Finally he stood in the street and shouted. “All I want is a place to sleep! And a bite to eat! What you would give a dog!”

But no one even told him to shut up.

Chapekar went to the train station and tried to buy a ticket out, using some of the money the Chinese had given him to help him make his way home. But no one would sell him a ticket. Whatever window he went to was closed in his face, and the line moved over to the next one, making no room for him.

At noon the next day, exhausted, hungry, thirsty, he made his way back to the Muslim military compound and, after being fed and clothed and given a place to bathe and sleep by his enemies, he was flown out of India, then out of Muslim territory. He ended up in the Netherlands, where public charity would support him until he found employment.

The second visitor followed no known road to come to the hut. Virlomi merely opened her eyes in the middle of the night, and despite the complete darkness, she could see Sayagi sitting on the mat near the door.

“You’re dead,” she said to him.

“I’m still awaiting rebirth,” he said.

“You should have lived,” Virlomi told him. “I admired you greatly. You would have been such a husband for me and such a father for India.”

“India is already alive. She does not need you to give birth to her,” said Sayagi.

“India does not know she’s alive, Sayagi. To wake someone from a coma is to bring them to life as surely as a mother brings forth life when she bears a baby.”

“Always have an answer, don’t you? And the way you talk now—like a god. How did it happen, Virlomi? Was it when Petra chose you to confide in?”

“It was when I decided to take action.”

“Your action succeeded,” said Sayagi. “Mine failed.”

“You should not have spoken to Achilles. You should simply have killed him.”

“He said he had the building wired with explosives.”

“And you believed him?”

“There were other lives besides mine. You escaped in order to save the lives of the Battle Schoolers. Should I then have thrown their lives away?”

“You misunderstand me, Sayagi. All I say now is, either you act or you don’t act. Either you do the thing that makes a difference, or you do nothing at all. You chose a middle way, and when it comes to war, the middle way is death.”

“Now you tell me.”

“Sayagi, why have you come to me?”

“I haven’t. I’m only a dream. You’re awake enough to realize that. You’re making up both sides of this conversation.”

“Then why am I making you up? What do I need to learn from you?”

“My fate,” said Sayagi. “So far all your gambits have worked, but that’s because you have always played against fools. Now Alai is in control of one enemy, Han Tzu another, and Peter Wiggin is the most dangerous and subtle of all. Against these adversaries, you will not win so easily. Death lies down this road, Virlomi.”