‘We had a plan,’ Khouri said. ‘The weapons were always there, to be used when we needed them. But it’s senseless to provoke a reaction from the Inhibitors now, after all that we’ve achieved.’ ‘She’s right,’ Thorn said. ‘You have to wait, Irina. At least until we’ve evacuated a hundred thousand. Then use your precious weapons if you have to.’ ‘By then it will be too late,’ she said, turning back to the window. ‘We don’t know that,’ Thorn said. ‘Look.’ Volyova spoke quietly. ‘Can you see it?’ ‘See what?’ ‘In the distance, between those two buildings. There, beyond Broadcasting House. You can’t miss it now.’ Thorn walked to the window, Khouri next to him. ‘I don’t see anything.’ ‘Has your statement been broadcast yet?’ Volyova asked. Thorn checked the time. ‘Yes… yes. It should just have gone out, at least in Cuvier.’ ‘There’s your first reaction, then: a fire. Not much of one yet, but I don’t doubt that we’ll see more before the evening’s out. The people are terrified. They’ve been terrified for months, with that thing in the sky. And now they know the government has been systematically lying to them. Under the circumstances I’d be a little angry. Wouldn’t you?’ ‘It won’t last,’ Thorn said. ‘Trust me, I know the people. When they understand that there’s an escape route, that all they have to do is act rationally and do what I say, they’ll calm down.’ Volyova smiled. ‘Either you are a man of unusual ability, Thorn, or a man with a rather inadequate grasp of human nature. I just hope it’s the former.’ ‘You deal with your machines, Irina, and I’ll deal with the people.’ ‘Let’s go upstairs,’ Khouri said. ‘On to the balcony. We’ll be able to see things more clearly.’ There were vehicles moving around now, more than normal for a rainy night. Below, police vans were assembling outside the building. Thorn watched riot officers troop into the vans, jostling each other with their armour, shields and electrically tipped prods. One by one the vans whisked away, dispersing the police to trouble spots. Other vans were being driven into a cordon around the building, the spaces between them spanned by metal barricades that had been perforated with narrow slits. On the balcony it was much clearer. City sounds reached them through the rain. There were bangs and crashes, sirens and shouting. It almost sounded like a carnival, except there was no music. Thorn realised that it had been a long time since he had heard music of any kind. Presently, despite the best efforts of the police, there was a crowd massing outside Inquisition House. There were simply too many people to hold back, and all the police could do was prevent them from entering the building itself. A number of people were already lying on the ground at the front of the crowd, stunned by grenades or prods. Their friends were doing their best to get them to safety. One man was thrashing in an epileptic frenzy. Another man looked dead, or at least deeply unconscious. The police could have murdered most of the people in the crowd in a few seconds, Thorn knew, but they were holding back. He studied the faces of the police as well as he was able. They appeared just as frightened and confused as the crowd they were supposed to be pacifying. Special orders had obviously decreed that their response should be measured rather than brutal. The balcony was surrounded by a low fretted wall. Thorn walked to the edge and looked over, peering down towards street level. Khouri followed him, Triumvir Volyova remaining out of sight. ‘It’s time,’ Thorn said. ‘I need to speak to the people in person. That way they’ll know the statement wasn’t faked up.’ He knew that all he needed to do was shout and someone would hear him, even if it were only one person in the crowd. Before very long everyone would be looking upwards, and they would know, even before he spoke, who he was. ‘Make it good,’ Volyova said, barely raising her voice above a whisper. ‘Make it very good, Thorn. A lot will depend on this little performance.’ He looked back at her. ‘Then you’ll reconsider?’ ‘I didn’t say that.’ ‘Irina…’ Khouri said. ‘Please think about this. At least give us a chance here, before you use the weapons.’ ‘You’ll have a chance,’ Volyova said. ‘Before I use the weapons, I’ll move them across the system. That way, even if there is a response from the Inhibitors, Infinity won’t be the obvious target.’ ‘That will take some time, won’t it?’ Khouri asked. ‘You have a month, no more than that. Of course, I’m not expecting you to have the entire planet evacuated by then. But if you’ve kept to the agreed schedule — and perhaps improved on it a little — I may consider delaying the use of the weapons a while longer. That’s reasonable, isn’t it? I can be flexible, you see.’ ‘You’re asking too much of us,’ Khouri said. ‘No matter how efficient our operation on the surface is, we can’t move more than two thousand people at a time between low orbit and the starship. That’s an unavoidable bottleneck, Ilia.’ She seemed unaware that she had spoken the Triumvir’s real name. ‘Bottlenecks can always be worked around, if it matters enough,’ she said. ‘And I’ve given you every incentive, haven’t I?’ ‘It’s Thorn, isn’t it?’ Khouri said. Thorn glanced back at her. ‘What about me?’ ‘She doesn’t like the way you’ve come between us,’ Khouri told him. The Triumvir made the same derisive snort he had heard before. ‘No. It’s true,’ Khouri said. ‘Isn’t it, Ilia? You and I had a perfect working relationship until I brought Thorn into the arrangement. You’ll never forgive either me or him for destroying that beautiful little partnership.’ ‘Don’t be absurd,’ Volyova said. ‘I’m not being absurd, I’m just…’ But the Triumvir whipped past her. ‘Where are you going?’ Khouri asked. She stopped long enough to answer her. ‘Where do you think, Ana? Back to my ship. I have work to do.’ ‘Your ship, suddenly? I thought it was our ship.’ But Volyova had said all she was going to say. Thorn heard her footsteps recede back into the building. ‘Is that true?’ he asked Khouri. ‘Do you really think she’s resentful of me?’ But she said nothing either. Thorn, after a long
