The holofocus blipped out and the WorShip lights came up to a warm yellow. Hali saw that she was the only adult in the room—this had been a session for young children. Why had Ferry ordered her to meet him here?

One of the children still seated on the floor spoke directly to Hali: “Do you know where that man got his name?”

“It was a mixture from two ancient cultures Earthside,” she said. “Why were you watching that?”

“Ship said that was today’s lesson. It started with the man on the horse. He rode very fast. Do we have horses in hyb?”

“The manifest says we have horses but we have no place for them yet.”

“I’d like to ride a horse sometime.”

“What did you learn from today’s lesson?” Hali asked.

“Ship is everywhere, has been everywhere and has done and seen everything,” the boy said. Other children nodded.

Was that why You showed me Yaisuah, Ship?

No answer, but she had not expected one.

I didn’t learn my lesson. Whatever it was Ship wanted me to learn . . . I failed.

Distraught, she stood and glanced at the boy who had addressed her. Why weren’t there any adults here? It was children’s WorShip, but not even a guide?

“Has Doctor Ferry been here?” she asked.

“He was here but someone called him away,” a little girl in the background said. “Is he supposed to leave WorShip?”

“When it’s the business of Ship,” Hali said. The apology sounded empty, but the girl accepted it.

Abruptly, Hali turned away and slipped out of the room. As she left, she heard the little girl call: “But who’s going to lead us in lesson study?”

Not me, little girl. I have my own studying to do.

Something was going very wrong shipside. Waela’s odd pregnancy was merely one symptom among many. Hali ran down the side passage coreside from the WorShip area, found a service access plate and slipped it aside. She wormed her way down a dimly lighted tube to a cross-tube where she slipped out through another service plate into the main passage to Records. There was activity in Records—a teener group learning how to handle the more sophisticated equipment, but she found her aisle between the storage racks unoccupied and no one at the console which concealed Kerro’s small study lab.

Hali opened the concealed hatch, saw pale pink light in the lab. She slid inside and sat at the control seat. The hatch snicked closed behind her. She was breathless from the rush of getting here, but wanted no delay. Where to begin? Vocoder? Projection?

Hali chewed at her lip. Nothing could be hidden from Ship. The lesson for the children had been a true one. She knew this.

I don’t even need this equipment to address Ship.

Then why did Ship use this place at all?