The Unwanteds

The colorful nature of Artimé shocks the Unwanted into silence. All they can do is stare at their surroundings and at Mr. Today. He leads them on a walk through the property, pointing out all the unfamiliar creatures (such as rabbitkeys and beavops). The Unwanted know that, in Quill, children had been sent to the Death Farm for drawing such animals. The winged tortoise (whose name is Jim) reminds Mr. Today that, each year, the Unwanted are shocked by Artimé. Mr. Today collects himself and assures the children that he has saved them, “that is, if [they] want saving” (27). The transformed Eliminators, referred to as girrinos, are leave and Jim flies away. Mr. Today resumes the tour. 

in Quill, High Priest Justine is riding in a car with her secretary after the Purge. Justine has ruled Quill for 50 years, and the Secretary has served her the entire time. But, Justine tells the woman that this will be her final year of service. The Secretary will train her replacement and then be sent “on to the Ancients Sector to be put to sleep” (27). The Secretary accepts this. They arrive at the palace and dine on steak, as is tradition, and the Quillitary General Blair join them. They wait to hear that the Unwanteds have been dealt with and celebrate a record year, in which the Unwanteds have outnumbered the Wanteds. Justine, infuriated by her inability to cut her steak, has the cook dragged from the kitchen and sends him to be put to sleep. Her decision is cheered. 

Alex and the other Unwanteds eat a picnic and wrestle with what has happened. They speak with an older group of Unwanteds, who then sing. Mr. Today applauds and tries to encourage the newer children to express themselves. He explains that their parents believe them dead and have thus continued with their day-to-day lives. Justine, he continues, wants to remove children who are creative thinkers; she views creativity as a weakness that could lead to magic. To demonstrate, he turns a flower into a music box. 

Mr. Today tells the Unwanteds that they are now free to be as creative as they desire. But if the children contact anyone from Quill, it endangers everyone in Artimé and would lead to the land’s destruction. Mr. Today asks the children to train and learn how to fight, in case they ever need to defend Artimé. Samheed doubts the Quillitary could ever be defeated and calls Artimé stupid. Lani vehemently disagrees, but Samheed walks away. The children are shocked; they had been taught to bottle up their rage and emotions. To their puzzlement, Mr. Today does not punish Samheed. Instead, he congratulates Samheed. Soon, the children join him in applauding the show of dissent. 

Mr. Today leads the children toward the mansion, though Samheed has not rejoined them. Mr. Today assures them Samheed cannot get lost because a spell will transport him back if he walks too far from the mansion. The dangerous jungle in the distance, they learn, is not reachable by the children until they have become used to Artimé. 

The Unwanteds head into the mansion, where the marbled hallways are lined with statues of a cheetah and a woman. Mr. Today greets the statues, which nod stiffly in return. The children exclaim loudly as they see the lavish interior. Their host reveals that 500 Unwanted children live in Artimé, including relatives of the children who just arrived. Samheed returns. While he talks with Mr. Today, Alex and the other children chatter excitedly as they examine seemingly infinite hallways. Families, girls, and boys are all housed separately. Some creatures live in the jungle, others live in the mansion. Once shown to their rooms, the children plan to meet up. Samheed asks Mr. Today about a different hallway, and the man is “surprised [Samheed] can see it” (39).

The doors of the children’s rooms call to them. Lani’s takes longer than most. She is shocked by the sudden appearance of a small feathery creature—a platyprot—that mimics her voice. She finally finds her door, steps inside, and falls asleep. Meghan’s room is filled with comfortable furniture and well-fitting clothes. She discovers a magical blackboard and a tube that can fetch food from the kitchen whenever she desires. She finds papers covered in strange markings and a basket of musical instruments, which the blackboard teaches her how to play. Meghan changes into new clothes and goes to find her brother, a former Unwanted child. She travels via the glass tube, which teleports her instantly. 

In the busy lounge, Meghan talks with Alex, who tells her to ask the blackboard for her brother’s location. She does, and the blackboard bluntly shouts out Sean’s name. He arrives by tube a moment later. They hug, and Sean chastises Meghan for having “turned out just like [her] useless older brother” (45). The siblings sit with Alex and talk. Sean, now graduated, discusses the classes available: art, music, magic. Alex reveals he was deemed Unwanted because he drew in the dirt with a stick; Sean suggests this makes Alex an artist. Sean conjures a pencil and paper and draws a meadow scene, encouraging Alex to do the same. After art and music classes, Sean reveals, the children will graduate to Magical Warrior Training, where they will learn magic. 

As Sean and Alex draw, Meghan searches for Lani using the blackboard. Lani arrives and is introduced to Sean; it is revealed she is the senior governor’s daughter and is only 12 years old. Sean tells them Artimé is magically contained within the desolate space inside the Death Farm, created by Mr. Today, who is a mage. Alex and Lani leave Meghan and Sean to discuss their family; Samheed sneers at Alex from across the room. 

Several weeks pass in Artimé. The children learn about art and are given specific skills on which to focus. Alex draws and paints; Meghan learns music; Lani learns writing and storytelling; and Samheed learns to act. However, Samheed remains glum and angry. He makes friends with a similarly angry older boy named Will, who is something of a bully. Alex often catches Will and Samheed looking at him. 

