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to the floor and received the Index as Elemak laid it in his lap. He put his hands cm it. Nothing happened.
"You see?" said Issib.
"What usually happens?" asked Elemak. "Could it just be slow to respond?"
"It's never slow," said Issib. "It's just not going to work while the starmaster is not in control of the ship."
"Starmaster," said Elemak, as if the word were poison in his mouth.
"We're going to run lower and lower on oxygen," said Issib. "The ship can only break up carbon dioxide so fast, and we have too many people breathing."
"What you mean is that the Oversoul is trying to use the oxygen supply to force me to surrender."
"It's not the Oversoul," said Issib. "He doesn't control the life support systems, not directly, and he certainly couldn't override them in order to cause human beings harm. The machines have failsafe systems built in. It's just the way things are."
"Fine," said Elemak. "We'll just put to sleep all the people I don't want up. I might even let Nafai go to sleep for the rest of the voyage-though I think he might stay tied up like that during his nap."
"And come out crippled worse than me at the end?" asked Issib.
"That's a thought," said Elemak, dearly approving of the idea. "I never had any trouble with you."
"Doesn't matter what you plan," said Issib. "The Oversoul can stop you from starting up any of the suspended animation chambers. All it has to do is keep sending a danger signal to the computers that control them. You can't override that."
Elemak contemplated the idea for a while.
"Fine," he said. "I can wait."
"You think you can outwait the Oversoul?"
"I think the Oversoul doesn't want this voyage to foil," said Elemak. "I think he'll eventually realize that I'm going to lead the colony, and he'll make his accommodation."
"Not a chance," Chveya echoed.
"Oh, really," said Elemak, turning to her. "Is the Oversoul talking to you now?"
Chveya said nothing.
"The Oversoul can accomplish her main purpose even if everybody on the ship is dead," Chveya said.
"Or so it tells the people it deceives," said Elemak. "I guess we'll have an interesting few days, as we find out just how sincere the Oversoul is."
"The babies will the first," said Issib. "And the old people."
"If one of my babies dies from this," said Elemak, "then as for as I'm concerned everybody can die, myself included. Death would be better than another day being ruled over by that lying, sneaky, smart-mouthed, traitorous bastard that Father foisted on me as a brother" Elemak turned to Chveya and smiled. "Not to say anything bad about your father in front of you, little girl. But then, since you take after him so thoroughly, it probably sounded to you like praise."
Chveya's loathing overcame her fear of his anger. "I would be ashamed of him," said Chveya, "if a man like you didn't hate him."
Did Obring chuckle softly behind Elemak? Elemak whirled to see, but Obring was all innocence.
You've already lost, thought Chveya. The Oversoul was right. We've already beaten you. Now let's just hope that nobody dies before you finally realize it.
Chapter 8
EIGHT - UNBOUND
Luet was angry, but not with Elemak. To her, Elemak had become almost a force of nature. Of course he hated Nafai. Of course he would seize on any excuse to hurt him. There was too much history between them now, too much old resentment, too much guilt at Elemak's earlier attempts to kill his brother. You didn't manage the situation by trying to change Elemak. You managed it by finding ways to avoid provoking him.
You did this, Luet said to the Oversoul. It was your idea. You pushed it. You maneuvered Nafai and me and the parents of the other children to play these little games with time.
You just didn't count on them waking up, is that it?
My babies are having trouble breathing. They can hardly eat because swallowing takes so long they're gasping for another breath by the time it's done. We're dying, and you tell me everything will work out?
Well, that makes me feel so much better.
You set it up. You put us in the situation.