“Good luck, asshole!” someone in the audience shouted. “You guys never grew anything when you were here.”
The viewpoint bumpily slewed around, away from the glacier, past the river and then up the north valley wall. Some of the Tines were making wondering noises. Øvin said, “Hei, look! That must be why they picked this place!”
From the camera’s position, they could see something that was probably not visible to travelers taking the usual route along Streamsdelclass="underline" a vertical slit in the dark rock of the side valley.
“That’s what, twenty meters tall?” someone said.
Nevil’s friendly voice rambled on behind their local commentary: “—apparently the Tines were never aware that the warm springs here supported a cave system. It is a truly human discovery.” He walked back into the field of view. “Fortunately, the team that found it were loyal to the best human values. Jefri Olsndot reported this directly to me.”
The hall erupted. “That son of a bitch!” “All that time he was the ‘great explorer,’ he was working for Nevil!”
Ravna had already checked: Jefri was not in the room.
On the display, Nevil had raised his hands, almost as if he knew the racket his announcement would cause. “I know, I know. It could not have been a purely human discovery. Jefri was accompanied by pack Amdiranifani. Friendship with the Tines will always be our policy. We seek friendship with Woodcarver. We have found friendship with Tycoon of the Tropics.”
There was angry laughter. “Hei, don’t forget your late good friend Vendacious!” and, “Ten days ago it was ‘Tycoon of the East Coast.’”
Nevil continued, “But my friends, a time has come for moral decisions. For too long, we’ve accepted the advice of misguided humans and Tines. Humans who truly want peace have a place with our settlement here at Best Hope. There is no need for the endless preparation for apocalypse that Ravna Bergsndot has forced upon you and the Tines of Woodcarver’s Domain. There was a time when we were too young and too desperate to know any better. Ravna and Woodcarver and Flenser saved the lives of all us young refugees who survived their initial massacre. We owe them so much. But at the same time, we owe our parents. They died at the High Lab in a noble effort, the highest striving that any humans have ever undertaken. We must not fall into the destructive hatred that Ravna preaches.”
“Same old, same old!” Giske said. “We have records.”
Ravna heard Øvin reply, “I’m sure Nevil will soon have his own records.”
“Besides, no one knows what really happened at the High Lab,” said someone else, that Ravna couldn’t see.
“We don’t even know what happened in near space, ten years ago!”
“Shut up!”
Nevil’s voice swept on, leaving a wake of tiny dissensions. “I hope that as more of you take honest inventory of the facts, you’ll see beyond the loyalties of the past, and that you and your friends—including any Tinish Best Friends!—will come to join us here at our redoubt of Straum. All who come with honest hearts will be welcome. But whether you agree with us or not—please! Whatever the disagreements, peace between our two human fragments is a desperate necessity. We may be all that is left of our race. In fact, after the galactic genocide of ten years ago, we may be all that is left from the High Beyond.”
Now Nevil was walking up the hillside, toward the entrance of his “redoubt.” His people were coming out, walking down to meet him, all smiles and laughter. Surrounded by familiar faces, Nevil turned and looked into the camera. “So even if we remain apart, even if we have profound disagreements … let us cooperate in surviving. You of the Domain have immense resources. You have Oobii and the treasures in Newcastle. These are the shared inheritance of our Beyonder origin. Let us cooperate in using them.”
That first video left the kids arguing throughout the afternoon. The second and third videos were so similar that by the time the fourth one came in, Ravna just watched the kids’ reaction from the bridge. There was no crowd in the Meeting Place; the message could be rewatched at any time. The live audience consisted mainly of sad Children hoping to see a few seconds of their lost loved ones.
But Nevil’s fourth message was different.
The video started with pictures of the Deniers’ new construction, inside the caves. They were building without the aid of Oobii technology, but now Ravna saw the use the Deniers had made of the gear stripped from the Straumer Lander. Indeed, it was not junk—she’d simply never figured out the user interface! Under sunny artificial lighting, the caves looked warm and dry. Three “participation homes”—that’s what Nevil called them—were already in place. Fresh timber was stacked everywhere, sawn and measured, ready for the construction of more housing. The timber and carpentering must be from Tycoon via Dekutomon. Somehow Nevil had patched things up with his remaining ally.
The few Children down in Oobii’s Meeting Place were using their new radios to tell others about the pictures. By the time a crowd started to form in the Meeting Place, Nevil had finished his show-and-tell of Best Hope marvels and was moving on to the platitudes. As usual he was surrounded by smiling faces. But now, Ravna wasn’t paying much attention; she could almost recite what the rest would be. Sure enough: “So even though we have profound disagreements … let us cooperate in surviving. You of the Domain have immense resources. We at Best Hope have the goodwill of Tines from the Tropics all the way to the Long Lakes and the East Coast. We have made peace with what was once a fearsome Enemy: Tycoon. By winning his trust and goodwill, we have secured the release of everyone he is holding. The release”—
Ravna’s eyes snapped up to the display. Downstairs, she heard gasps and then babble.
—“is without conditions. It’s happening because we showed Tycoon that—unlike Ravna and Woodcarver—we of Best Hope mean him no harm.” Nevil paused. Around him, his Deniers were cheering. Downstairs on the Oobii, the Children were cheering too, but more raggedly.
“We expect,” continued Nevil, “that most of the newly freed will prefer to stay here at Best Hope.” He paused, letting them all think on the consequences of that. “But we recognize that for the most extreme of Ravna’s acolytes, that would destroy whatever goodwill our effort should bring.” His expression darkened, one of the rare moments when the public Nevil looked angry. “Make no mistake. We won’t trade the freedom of any of these Children. We won’t force anyone to return to Ravna and Woodcarver and Flenser. But we welcome a peace party from the Domain. Any may come. Your party will have free access to all who are released. You can determine for yourself the desires of the freed Children and Tines.”
Ravna saw that Elspa Latterby had collapsed in tears. She wasn’t the only one weeping. Ravna ran out of the bridge, heading for the Meeting Place.
Chapter 43
Everyone wanted to go to the Great Prisoner Release. Woodcarver exercised some of her old authority and asked Ravna to come up to the New Castle for a private chat. They met in Woodcarver’s throne room. Sht was big enough for its own little throne now. The other puppy nestled on the shoulders of another member.