Rattus rattus anosophoros, hidden in her coat pocket. She packs survival gear: warm clothes, energy bars, ammunition, med-kits, and many socks, and keeps caramel bars to remember shared breaks with Jeffrey. She accepts exile without attempting appeals because the council is obstinate. She anticipates a dangerous wasteland filled with desperate survivors, yet Jeffrey's warmth gives her comfort and resolve to face the journey alone. Her mother reproaches her for studying nanobiotechnology and for prioritizing Jeffrey over family.
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