call themselves Council soldiers or not. If it were up to us, we’d tear the walls down.”
“And make the town completely vulnerable to the Council’s attack,” said Piper. “If we can use them defensively, they stay. But I want Omega patrols out there as well.”
“My soldiers won’t stand for that,” the Ringmaster said. “It was hard enough persuading them to fight against the Council. But asking them to work directly with Omegas is too much. And it won’t help any of us if the soldiers start picking fights.”
“Then make sure they don’t,” I said. “Work it out.” I stood but had to steady myself on the back of my chair. “Draw up a roster so that Omega patrols can take turns. Or have your men patrol the walls, and ours manning the gates. Just work it out.”
I stepped closer to the Ringmaster. “Do you have ships?”
“What are you talking about? How are ships going to help us to hold New Hobart, or to tackle the tanks?”
“We’re looking for Elsewhere,” I said. “You’re right—it will be next to impossible to win here. And if the only way we can do it is with battles, then ultimately nobody wins. But there might be an alternative. Somewhere where things are different. Somewhere that could help us, or at least offer a real haven.”
“Right now,” said the Ringmaster, “the Reformer and the General will be massing their troops. Working out how best to rout us. Who next to tank. Which settlement to target when they make reprisals—which you know they’ll do. If you focus on sailing away and looking for Elsewhere, people will see it as a betrayal.”
There was a long silence before I spoke. “Everything we do through force is just stalling,” I said. “Nothing lasting can come from it—only more death. We fought this battle because we had to. But already, there will be Alphas mourning those who died here, and turning against us more than ever. We did what was necessary, and we may have to do it again. But it’s not the answer. We can’t kill our way to a lasting peace. That’s not how killing works.”
“She’s right,” Piper said. “We need to seize this chance. Not just to recruit more Omegas to the resistance, but also to renew the search for the ships. The Council’s attention will be here, and not on the coast. We could fit out new ships, if we act quickly. Push further north, past the ice channel—”
“Don’t start this again,” interrupted Simon. “The ships are gone. If the Council’s fleet didn’t finish them off, the winter storms will have. My scouts waited at Cape Bleak as long as they could, Piper. There’s no chance for the ships—not this far into winter. You’ve always clung to the idea of Elsewhere. It’s just a way of avoiding the real problems of here and now.”
Piper spoke over him, to the Ringmaster.
“Two of our ships sailed northwest more than four months ago. If they have the good sense to scout the island before landing, and not sail right into the Council’s arms, then they’ll come to the mainland instead. We need to have scouts posted on Cape Bleak.”
The Ringmaster shook his head. “Whose scouts? Have you got the soldiers to spare? Cape Bleak wouldn’t just mean getting safely out of here—it’d mean getting through hundreds of miles of densely populated Alpha territory. There’s a Council garrison between here and there that’s half the size of Wyndham.”
“What would you do instead?” I said. “We need to push for real change, not just more battles.”
“Real change is what I’m talking about,” he said. “Change that we can actually achieve, instead of some pipe dream. We’re in a position to negotiate with the Council now—to use this victory to push for Council reform. Challenge the General for control of the Council. There are others in the Council who’d support me. It could be a new Council of moderates, more sympathetic to Omegas. We’d uphold the taboo. Stop the tanks. Bring tithes back to reasonable levels. Isn’t that what you want?”
“Sympathetic to Omegas,” Piper said. “But still ruling over us. Reasonable tithes? Why should we be paying the Council anything? We didn’t pay tithes on the island.”
“There isn’t any island,” said the Ringmaster. “Not anymore. I’m not committing more men to some wild-goose chase for Elsewhere. I’m here to stop the machines, to try to bring the Council back into safe hands. That’s all.”
“Safe hands?” said Zoe. “Your hands, you mean.”
“Would you prefer