“Look! There he is! There he is!”

The five of them bounded to their feet and ran to the window. A phalanx of bodies was exiting from the building and onto the street. It appeared to be a tight, human wall of security around one central figure, and it was difficult to make out anything of the ruler from this elevation and angle. Nolan got an impression of height and mass—a big man, this Chay Zanlan, bigger than Pakt, with thick shoulders and broad thighs—topped by a crown of fiery red hair. The gulden ruler was dressed in bright colors, as were his attendants, and their loose tunics snapped gaily around them as they strode by.

Moments later, a second cadre of officials emerged. This time, they were all blueskins, dressed in black and white and wearing their formal clan colors in sashes and shawls. Ariana Bayless was in the center of the group, taller than all the other women and most of the men, her blue-black hair glinting like mica in the afternoon sun. She was speaking to one woman as she walked, reaching a hand out to another woman who offered her a briefcase, and gesturing impatiently to a man who trailed behind her, obviously trying to snare her attention. Newsman, Nolan thought. Asking how the conference went.

“Well, things appear to be going smoothly enough,” Nolan commented.

Only Pakt appeared to have overheard, for the guldman raised an eyebrow at him. “They haven’t killed each other yet, at any rate,” he said. “But there’s a lot of room left for trouble.”

“What do you mean?”

“How would you feel if you were negotiating for your sister’s life with Cerisa Daylen? Because Ariana Bayless comes from the same mold, and it’s not a friendly one.”

“If she gave her word,” Nolan said slowly. He had not previously considered this; he’d had no cause to picture himself feinting with either the head of the Biolab or the mayor of the city. “She would honor it.”

Pakt was nodding. “To the letter,” he said.

“Well, then,” Nolan said, and shrugged. He turned back to the window, but the crowd had dispersed; there was nothing left to see.

*   *   *

That turned out to be the last of the excitement for the day. Even the trip home on the Centrifuge that night was less eventful. As always, there was a big crowd at the North Zero gate, the stop closest to both the Complex and the entertainment district. Unlike this morning, however, commuters were not sharing ringcars with strangers, so the line moved slowly. Nolan had a long wait on the inside of the gate and stared unseeingly at the vast, curved walls of the Centrifuge unfolding to either side of him.