Hermeias and Aurelius looked at Salutius, who had been quiet since exchanging greetings. “Art,” he said, and took a deep breath. “Simply put. You have it all, except for what has been produced by us since we left. The original art was brought to the City by Athene and the Art Committee.” He nodded to me, as the only member of the original Art Committee present. He had been serving on the committee designing the physical shape of the city at the time, and the one on Children. “It stayed in the Remnant City by default, and you have no more claim on it than the rest of us do. We of Psyche have decided that we ought to have a proportionate share of it. We have just over a thousand people, and we should therefore have ten percent of the art.”

I could hardly believe his effrontery in coming here and asking for it. Maecenas’s eyebrows were lost in his hair, and Simmea blinked several times before answering. “That’s a question we’ll have to debate in full committee, and probably in Chamber too,” she said. “I’m sure you see that it’s something where we can’t be expected to give an immediate response.”

“Indeed,” Salutius said. “We’ve done without it for ten years, after all. We’re not in a tearing hurry. But we have various proposals about how it could be equitably distributed.” He turned to Aurelius, who brought out a notebook which he handed to Simmea. She took it but did not open it.

“Am I right in thinking you mean that all the cities want a share in the art, not just Psyche?” she asked.

“Ikaros was most interested,” Hermeias said.

“How is this different from when the Athenians asked for a share of the technology ten years ago?” Maecenas asked.

The Psychians exchanged glances, and Aurelius replied. “We agreed about technology because we don’t really understand it, and because it’s all one thing and difficult to distribute. You argued that if we tried to share it out we’d risk losing what we had, and the very life of the Workers. And you agreed to help us make printing presses, and other such necessities.”

“Which you have done, according to treaty,” Hermeias put in. “But art is different. A statue can be in one city and a painting in another city. It isn’t all needed in the same place to get any of it working properly like technology.”

“I see,” Maecenas said.

Simmea was chewing her lip with her big front teeth. “I think—I can’t say anything until I’ve talked to the whole committee. But I personally feel it would be better for all of us to be making new art than arguing over the art we have.”