‘I, and others like me,’ said Bramnik, ‘believe that working openly towards a common goal is the only way to ensure our survival, as a species as much as a civilization. The Patriots had different ideas. For a long time now, Greenbrooke and his agency were in the ascendant here. They had growing influence over policy, and they wanted nothing more than to . . . neutralize our mutual enemies. Myself and the Senator feel our best chance at long-term survival is by working with them.’

‘You’re talking about the Russians,’ I said.

‘We’ve got an ice age coming,’ said Bramnik. ‘The global temperature’s dipped too low, for too long. We have maybe ten years to figure something out, and we’re not ruling out some kind of a mass evacuation, if we can ever get enough transfer stages running – and find somewhere safe enough to point them at. We thought the alternate you’ve all been living on might be such a place, but when we investigated the mainland . . . well, let’s just say there’s a reason we stick to that island. But wherever we end up going, assuming we can find such a place, and assuming evacuating the entire population of an alternate is even remotely feasible, we won’t be able to do it without the help of the Soviets.’

‘You need somewhere with an intact infrastructure,’ I suggested. ‘Somewhere that’s lost its population, but is safe to repopulate.’

‘That’s just one possible option among a thousand,’ said Bramnik, ‘I’m not even joking when I say I’d be hanged if they knew how much I’ve told you. As far as you or anyone else is concerned, you were never here.’

‘I want to thank you,’ I said, ‘for telling us the truth.’

‘No,’ said Bramnik, ‘thank you. I saw the video you handed over, of Casey’s confession. We know now exactly what he was planning. Without your help, things would clearly have been infinitely worse for all of us.’

‘So what next?’ demanded Randall. ‘We just keep doing what we’ve always done?’

‘Why not?’ asked Bramnik. ‘The deal you’ve got is a hell of a lot better than any of the people you saw on the drive over here have. And, compared to most other places on this alternate, they’re the lucky ones. Look – things will be different, Mr Pimms, I guarantee you. Better equipment, better backup, much more transparency and no more weapons retrieval. But we still need data, or anything, really, that can help us figure out how to program safe destinations into the transfer stages. Maybe then you’ll be able to retire, and we’ll be able to find some place safe for our people – but in the meantime, I’d count your blessings.’

The door opened and the guard named Louie entered. It was time for us to leave.