Still, as he left his quarters, he wondered how she would respond at the Dream Tribunal; and what they’d learn. An unaccustomed nervousness was at him—she obviously knew so much and yet so little. He had the feeling that the Tribunal would discover information of great import to all of them. But as he went along, his native sensitivity drowned out his speculations. The night was so perfect that he felt honored to be a part of it.

He paused by the private dwellings. The Speakers’ bodies were all sleeping, men, women, and children alike. But the Speakers themselves were up and about. The adults would soon be heading for the Dream Tribunal, having just finished the childrens’ nightly dream training; and the children were playing. Groups of them went rushing by, playing tag, and Sumpter grinned indulgently as he watched.

The children ran laughing and shouting in their dream bodies—straight through trees—usually the biggest ones they could find, emerging gleefully on the other side. Their games reminded him of his own early training: the joy of learning to use the dream body and the great freedom of discarding the physical one. Then, of course, there was the contrast, equally delightful, of slipping back into the physical form. As children, they used to compare the two bodies for hours at a time.

He found Ma-ah at the courtyard as usual. He approached slowly, calling out when he was some distance away. She still had some difficulty in controlling her consciousness when she was out of her body, and he didn’t want to startle her.

“Who is it?” she asked, turning.

“Sumpter.”

“Oh. Funny. I thought it might be the old man.”

“You might even see him before the night is out.”

“What makes you say that? Do you know something I don’t?” she asked. “Besides, this is another dream, isn’t it?”

He paused. It might be best if she thought that the whole thing was just a dream, at least for a while. “You might call it that,” he said, “But there’s someplace I want you to go. I told you that most of the Speakers’ real work was done at night, and this evening the Tribunal is being held. I want you to go with me, and please try to remember what’s happening.”

She shrugged. “A dream is only a dream. I’ll stay in this one as long as it’s happy.” Laughing, she took his arm as she never did in the day, and they walked down the path together.

At least Sumpter walked down the path. Ma-ah still bobbed along. Sometimes her feet were on the ground, and sometimes she floated gently above it. A few more children passed, and she frowned: “Look at them. They navigate better than I do. This is like learning to walk all over again.”

“Just tell yourself that you want to stay on the ground, then forget it,” Sumpter said.