“All? At once?” Healhand's voice was dismayed. “Food and shelter ... thank goodness the weather is fine. I shall go back to the village and warn the others. We must prepare a hot meal. They’ll be hungry and…”

“It's only for a couple of days, Healhand. Just to show the Lords and soldiers that the old ways are finished. Also…” Ruth's voice trembled and she Swallowed and went on steadily. “What we have to do may be dangerous. Better if the slaves are safely outside. Later we can open the Ark so that those who wish to ma y come back freely.”

“Peace, women,” Swift broke in. “They’ll be so glad to be free they won’t care.”

“Free or slave they still need food. Something for tonight. Tomorrow we can start building.” She was off, plunging down the hill like an antelope.

“Start building,” repeated Treefeller. He drew himself up and flexed his muscles. “That has a fine sound to it. We'll need more saws and axes, mind. Hammers and nails. Tell Tomi when you see him, Ruth. Then send out our friends. We are waiting.''

“Yes, I will. Initiator, will you come inside with mc, please. We have to get the others out of prison - they've been locked up all this time. Oh, that's not a problem. The guards are all asleep. The problem is going to be forming a Web to help Luke fix the computer and that's not going to be easy…''

“WE DON’T have long,” the Overlord told them, when they had gathered together in the computer room. “The com purer wakens the city at six in the morning. That is less than seven hours away. Whatever we do must be done by then. Once the soldiers wake and find the slaves gone the Captain will know I have tricked him.”

Luke leaned over the table and traced the circuits with one finger. “Why do you not simply disconnect this area and then go in and change what must be changed?”

“Because to do so, m y young friend, would be to kill the city. This area takes care of the ventilation, the generators and therefore the electricity for lights, the elevators, the pumping of fresh water, the food processing plants and so on. Without these functions the city would die.”

“Would that be such a bad thing?”

The Overlord stared at him bleakly. “In the long run it may be to the good. But tell me how to find food and shelter for twelve thousand people without preparation?”

Luke flushed. “I'm sorry. I just needed to know.”

“Can you do it, Luke?” The Initiator looked at him anxiously.

“I don't know. I think so. It is a very different problem from moving large things outside me. To do this I must make my Esper self small enough to travel along the circuits within the boards and change what must be changed from within.”

''It sounds dangerous. ''