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I play the song to which you must dance To you is left the freedom of improvisation This improvisation is what you call free will

- The Oakes Covenant

"THE MEETING will please come to order"

Oakes used his wand-a in the Colony’s centralhall It was a doainst the south here he stood When not being used for s, the room was taken over by manufacture of food-production equips of the LTAs Because of this, all ive workers time to clear away machines and fabrics

He still felt beset by the tensions of roundside His ti had been rushed It was alical pressures from the audience because of that

This was the wrong hour for aabout interference with i the announceroundside to stay The i to make Colony secure; Oakes would command that push

On the platform with Oakes stood Murdoch and Rachel Demarest Murdoch’s position as director of Lab One ell known, and thethat lab’s purposes made his presence here a matter of intense curiosity

Rachel Deht about her She had learned things while acting as a roundside

Sounds in the roolers made their way in and took seats Portable chairs had been provided, many constructed from the twisted Pandoran plant material The unique appearance of each chair offended Oakes So would have to be done to standardize appearances here

He scanned the roo that Raja Thomas was present in a seat down front The woman beside Thomas fitted the description Murdoch had provided of one Waela TaoLini, a survivor of the original kelp-research projects Her knowledge erous Wel she and the poet would share Thomas’ fate End of that probleroundside for almost two diurns now and much of that ti There had been many eyes-only reports from Lewis and his minions Murdoch had been quite useful in this He would bear watching Legata had provided so e to his powers, Oakes knew, and he intended to meet it head on Lewis had estier part of Colony personnel could never be spared fro Two steps forward, one step back - that was Pandora’s way Oakes are, though, thathim down on that floor carried the proxy votes of associates There had been an unofficial election and this would be a real atteers Democracy had never been the ship-side way and it could not be allowed groundside It was a sobering thought and he felt adrenaline overcoence in wine

The people were taking a devilish long tiroups Oakes waited hat show of patience he could muster There was a dank, hts had been tuned too far into the green He glanced back at the Deure with unremarkable features and dull brown hair She was notable only for her intensely nervous ator of the electiopetition-bearer Oakes ed a smile when he looked at her Lewis had said he kne to defuse her Knowing Lewis, Oakes did not probe for details

Presently, Rachel De her wand-amplifier on its clip at her wrist, she raised both ar that the room fell silent immediately

Why didn’t she use her amplifier? Oakes wondered Was she an anti-tech?

"Thank you all for coh and squeaky with a whine at the edge "We won’t take much of your tireed to answer it point by point"

Your petition! Oakes thought Not my petition Oh, no

But evidence from Lewis and Murdoch was clear This woed most cleverly to say Ceepee with an emphasis which made the title appear foolish Battle, therefore, was joined

As De at him, Oakes produced the petition fro it appear accidental, he dropped the petition Several pages fluttered off the platform

"No matter" He waved back people in the front row as theyin it"

A glance at Murdoch brought hi nod Murdoch had found chairs for himself and Demarest They sat well back on the platform now

Oakes hunched forward toward his audience in a gesture of confidence, s and you all know the very good reasons for this Pandora is unforgiving We all lost loved ones in the four failures on Black Dragon"

He gestured vaguely here the rocky eon lay hidden beyond the mists of more than a thousand kilometers of ocean Oakes knew that none of those failures could be laid at his hatch; he had been very careful about that And his presence per of excite plains of The Egg That sense of i in this roo to think beyond the present state of siege, rubbing their wishes together, shaping their desires for personal futures

"Ashis aroundside to direct the final push for victory"

There was a polite spatter of applause, roundside! He had loyalties to weld, organization to improve

"The Demarest petition, then," he said "Point One: elimination of one-man patrols" He shook his head "I wish it could be done Perhaps you don’t understand the reason for the the animals of Pandora to run like hell when they see a hu burst of applause

Oakes waited for it to subside, then: "Your children will have a safer world because of your bravery Yes, I said your children It is roundside"

