"That’s not the worst case," said Uther Doul. The atmosphere shifted: all whispering stopped, and everyone in the room faced him-except the Lovers, who listened gravely without turning.

"You’re talking," Doul continued softly, in his singer’s voice, "as if this is just a place, like other places. It’s not. You have no idea what you’re saying. Do you understand what you’ve discovered? What Aum’s race means? This is the island of the mosquito-people. The worst case is that the anophelii women come upon us on the beach and suck us dry, leaving our husks to rot. The worst case is that we are all instantly butchered."

There was a silence.

"Not me," someone said. Johannes gave a half smile. It was Breyatt, a cactacae mathematician. Johannes tried to catch his eye. Well scored, he thought.

The Lovers were nodding.

"Your point is taken, Uther," said the Lover. He stroked his small mustache. "But let’s not… exaggerate. There are ways around the problem, as this gentleman points out…"

"This gentleman is cactus," said Doul. "For those of us with blood the problem remains."

"Nevertheless-" The Lover spoke with authority. "-I think it would be foolish to suggest that there’s no way this can be done. That’s not how we proceed. We start by working out what’s to our advantage, what is the best plan… Then we work our way around problems. If it seems that our best chance of success lies on this island, then that’s where we’ll go."

Doul did not move. He looked impassive. There was nothing in his demeanor to suggest that he had been overruled.

"Godsdammit!" Johannes barked in frustration, and everyone turned to him. He was shocked at his own outburst, but he continued without losing momentum. "Of course there are problems and difficulties," he said passionately, "of course it’ll take organization, it’ll take work and effort and… and maybe we’ll need protecting, and we can bring cactacae fighters with us, or constructs, or I don’t damn well know what… But what’s going on here? Are you all in the same room as me?"

He picked up Aum’s book and held it reverentially like a sacred sutra.

"We have the book. We have a translator. This is the testimony of one who knows how to raise an avanc. This changes everything… Does it matter where he lives? So his home is inhospitable." He stared at the Lovers. "Is there anywhere we wouldn’t go for this? Surely we can’t even consider not going."

When they broke up, the Lovers spoke noncommittally. But everything was different now, and Johannes knew he was not alone in knowing that.

"It may be time to announce our intentions," the Lover said as they gathered their notes.

The room was full of people trained into a culture of secrecy. Her suggestion shocked them. But, Johannes realized, it made sense.