Oakes waited for the stir of this outcry to subside, then: “The ship also trained me as a doctor and a scientist. I depend on facts I can test for myself. What do I know about Shipmen? We can interbreed. In fact, this whole thing could be a genetic . . .”

“I know my origins and so does everyone else!” It was Rachel Demarest breaking away from Murdoch and leaping to her feet. She still was not using her wand, but she fumbled with it as she moved toward Oakes. “I’m a clone, but I’m from . . .”

“So the ship says!”

Again, Oakes hurled that challenge at them. Now, if Lewis and Murdoch had read the Colonists correctly, suspicions had been placed like barbs where they would do the most good when the vote was called.

“So the ship says,” Oakes repeated. “I do not doubt your sincerity; I merely am aghast at your credulity.”

She was angered by this and, still fumbling with her wand, failed to give herself enough amplification when she said: “That’s just your interpretation.” Her voice was lost on all but the first rows.

Oakes addressed the audience in his most reasonable manner: “She thinks that’s just my interpretation. But I would be failing you as your Chaplain/Psychiatrist if I did not warn you that it is an interpretation you must consider. What do we know? Are we merely some cosmic experiment in genetics? We know only that the ship . . .” He gestured upward with his left thumb. “. . . brought us here and will not leave. We are told we must colonize this planet which the ship calls Pandora. You know the legend of Pandora because it’s in the ship’s educational records, but what do you know about this planet? You can at least suspect that the name is very appropriate!”

He let them absorb this for several blinks, knowing that many among them shared his suspicions.

“Four times we failed to plant a Colony over on Black Dragon!” he shouted. “Four times!”

Let them think about their lost loved ones.

He glanced at Rachel Demarest, who stood three paces to his left, staring at him aghast.

“Why this planet and not a better one?” Oakes demanded. “Look at Pandora! Only two land masses: this dirt under us which the ship calls The Egg, and that other one over there which killed our loved ones—Black Dragon! And what else has the ship given us? The rest of Pandora? What’s that? A few islands too small and too dangerous for the risking. And an ocean which harbors the most dangerous life form on the planet. Should we give thanks for this? Should we . . .”

“You promised to take up the entire petition!”

It was Rachel Demarest again and this time with her amplifier turned up too far. The intrusion shocked the audience and there were clear signs that many found the shock offensive.