At last the door slid open again and Tomi entered, followed quickly by an older man, of imposing height despite the stoop of his shoulders, where a mighty pile of information wafers were stacked against the nape of his neck. The elaborately woven border of his robe proclaimed his importance, but it was his face that fascinated Ruth. Fascinated and repelled. His hairless face and bald head accentuated the height of his fore- head, the beaky nose and thin lips and the hard stare of those sharp eyes.

Ruth stood like a child with her hands behind her back, feeling guilty under the Overlord's piercing stare.

“So you are Ruth?”

“Yes, my Lord.” She found herself ducking into a sort of curtsey. “From Ark Three. Over the mountains to the west. “

“It is extraordinary. Why do I have no knowledge of other arks? Why is it not in my infopaks?”

He glared so ferociously that Ruth found herself stammering, “I ... I don't know, my Lord.”

He ignored her remark. “You knew of us. You knew where we were?”

“We found maps in the archives.”

“Computerized archives?”

“No. Papers and books. We have a very large library and an historical collection from the olden days.”

“Don't you use computers?”

“Only for running the power plant and things like that.”

“And your people are free?”

“Yes, of course.” Ruth stopped, remembering the Web as perhaps a comfortable sort of prison. “Freer than you. We did come Outside. We did come here.”

“Hmm. Tomi says you have an idea.”

“Yes, sir. “

“Well, go on. We don't have all day!”

“Tomi says there are some kind of devices built into the computer, things to stop you interfering in special areas.”

“They were not built into the original design. But at the time…” He hesitated.

“I know about the Lords and the workers. What would happen if you did try to reprogram those areas?”

“I don't know. I just know that something would happen. Perhaps the computer would only destroy the operator. Perhaps the whole City. Perhaps itself.”

“So your hands are tied unless you want to take that risk.”

“Precisely.”

“But ours aren't. I think we could help you, I really do.”

“How do I know this isn't just a scheme to free your

friends?''

“You don't, of course.” She spoke boldly, though her knees were shaking. “But what could we do against your two thousand soldiers? Nineteen of us, my Lord, twenty with the Initiator. We need her, but she's still Outside.”

He stared at her, his eyes cold and distant. Then she saw a muscle at the corner of his mouth twitch. She drew a breath of relief. For the moment, at least, she had won.

The Healing of the Arks

NIGHT FELL and the moon rose above the eastern range. Rowan and her friends took turns to sleep, while the others waited and watched.