“Mother said you’re moving my family out of Shalev. Is that true?”

“Yes, they’ll be leaving in the morning.”

“Why?”

“All of your village are being transferred to Serenity—near where Great Falls, Montana, used to be. We have a great need for skilled farmers.”

“If I agree to cooperate, can they stay?”

“No. I’m sorry, but their transfer has nothing to do with you and your status. Serenity is our newest city. It received a direct nuclear strike during the war. The region was not fit for habitation until just a few years ago. It’s become a major source of food for the Alliance, but we don’t have sufficient people to run the farms.”

As she watched the hardness of his jaw, she continued quietly. “After your preliminary training, you’ll be allowed to visit Serenity and see them often.”

Without so much as a nod, he changed directions. “Why does the Alliance want to capture new populations? We were obviously no threat to you. We didn’t even know you existed. Why go to such great effort to seek us out?”

“Actually we have two reasons. First, we survived Termination as well as any group we know of. We still have civilization, technology, medical facilities, schools. We hope to share that with as many others as possible.”

Eric nodded. “You just don’t find that kind of generosity any more.”

She ignored his sarcasm and continued. “Secondly, the Alliance needs people—farmers, laborers, skilled professionals like Dr. Cameron.”

“That’s a little surprising. You talk about having limited food resources. You’d think natural growth would tax your abilities to keep up. Why such a vigorous program to bring in new people?”

Nicole hesitated, suddenly aware that the Major and Travis were waiting for her answer too. Then she remembered the Major’s counsel to be straight with him. “Because the growth rate is negative,” she said.

Eric’s gray eyes widened a little. “Negative?”

“Yes. The birthrate is not keeping up with the death rate. No one is exactly sure why, but the infusion of outside people is necessary to balance the population.”

“Well, well. Everyone in this little paradise just loves it to pieces—they just don’t want to bring children into it.”

“That’s a simplistic conclusion not justified by the data we have.”

The sudden sharpness in her tone only made him smile. “And you’re not married. Is that typical for twenty-four-year-olds in Shalev?”

Nicole felt her cheeks go instantly hot and was furious that her face betrayed her reaction. “It’s not unusual,” she said evenly, though it cost her a great deal of effort.

“Well, that’s clearly part of your population problem. Hardly a girl in the village is still single past eighteen. By twenty-four they have three or four children.”

“And how old are you, Mr. Lloyd?”