“—You do not want a war with Gimel. We have so very little to lose, and I can tell you, I know this very well. We have some very awful people at our disposal. You can threaten bombs and armies. We can threaten nightmares come to life and life turned to nightmares.”

“I believe you,” Aguirre said. “I know the kinds of people you interact with, Ms. Kiley. Part of the reason I’m here is that I’ve worked directly with some individuals and situations of that breed, who appeared in Cheit. I wish I could say with confidence that I could make the people I report to believe the same. They would need to see it with their own eyes, and by then it would be too late.”

“That’s possible,” Kiley said.

“I’ve laid out what the people in charge believe. I can report your feelings on this and come back another day, but I don’t think this is liable to change. They want security, you want supply.”

“Succinctly put,” Jeanne said.

“Tell me what you would need, if we were to extend good faith and renew supply for your construction.”

“Construction is stalled. Transportation is stalling. Crime is surging,” Nieves said.

“Which are things we’ll get a handle on,” Jeanne said, tersely. “Yes, please, let’s talk supply. Concrete, lumber, and food, to start with.”

“Let me see, paperwork, papers, thank you, Charles.”

The discussion continued.

Crystalclear held his tongue, but he could see the way the constructions around the other parahumans’ heads were operating, the cracks that were forming and gathering, and the bleeding of the colors. Blue-green tints, for many.

⊙

“They’ve been giving us supply for nothing?” Nieves asked, raising his voice. “You idiots. You’ve profited off of their so-called generosity, but you’ve been selling us out.”

“They were going to look for a foothold, whatever we did,” Jeanne said. “They wanted security, and that wouldn’t change whatever we did. Allowing them to help provided some of that security.”

“It provided them leverage and the impression they have a say in how Gimel is run!”

“They do have a say. They’re our neighbors, and they outnumber us,” Kiley said. She sounded tired.

The theocrats had departed. The people had changed seats, to sit closer together. Jackets had been removed and hung on the backs of chairs, waters and coffees obtained. The discussion continued, on a different front. A scattered, small group of people trying to find a way forward against a very large, united group.

The argument continued, heated, terse. Standing around the edges of the room, the parahumans exchanged looks, then walked over to where the coffee and water was being supplied.

“What do you think?” Weld asked. Narwhal stood beside him.

“Jeanne has been in contact with Cheit for a long time,” Relay said. “Since Gold Morning?”