“In which case she’ll go ahead and destroy this place?” demanded Charles. He started toward Kiyoko, only to freeze again when the laser twitched toward him.

“She can see you.” I pointed to one of the cameras. And if she read lips, that meant I could talk to her. “Kiyoko, you have a home here, if you want it.”

The clone opened her eyes. “After my part in what has occurred, the authorities would never allow—”

“I’m not planning to ask permission.” I looked at Lena. “I’m not going back to Copper River. From the beginning, they’ve treated New Millennium like a political pawn. I intend to turn it into a sanctuary. A home.”

I’d made my choice back in Michigan, but speaking the words made them real. They also brought a sense of relief. It was amazing how much mental and emotional weight could be sloughed away with a single decision.

“That won’t stop their fear,” said Kiyoko. “It won’t end the wars.”

“No, it won’t. But it will give people a choice. It will give us a place where we don’t have to be afraid.”

“What of those who aren’t interested in sanctuary?” she asked. “Those who choose to fight?”

“We help to stop them.”

She tilted her head to one side. “John Dalberg-Acton stated that power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. It’s true of Secretary McGinley. It was true of Russell Potts. It was true of Johannes Gutenberg. What will make you and New Millennium any less corrupt?”

“People like Nidhi Shah. People like Jeneta Aboderin, who are more interested in knowledge and exploration and possibility. People like my brother, who’ll drive over and tear me down to size if I ever get too full of myself. People like Nicola and Babs and Charles and Vince and Talulah. People like Lena, and like you.”

Bi Wei handed All of One to Kiyoko. “We will also be watching.”

“You’ve seen inside my head,” I said. “You know I’m serious about this.”

“Yes. I also believe you’re frightened of the responsibility, and of the consequences of this choice.”

“Oh, yah. Terrified.” I grinned. “Exhilarating, isn’t it? So many possibilities . . . speaking of which, what’s the transmission rate for your psychic connection?”

She blinked. “Nearly instantaneous.”

“Jeneta’s going to want to talk to you about her Mars idea. You might solve the communication lag she was talking about. Before that, though, I want to sit down and talk about the magic you did up in admin, when you threw that sleep spell at me. We’ve always believed intrinsically magical beings like you and Lena were incapable of using extrinsic magic, but that’s exactly what you did!”

“I recreated a recording. That’s not the same thing.”