She frowned again, shaking her head. “An advocate needs to understand how the opposition feels. I’m as furious as Kanazawa, myself.” She swung her arms and bent to pick up a crumbling piece of plastic bottle. “How old is this, do you think?”

Lanier didn’t answer. He was thinking of Mirsky, surprised by the refusal of the Nexus to go along with his request. “What chance is there for a negative vote?” he asked.

“None,” she said. “Without a persuaded and informed Earth, and that seems to be an impossibility in the near term.”

“Then why are we here? I thought this was a good idea…I thought we might have an effect.”

Ram Kikura nodded. “We will,” she said. “We’ll hang on their damned heels and slow them down. The tide is coming in, don’t you think?”

The tide was going out, as far as Lanier could tell, but he understood her meaning.

“What will we say in Oregon?” he asked.

“The same thing we’ve said here.”

They turned around to walk back toward the house. When they arrived, the others were up and about, and the robots were serving breakfast. Kanazawa and Ram Kikura were friendly, cordial and no more.

Lanier was thoughtful. He had had a burst of youthful enthusiasm shot down. There was chagrin, but there was also the realization he could still be young and foolish. He could still fight for hopeless causes. Somehow, that made him feel even more alive, even more resolved.

Besides, he suspected Mirsky—or the beings at the end of time—were far more resourceful than even the Hexamon.

They packed their few pieces of luggage. Ram Kikura and Karen spoke with Kanazawa as Lanier carried the small bags to the shuttle. As he entered the shuttle doorway, the automated pilot flashed a red pict before his eyes.

“Speak in English, please,” Lanier said, vaguely irritated.

“Our flight has been held,” the pilot said. “We are to stay here until precinct police arrive.”

Lanier set the bags down, stunned. “Precinct police? Not terrestrial police?”

The pilot did not respond. The interior lighting dimmed. The white interior relaxed and turned an inactive blue.

“Are you still functioning?” Lanier asked. There were no further answers. He looked around the darkened interior, opening and closing his fists. He stepped down from the doorway, face red with anger, and confronted Karen.

“I think we’re being intercepted,” he said. Ram Kikura and Kanazawa came from the house.

“Problems?” the senator asked.

“Precinct police are coming,” Lanier said.

Kanazawa’s face hardened. “Not if I have anything to say about it.”

“You probably don’t,” Ram Kikura said. Kanazawa stared at her as if she had struck him. “This is very serious, Garry. How did you—”