Shocked reeted this announcement

"This will not happen immediately," Oakes said, "but it will happen Now - Point Two of the Demarest petition" He pursed his lips in recollection "’No major decision about Colony risks or expansion shall bein Council’ Do I have that right, Rachel?" He glanced back at her but did not wait for her to respond

Glancing once more at the scattered papers of the petition on the floor below hiaze across the audience

"Putting aside for the ueness in that word ’clear’ and this unexplained concept of ’Council,’ letwe all know It took ten hours to clear this roo We have a choice We keep this hall clear and ready at all tierous strain on production facilities, or we accept a ten-hour delay for every major decision I prefer to call those survival decisions, by the way" He e wall chrono, then returned his attention to the audience "We’ve already been here more than fifteen minutes and obviously ill use iving them a moment in which to absorb what he had said He noted a few squirnals that they would like to coument, and he had not missed the fact that Murdoch had taken Rachel De in her ear and, incidentally, keeping her fro

"Point Three," Oakes said "More rest and recuperation back on the ship If w"

"Ship!" Someone in the uard on the hangar perimeter squad, one of Demarest’s supporters "Not the ship, but Ship!" The man, half out of his seat, was pulled back by a companion

"Let’s face that then," Oakes said "I presume that a Chaplain/Psychiatrist has a modicum of expertise hich to address this question"

He glanced at Rachel De held quietly but firmly by Murdoch You want to use titles? Very well, let us put this title into its proper perspective Not Ceepee, but Chaplain/Psychiatrist All the traditions of THE ship stand behind me

"I will spell it out for you," Oakes said, turning onceof people Most of us appear to have come from Earth where I was born We were removed by the shi"

"Ship saved you!" That dauard would not stay silent "Ship saved you! Our sun was going nova!"

"So the ship says!"

Oakes gave it a bit more volume by a touch on his wand’s controls "The facts are open to other interpretation"

"The fact"

"What have we experienced?" Oakes drowned him out and then reduced the volume "What have we experienced?" Lower volume still "We found ourselves on the ship with other people whose origins are not clear, not clear at all Soe and controlled our history lessons We learn what the ship wants us to learn And what are the ship’s motives?"

"Blasphemy!"

Oakes waited for the stir of this outcry to subside, then: "The ship also trained me as a doctor and a scientist I depend on facts I can test for myself What do I know about Shipeneti"

"I know ins and so does everyone else!" It was Rachel De to her feet She still was not using her wand, but she fumbled with it as she moved toward Oakes "I’m a clone, but I’ain, Oakes hurled that challenge at them Now, if Lewis and Murdoch had read the Colonists correctly, suspicions had been placed like barbs where they would do the ood when the vote was called

"So the ship says," Oakes repeated "I do not doubt your sincerity; I ered by this and, still fuh amplification when she said: "That’s just your interpretation" Her voice was lost on all but the first rows

Oakes addressed the audience in his most reasonable manner: "She thinks that’s justyou as your Chaplain/Psychiatrist if I did not warn you that it is an interpretation you must consider What do we know? Are we enetics? We know only that the shi" He gestured upith his left thuht us here and will not leave We are told we must colonize this planet which the ship calls Pandora You know the legend of Pandora because it’s in the ship’s educational records, but what do you know about this planet? You can at least suspect that the name is very appropriate!"

He let the them shared his suspicions

"Four tion!" he shouted "Four times!"

Let thelanced at Rachel Dehast

"Why this planet and not a better one?" Oakes demanded "Look at Pandora! Only two land , and that other one over there which killed our loved one - Black Dragon! And what else has the ship given us? The rest of Pandora? What’s that? A few islands too s And an ocean which harbors the ive thanks for this? Should w ?"

"You promised to take up the entire petition!"

It was Rachel Deain and this time with her amplifier turned up too far The intrusion shocked the audience and there were clear signs that many found the shock offensive