"Toba Mixxax, will this cover the costs of Adda, with Farr's fee?"

He nodded. "Just about. Of course, Adda himself will have to find work once he's fit. And..."

"I'll take the offer," she told Toba dully. "Tell him."

The Wheel started to turn about its axis.

The crowd screamed. At first the revolutions were slow, and the man pinned to it seemed to smile. But momentum soon gathered, and Dura could see how the man's head rattled against its spoke.

"Dura, I know Qos," Toba said. "He'll treat you well."

Qos Frenk nodded at her, not unkindly.

"How close will I be to Farr?"

Toba hesitated, looking at her strangely. Qos Frenk seemed confused.

Now the victim's eyecups had closed; his fists were clenched against the pain of the rotation. Memories of Adda's attack by the sow returned to Dura. As the man was spun around, the Air in his capillaries would lose its superfluidity, begin to coagulate and slow; a sphere of agonizing pain would expand out through his body from the pit of his stomach, surrounding a shell of numbness. And...

"Dura, you don't understand. Qos owns a ceiling-farm which borders on mine. So you'll be working at the Crust... as a coolie. I explained to Qos how well adapted you upfluxers are for such work; in fact I found you at the Crust, and..."

"What about Farr?"

"He will be in the Harbor. He will be a Fisherman. Didn't you understand that? Dura..."

Now the man was rotating so fast that his limbs had become a blur. He must be unconscious already, Dura thought, and it was a mercy not to be able to see his face.

"Where is the Harbor, Toba Mixxax?"

He frowned. "I'm sorry," he said, sounding genuinely contrite. "I forget sometimes how new all this is for you. The Harbor is at the base of the City, at the top of the Spine... the pillar of wood which descends from the base of the City. Bells from the Harbor follow the length of the Spine, diving deep into the underMantle. And..."

"And it's not acceptable," she snarled. Qos Frenk flinched from her, eyecups wide. "I must be with Farr."

"No. Listen to me, Dura. That's not an option. Farr is ideal for the Harbor; he's young and light but immensely strong. You're too old for such work. I'm sorry, but that's the way it is."

"We won't be parted."

Toba Mixxax's face was hard now, his weak chin thrust forward. "You listen to me, Dura. I've done my best to help you. And Ito and Cris have grown fond of you; I can see that. But I've my own life to lead. Accept this now or I just Wave away out of here. And leave you, and your precious brother, to the mercy of the Guards... and within half a day you'll be joining that man on the Wheel, two more unemployable vagrants."