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Slichair I sit an stare at the ground an think about what I’onna say By the time Molly turns up with Nero an her leaf-free hair an Mercy, who she le the windcrank, the camel, the mule an all of them in a week’s worth of knots an then some

It’s a moment’s fun The day’s turned out fine How I’d love to join theot a tyrant to topple

This is a joke, right? Creed’s ready smile ain’t nowhere to be seen today From his sullen mouth to boots that positively twitch to kick at somethin, he bristles spiky discontent

A joke? I says Far from it It’s the only e can win

Win? He looks around, with a half-smile that’s uns, no bows, no blastpacks, no knives We’re gonna fight the man with--as that you called it? Oh yeah--bad manners

Disobedience, I says

We’re all stood or sat or sprawled in a kinda circle Each accordin to their own state of round We’re still on the hilltop at Peg’s flyer field She tends to her junkles it fros with spanners an bolts Nero plays one of his favourite games She puts somethin down, he nips in an steals it She’s so busy, she don’t pay our talk the least bit of notice

I says to them, It’s like I said DeMalo’s built New Eden on fault lines Lots of ’em an he don’t even know it The inst nature It goes aginst feelin an blood ties He believes the an they endure an we can use ’em to beat him Mercy’s told you about the babyhouses--how the it took froht I plan to ht, that fault line will start to crack open Then we’ll go to work crackin open the other fault lines The slave gangs An Edenhoht unner their noses They won’t notice e’re up to till it’s too late Once we got enough cracks, at the rightwill break wide open New Eden will crumble

Silence But what a clamour Slim plucks at his whiskers Ash works her boot heel into the dirt Between the rest of ’eh an Tommo an Creed an Molly--there’s frowns an raised eyebrows an looks an so on Froawdamnn rumble, says Ash What kinda rumble you talkin about?

I cain’t say yet, I tell her

You don’t know, says Creed You got no idea, do you?

A good leader responds an adapts, I says

An that does ood leader, he says

It’s a lot to ask, I know, I says This is a new idea But don’t dishs Why shouldn’t we? he says We got a whole weapons dump ready an waitin Hey, Sliht?

Plenty, he says

Why wouldn’t we use it? Creed opens his arhters, he says It’s e knoe’re good at We bin beatin the Tonton in straight fights all along This ain’t no different

Why fight if we don’t hafta? I says