After a long time - or had any time passed at all? - the pattern slowly dissolved. The Web was broken, the closeness lost. Ruth sighed. I wish it could have lasted for ever. But I know it will return. I am a part of it. I do belong. Wonderingly she fingered her Innovator's sash.

The Custodian stood and began to read from a white and gold book. '“Here is the history of Ark Three, to be read on the first day of each year,” she began, and they settled back to listen.

“In the beginning of the Age of Confusion that followed the End of Oil, the Arks were built by different faculties of the University in an attempt to protect the knowledge and wisdom of humankind, which was in danger, as in times before, of being totally lost.

“We in the Humanities were charged with guarding and developing our skills in communication and understanding, so that once the Age of Confusion was past there might be once more an Age of Peace, with no more wars and no more destruction of either people or natural resources through personal greed.

“One hundred and forty-one years have passed since the Arks were built. During this time we have concentrated all our energies on developing our skills in telepathy, healing and empathic communication. We have developed a society in which everyone has an equal opportunity, and in which the dull, the rough, the unpleasant work is shared by all, including the leaders. In the same way each of us bears an equal responsibility in the growth and development of the Web and the Great Pattern.”

The Custodian closed the book and spoke clearly to the hushed assembly. “The Protectors, the Custodians, the Wardens who came before your present leaders had a clear mandate, when the Age of Confusion threatened the existence of civilization. That mandate has been observed. We have protected the best in humanity. But, as the Initiator has told you, a society fully occupied with holding on to what it has can never survive. For a hundred and forty-one years we have consolidated, we have strengthened our powers. You have all felt the power of the Web, and strength of the Great Pattern. Well, then, be ready. The time has come to risk!”

She sat down amid a buzz of excited conversation. “Risk?” “What kind of risk?” “What can she mean?”

The Initiator rose again. “Friends, I share your concern. There have been fourteen Initiators since the founding of the Ark. I am the fifteenth to wear the purple. I am also the first to stand before you and say that I truly believe that the time has come for us to move.”

“To move where?”

“What's wrong with the Ark the way it is?”

“Newness for the sake of newness?” One voice spoke louder than the rest and the babble died down. “You are young, Initiator. Respectfully, perhaps ... “