“This distribution is very uneven,” M’tal agreed. “We should have more dragons at Telgar; it’s central to Pern and has the extra burden of the Falls it inherited when Igen was abandoned.”

“Fort’s weak, as well,” Fiona added in fairness to her old Weyr.

“Perhaps we can get the Weyrleaders to meet soon and discuss this,” M’tal said thoughtfully.

“I think that would be an excellent idea,” H’nez said. They turned to see him approaching from the Weyr Bowl, pulling off his wher-hide gloves and scarf. Behind him, in the Bowl, other riders returned from drill were dismounting and sending their dragons to their weyrs. He gave the group a tight smile as he continued, “I was thinking much the same thing myself.”

He found a seat opposite M’tal and examined the chart silently for a long while.

“Harper Kindan, Norik, am I right in recalling that the queens can be expected to rise twice a Turn and produce an average of twenty-eight eggs?” H’nez said, steepling his hands thoughtfully.

“That sounds right from Records I’ve read,” Fiona told him, glancing at Norik and Kindan for any disagreement.

“So this Turn we can expect—” H’nez paused as he did the sum in his head. “—the queens to produce at most four hundred and thirty-two weyrlings.”

“I think—” Bekka piped up hesitantly, then spoke with greater speed as H’nez nodded for her to continue. “I think it’s four hundred and forty-eight, my lord.”

“Yes, you’re right,” H’nez said after a moment’s thought. “Well summed.”

“I did a lot of sums for my mother,” Bekka explained.

“Four hundred and forty-eight,” H’nez repeated, absently waving Bekka back to silence.

“And at least two Turns before they’re large enough to fight,” Fiona added warningly.

“We could send them back to the past,” H’nez countered.

“Where?” Fiona asked. “We’ve already used all the time at Igen.”

H’nez frowned. “Well, couldn’t we just send them again?”

“It doesn’t work that way,” M’tal told him. “If we would do it, then it would already have happened at Igen back in time and we’d know that we’d done it already.”

H’nez’s eyes widened in confusion.

“It could only happen in a place where we wouldn’t have seen it already, H’nez,” Fiona told him. “It didn’t happen at Igen, or I would have met those riders from the future.” She added, “There’s only one past to go to.”

“So we didn’t do it at Igen,” H’nez conceded with a mild irritation. “Where else could we do it?”

“It’s not just location, it’s supplies,” Fiona said. H’nez gave her an inquiring look. “Three Turns, four hundred and forty-eight dragonets, riders, and there’d have to be others to care for them—that adds up to a lot of supplies. Where would they come from?”