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"The Council changed the history long ago," Maire says "Even most of our own Council now doesn’t knohat happened They believe as you did, as ht"

Could this be true? I think back to that voice Maire saved, that long-ago woman who came Below and itnessed the siren children The only even reht have been the beginning of their belief

Who else knows this? Dids they kept froion?" I ask "And then force everyone to believe it?" That could be a reason for people to come to hate the sirens--if they felt manipulated in their belief

Maire shakes her head "The religion was agreed upon by the sirens and the people together They studied old histories They learned about the gods And then they shaped it all to fit the way their lives were The Council took our religion to the Above, and the Above began to believe as well"

"Did the Above hate the sirens and the people Below for that?" I ask "Because we told them what to believe?"

"No," Maire says "At first both the Above and the Below believed the religion was right, that it made the most sense In fact, they came to believe that they had not created their faith and belief system Rather, they felt that they had been led to the truth by the ion became warped and twisted as both the Councils Above and Below used it for their purposes As I said, a very few people in Atlantia know the truth Now you are one of them"

"What evidence do you have of all this?"

"The siren voices," Maire says "This is what they told me And I believe them"

"Do you have any of them that I can hear?" I ask "Like the voice of that other woman in the shell?" If I could hear the sirens say all of this, I would know that it’s true

"No," Maire says "The siren voices were too strong to save I heard the time"

So I can’t hear them myself That’s convenient, I think Do I believe Maire?

"The siren voices are gone," Maire says, "but you can still hear soht in the shell I was listening, and when I found one that I kneould be good for you to hear, I saved as one They can all only speak once, you know But they have things worth saying, too Haven’t you heard any of the voices before?"

"Not speaking," I say "I’ve heard breathing Screaht it was Atlantia"

"It is," Maire says

I’ else I want desperately to know

"How do you do it?" I ask her "With the shells?"

"I tell them what I want," Maire says "I tell them to hold the voices, and they do"

She makes it sound so sis that aren’t living?" I wait for Maire to laugh at me I wait for her to tell h Or that I shouldn’t try Or that it’s not safe That’s whats

"You can’t be afraid," she says "I failed inthe voices because I was afraid"