Alex’s teacher Ms. Octavia is an octogator, half alligator and half octopus. Alex learns quickly, showing a natural flair, but is deemed not ready to learn magic. Meghan is taught by a woman named Claire Morning, showing such exceptional singing talent that she is ready to advance to magical training after just three months. However, she is warned not to make the other children jealous. Meghan is so distracted by this that her performance with Samheed during a theatre recital ends in a fight between the two. Lani and Alex grab Samheed before he can hurt Meghan, but he struggles free and hits Alex in the eye. A brawl ensues, broken up only by the instructor’s magic spell. Mr. Today is summoned, and he tries to stifle a laugh while the instructor theatrically explains what happened. Mr. Today reminds the children to behave and leaves; Samheed recovers first and, before he exits, the instructor threatens to kick him off the course if there are future disruptions. 

Samheed seeks out Alex the following evening. He apologizes and Alex accepts, though says reminds Samheed that he is “not afraid to punch [him] back” (58). Alex asks about Will; Samheed defends his friend because they knew each other when they were in the Quillitary section in Quill. Alex is shocked to learn Samheed’s parents were Wanteds. Samheed says he was reported by Aaron for Dramatic Boasting the week before the Purge. He calls Aaron Alex’s evil twin, which upsets Alex. However, he cannot believe his brother would report Samheed and offers his apology for his brother’s actions. 

Meghan and Lani arrive; Meghan announces that she is beginning her Magical Warrior Training. Alex is happy for her but jealous. Eventually he gets over it, taking pleasure in his art. His skills develop rapidly, but he is never advanced to Magical Warrior Training. Lani and the others soon begin their training, and Alex is the only one left behind. He becomes isolated and brooding. Though the other children try to hide their skills, they cannot help but show off their freshly learned spells and abilities. Lani cannot seem to grasp how bad Alex feels, so she joyfully performs many spells near him. Even when Meghan suggests that Lani apologize, she dismisses the idea. Alex withdraws completely, eating alone in his room. He paints, draws, and sculpts until his body aches. He begins to miss Aaron, “feeling helpless to save him” (64). Sometimes, he almost feels like he can sense Aaron nearby; this only makes the loneliness worse. He becomes convinced that Aaron belongs in Artimé.

Aaron sits in a classroom, trying desperately to focus on the Governmental History of Quill. He is taught that Quill is the “land of the strong” (66), and its people are feared because they are always ready for attack. Quill is surrounded by enemies on every side, except for the side that borders the Great Lake of Boiling Oil. Governor Strang, Aaron’s teacher, proclaims the might of the Quillitary. The students shout agreement, though Aaron thinks about how many of the military vehicles frequently break. The class praises Justine for eliminating their society’s weakest members. 

In Artimé, Mr. Today walks with the Unwanteds. They ask him questions about the evils of Quill: the isolationist town has not developed metallurgy and no longer trades with neighbors because of a fear of outsiders. Mr. Today says High Priest Justine aims to run Quill like a puppet show. The mage reiterates he does not want anyone to return to Quill, as it would expose Artimé. Lani asks what would happen if her father, the next ruler of Quill is worse than Justine, but Mr. Today tells her not to give up on her father yet. Nevertheless, in the case of war, Lani resolves to kill her father herself. 

During a theatre class, Meghan asks Alex why the gate to Artimé is locked from the Quill side. Alex, annoyed, tells her to ask her Magical Warrior instructor. Taken aback, Meghan tries to apologize, but Alex wants to focus on the lesson. When she persists, he accuses her and the others of “being horrible” (71) to him. Alex takes to the stage, where his character attacks Lani’s character. The violence of the scene makes Alex feel good, but Lani is so annoyed that she casts a spell on him after the scene ends. Everyone but Alex laughs. 

On the six-month anniversary of the Unwanteds’ arrival in Artimé, Alex has grown weary of not yet beginning his magic training. He increasingly misses Aaron, so he spends most of his time alone. He wanders through the dangerous jungle, unable to see a huge gray wolf that he has spotted in the past. He finds a pleasant stream and follows it to the seashore, where he discovers a large white boat. Alex admires the vessel, which has the name CLAIRE written along the hull. 

Alex returns to the mansion, which seems deserted. He is told by the statues in the entrance that the mansion is under lockdown, due to the governor’s semiannual inspection. Alex is sent to his room, hurt that even the statues recognize him as the only student not in Magical Warrior Training. Mr. Today appear on the blackboard, his expression “weary and angry” (77). He asks Alex to pay more attention and respect his requests. Mr. Today says he is counting on Alex. Alex is left feeling a stinging pain deep in his gut. 

By the next day, everyone in Artimé knows Alex had endangered everyone and everything. Mr. Today is a “man of order” (80), and anyone not in their rooms during the inspection makes it more difficult to ensure Artimé is magically hidden. Thus, no one pities Alex. He shuts himself away in his room and wishes he could return to Quill; he believes that Aaron would understand him. When he finally falls asleep, unbeknownst to him, a secret meeting of the adults takes place at the end of an invisible hallway.