The crowd murmured, disturbed by the idea. The man on the crate waited before responding.

“I am not a Rebel,” he said clearly. “I am an honest merchant and I have no wish to fight.”

“A good Kongo works the field, according to the Compromise. You say you are a merchant. Well, then, honest or not, you might as well be a Rebel!” someone challenged.

“And look! He wears an electric bracelet!” someone else cried.

“It’s not an electric bracelet; it’s a watch from the old world. It’s used to keep time,” the man defended.

“Wreckage ware,” someone said, appalled. “Only Rebels wear wreckage.”

“I’m not afraid of old-world technology. And yes, I fix broken relics from time to time. That doesn’t mean I aspire to the Assembly like the Rebels.”

A belligerent voice arose from the crowd. “Answer this! If you are not a Rebel, why do you accuse our First Brother of burning down Point Landing? From the time of the Last War, the First Brothers have watched over us as their own. We know this! It is written in the Sun Tower of Hasting. Our father, the Great Obi Solomon, giver of the Omen of the One, signed the Compromise for the good of our First Fathers, and their lineage. We are that lineage! To break the Compromise is to break with Obi, to forsake the coming of the One who will save the Kongo. I, myself, will never doubt. I’ll never forsake the way. God keep Obi and soon come the One. Soon come the One!”

“Soon come the One!”

The Loyalist crowd took up this cry so loudly, the man on the crate had to shout to be heard. “I don’t doubt the Omen! And I did not say it was a Record Keeper who burned down the village. I merely said it was not a Point Lander.”

“Then who do you say it was?” the belligerent voice demanded.

“That’s what I want to find out!” the man on the crate cried.

“How do we do that?” someone asked.

“Yes, how?” said another.

“We establish a delegate of men,” the man said.

“And women,” a female voice interrupted.

“And women,” he repeated. “The delegates will travel to Point Landing and observe for themselves what happened. If the delegates find foul play, we will present that evidence to the Assembly and seek justice, through lawful means.”

“And what about our work?” said a new voice.

“Yes, what about the quota?” another said.

The belligerent voice championed this argument. “We all have work to do under the Compromise. We’re working extra now, to make up for the sick among us. If three more leave for this so-called delegation, the Seed won’t be planted and the quota will be forfeit. What would the Overseer say?”