'I want everyone to move to evacuation stage one, Trachtenberg announced. 'Navy personnel report direct to your ships. Observation team, I need a precise picture of what is happening out there. We probably don't have much time, so we must do as much as we can before we're forced off. He flinched as another gravity wave crossed the station. This time the upward force was so strong Justine felt as though she was going to lift off.

'Is that gravity coming from the Void? she asked. The prospect was terrifying, they were hundreds of lightyears away.

'No, Ehasz cried. 'This is something local. He looked upwards, studying the intricate luminescent sky above the dome. 'There!

Justine watched two azure moons traverse the sparkling smear of Wall stars. They were in very strange orbits. And moving impossibly fast — actually accelerating. 'Oh my God, she gasped. The Raiel's planet-sized DF machines were flying into new positions.

'The Raiel are getting ready for the last fight, Ehasz said numbly. 'If they lose, that monster will consume the whole galaxy.

This can't be happening, Justine thought. Living Dream hasn't even begun their Pilgrimage yet. 'You can't! she shouted up at the ancient invisible enemy as human hormones and feelings took complete control of her body and mind. 'This isn't fair. It's not fairl'

A mere five hours after the new dream had flooded into the gaiafield, over fifty thousand of the devout had already gathered in Golden Park, seeking guidance from the Cleric Conservator. They exerted their wish through their gaiamotes. The unanimous desire of fifty thousand people was an astonishing force.

Ethan was only too aware of it as Councillor Phelim supported him on the long painful walk out of the Mayor's offices where the doctors had set up an intensive care bay. He limped across the floor of Liliala Hall while the ceiling displayed surges of thick cumulus arrayed in mare's tails and clad in shimmering strands of lightning. Even though he'd closed himself to the gaiafield, the power of the crowd's craving was leaking into his bruised brain.

Phelim continued to support him as they crossed the smaller Toral Flail. Its midnight ceiling showed the Ku nebula with its twinkling gold sparks swimming within fat undulating jade and sapphire nimbi.

'You should have called them to your bed, Phelim said.

'No, Ethan grunted. For this occasion he would not, could not, show weakness.

They went through the carved doors to the Orchard Palace's Upper Council chamber. Its cross vault ceiling was supported by broad fan pillars. Dominating the apex of the central segment a fuzzy copper star shone brightly, its light shimmering off a slowly rotating accretion disc. Moon-sized fireball comets circled the outer band in high-inclination orbits. None of Makkathran's enthusiastic astronomers had ever spied its location in the Void.

The Cleric Council waited for him in their scarlet and black robes, standing silently at the long table which ran across the middle of the chamber. Phelim stayed by Ethan's side until they reached the dais, then Ethan insisted on walking to his gold-embossed throne by himself. He eased himself on to the thin cushions with a grimace. The pain in his head nearly made him cry out as he sank down. He took a moment to recover as his body shuddered. Ever since he'd regained consciousness any sudden movement was agony.

The Councillors sat, trying to avert their eyes from the liverlike semi-organic nodules affixed to his skull, only half-hidden by his white robe's voluminous hood.

'Thank you for attending, Ethan said to them.

'We are relieved to see you recovered, Cleric Conservator, Rincenso said formally.

Ethan knew the contempt of the other Councillors towards his supporter without needing the gaiafield. He felt it himself. 'Not quite recovered yet, he said, and tapped one of the glistening nodules. 'But my neural structure should be fully re-established in another week. Until then the auxiliaries will suffice.

'How could such a thing happen? Councillor DeLouis asked. 'Gaiamotes have been perfectly safe for centuries.

'It wasn't the gaiamotes, Phelim said. 'The Dream Masters who set up the interception believe the Second Dreamer's panic triggered a neural spasm within the Cleric Conservator's brain. They were attuned to a degree rarely achieved outside a couple's most intimate dreamsharing. The circumstances will not arise again.

'The gaiafield and the Unisphere are rife with rumours that the Second Dreamer is a genuine telepath, that he can kill with a single thought.

'Rubbish, Phelim said. His skeletal face turned to DeLouis. For an instant a dangerous anger could be glimpsed in his mind.

DeLouis couldn't meet his stare.

'In any case it is irrelevant, Ethan said. 'The Dream Masters assure me that such a backlash can be nullified now they understand its nature. Any future contact with the Second Dreamer will be conducted with, he smiled grimly, 'a safety cutout, as they call it.

'You're going to talk to him again? Councillor Falven asked.

'I believe the situation requires it, Ethan said. 'Don't you?

'Well, yes, but…

'I received his latest dream along with the rest of you. It was strong, at least as clear as those of the Dreamer Inigo himself. However, the crucial change within this dream was the conversation the Second Dreamer had with the Skylord. The communication had shocked Ethan more than the pristine clarity of the new dream.

'I come to find you, the Skylord had replied to the Second Dreamer's greetings.

'We are far beyond the edge of your universe.

'Yet I felt your longing. You wish to pin with us.

'Not I. But other do, yes.

'All are welcome.

'We can't get in. It's very dangerous.

'I can greet you. I can guide you. It is my purpose.

'No.

And with that finality the dream had ended. Before it faded completely, there was a hint of agitation from the Skylord's mind. It clearly hadn't expected rejection.

And it's hardly alone in that.

'The Skylord believes it can bring us to Querencia, Ethan said. 'That is the final testimony we have been waiting and praying for. Our Pilgrimage will be blessed with success.

'Not without the Second Dreamer, Councillor Tosyne said. 'Your pardon, Conservator, but he is not willing to lead us into the Void. Without him there can be no Pilgrimage.

'He is distressed, Ethan replied. 'Until now he didn't even know he was the Second Dreamer. To discover you are the hope of billions is not an easy thing. Ultimately, Inigo himself found it too great to bear. So we can forgive the Second Dreamer his frailty, and offer support and guidance.

'He might realize who and what he is now, Councillor Tosyne said. 'But we don't even know where he is.

'Actually, we do, Phelim announced. 'Colwyn City on Viotia.

'Excellent news, Ethan said in a predatory fashion. He watched in amusement as the protest in Tosyne's mind withered away. 'We should welcome him, and thank Viotia for the gift it has brought us. His gaze turned expectantly on Rincenso.

'I would like to propose bringing Viotia fully into the Free Trade Zone, Rincenso said. 'And promote it to core planet status.

'Seconded, Falven said.

The rest of the Cleric Council responded with bemusement.

'You can't do that, Tosyne said. 'They'll resist, the Commonwealth Senate will move to censure us. We'll lose every diplomatic advantage we have. He glanced round the table, seeking support.

'It's not just our ambition, Phelim said. He gestured at the empty end of the table, opposite Ethan's dais. His u-shadow established the ultra-secure link, and a portal projected an image of Likan standing just beyond the table.

Likan bowed politely. 'Conservator, I am honoured.