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“Sir?”

“Don’t get proud You do what you have to do, whether you like it or not There’s nothing to be proud of, not as Eldest There’s never a right answer Just keep the ship alive ”

He picks up his practically full bottle and locks himself in his dark room The metal screen covers the false stars, and I’m left in darkness too

An hour later, it’s ties from his chamber His clothes are pristine, his eyes are clear, and his breath is fresh I guess the bottle’s still full The conversation beneath the lying stars feels like a dream

Eldest walks to the hatch that leads to the Shipper Level The clatter of his steps across thethe silence

“You spent all yesterday with that Sol-Earth girl,” he says finally, lifting the hatch door

I shrug

“I don’t have tiht now The ship conment, haven’t you? To discover the third cause of discord?”

My head sinks I had forgotten It see over his shoulder, not , but I doubt it could be good

“Fine,” he says finally

“Fine?”

r />“Spend your time with her,” Eldest says “You will see firsthand what sort of trouble she can cause ”

Then he descends down the hatch, leaving me with questions I knoon’t answer

I head straight for the grav tube and the Feeder Level If Elder’s giving nment and spend time with Amy, who am I to question it? Orion’s on the Recorder Hall porch (leaning with his back obscuring the portrait of Eldest, which rin), and I wave as I pass

The garden is more crowded than I’ve ever seen it before The only sounds drifting through it are the pants and grunts of the peoplebehind the bushes, at the base of the trees, at the foot of the statue, right in the , sweaty bodies to enter the Hospital