ht on one thing at least. I don't
know whether I was fit to make such a decision when I made it, but I'm
not fit now. As far as you personally are concerned...." He trails off
looking tireder than ever, then picks up again suddenly. "You are
again quite right, I am every bit as responsible for the other people
on board as I am for you."

He climbs slowly to his feet and walks out without another word.

The door is left open and I take this as an invitation to freedom and
shoot through in case it was a mistake.

No because Ram is opening doors all along the corridor and ten of
Russett's brightest come pouring out like mercury finding its own
level and coalesce in the middle of the floor.

The effect of release is such that after four minutes Peter Yeng Sen's
head appears at the top of a stairway and he says the crew is lifting
the deck plates, will we for Time's sake go along to the Conference
Room which is soundproof.

* * * * *

The Conference Room is on the next deck and like our cabins shows
signs of hasty construction; the soundproofing is there but the
acoustics are kind of muffled and the generator is not boxed in but
has cables trailing all over, and the fastenings have a strong but
temporary look.

Otherwise there is a big table and a lot of chairs and a small
projection box in front of each with a note-taker beside.

It is maybe this very functional setup or maybe the dead flatness of
our voices in the damped room, but we do not have so much to talk
about any more. We automatically take places at the table, all at one
end, leaving seven vacant chairs near the door.

Looking round, I wonder what principle we were selected on.

Of my special friends Eru Te Whangoa and Kirsty Lammergaw are present
but Lily Chen and Likofo Komom'baratse and Jean LeBrun are not; we
have Cray Patterson who is one of my special enemies but not Blazer
Weigh or the Astral Cad; the rest are P. Zapotec, Nick Howard, Aro
Mestah, Dillie Dixie, Pavel Christianovitch, Lennie DiMaggio and
Shootright Crow.

Eru is at the end of the table, opposite the door, and maybe feels
this position puts it up to him to start the discussion; he opens by
remarking "So nobody took the opportunity to withdraw."

Cray Patterson lifts his eyebrows ceilingwards and drawls out that the
decision was supposed to be a private one.

B says "Maybe but it did not work out that way, everyone who learned
Morse knows who was