"She was pretty popular," Ben said, surprised. "What happened?"

Sejal shrugged. "Got me. It's just a rumor I heard. I do know that the Children are raising their communication rates through the roof-so is everyone else who can still reach the Dream-and since almost nobody can talk between planets these days, everything's starting to come apart. The Empire of Human Unity's falling to pieces." This last came out with a certain amount of glee. "There's talk of recession all over the place. The galactic corps were really hard hit. Their Silent network for orders and money transfers and business communication-" he snapped his fingers "-gone in one shot."

"Any official numbers on how many Silent died during the Despair?" Kendi asked quietly.

Sejal shrugged again. " 'Lots' is the best I can tell you. If you go out there-" he waved a hand vaguely toward Ben's computer network "-the big thing going is trying to find out who survived and who didn't. It's depressing. I'm glad I didn't know anyone very well."

Kendi seemed to sense Ben's mood and nibbled lightly on his cheek in sympathy. Ara Rymar had been Kendi's surrogate mother as well as his teacher, and her death had hit him equally hard.

"Sorry," Sejal said, belatedly noticing the effect of his words. "Didn't mean to be a drag-down."

"We're not exactly bundles of sunshine," Kendi said. He adopted a more brisk tone. "So what's going on besides gossip, Sejal? Any good news?"

"Actually there is," Sejal replied. "That's why I wanted to talk to you."

"You've got more information about Bedj-ka?" Ben said. "We've just arrived at Klimkinnar, but a planet's a big place to search. We could use some more info."

"I've been trying. I mean, using the Dream to find people in the solid world is flipping hard these days," Sejal said. "I can reach out of the Dream and touch your minds pretty easy because I know you, but Bedj-ka's more difficult."

"I know," Kendi said. "I'm supposed to be one of the best Silent-finders ever, but these days I'm lucky to find Ben."

"Yeah. Anyway, when the Despair started up, I touched every Silent in the universe for a moment, including Bedj-ka. Talk about a major mind fuck." Sejal hawked and spat. "I told you about how I got a flash of the kid being on Klimkinnar, but I know that's not much to go on, so the last couple days I've been working on finding them again. If I listen really hard in the Dream, I can sometimes hear people who used to be Silent and track them a little bit."

"And?" Kendi asked tautly.

"I think Bedj-ka is in a country named Tiq. Does that help?"

Disappointment settled in Ben's stomach. He had been hoping for more than that. Still, searching a country would be a lot easier than searching an entire planet. They might be able to shave off a week, maybe even ten days if they were lucky.

"Tiq," Ben said. "Got it. Anything more?"

"He has a different name," Sejal told him. "That kind of goes without saying, I guess. Most slavers change the names of their slaves."

"In Tiq and not named Bedj-ka," Kendi said. "Great. Any more?"

Sejal shrugged. "I'll keep looking."

"Then I guess we'll see you around," Kendi said, his own disappointment clear from his tone. "Let us know if you find out more."

"Okay." Sejal turned to go, then paused. "Oh yeah-something else. Bedj-ka's first name was changed to something like Terry or Jerry or maybe Kerry. And his last name is Markovi."

Ben's mouth fell open. Kendi froze, then puffed up his feathers in mock outrage.

"You little shit," he said. "Enjoy the remainder of your life on Bellerophon, kid, because you're dead when I get back."

Sejal laughed mischievously and vanished from the Dream. The network rippled for a moment and Ben felt an inrush of energy fill the spot Sejal had occupied.

"Little bastard," Kendi said happily.

Ben laughed. "Now you know how Mo-how the rest of us felt whenever you played a-"

"Don't," Kendi warned, "finish that sentence." His talons pricked Ben's skin menacingly.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Ben said, wide-eyed.

"Right. I'd better go tell Harenn." Kendi flapped to the ground and changed back into the koala.

"Do you need me on the bridge right away?" Ben asked. "There are a couple things I want to do in here while Lucia lands the ship."

"Should be okay for a few minutes," Kendi said. "We've already got fake trader credentials, so we won't need a hacker at the ready to forge them for us. See you in a few."

Koala Kendi vanished, leaving ripples in the Dream. Ben watched him go, then turned back to his computer network. The matrices glowed, lights flashed, and a soft, empty hum pervaded the air. An empty hum for an empty Dream, thanks to Padric Sufur. Ben's slow anger neared the boiling point. He made a curt gesture and the entire scene vanished, leaving behind the flat, empty plain that was the default environment of the Dream. Another gesture, and the ground shifted. A stone statue rumbled up out of the ground. It was crudely-formed-Ben wasn't much of an artist-but it was recognizably the life-sized figure of a gangly, older man with hawk-like features. The man's stony eyes stared at nothing. Ben contemplated the statue, then held up his hands. The Dream shifted and he was holding a sledgehammer. Ben's fury flared into brilliance. With a sudden yell, he swung the hammer with the full power of every muscle in both arm and shoulder. Metal smashed into stone, and the statue's arm flew off in a shower of rock chips. Hatred filled Ben as he swung again and again, relishing the shock and crack of every hit. The statue's head went flying, then its other arm. Tiny bits of stone scored Ben's arms and one fragment slashed his cheek. The torso cracked into three pieces. Ben smashed the hammer into the statue's groin and the legs split away and fell apart. He yelled, screamed, shouted until his throat was raw. Ben's hammer fell again and again until nothing remained but fist-sized bits of rubble. At last Ben halted, barely winded from the exertion. He glared at the ruins, then set the hammer down and raised his hands. The rubble quivered, shivered, and reassembled itself into the statue again. Cracks fused themselves back together, leaving smooth stone. When the statue's last flaw had vanished, Ben picked up the hammer and swung.

Father Kendi Weaver shifted in the captain's chair on the Poltergeist's bridge. It felt right to be sitting there, somehow, and that surprised him. He had been under someone else's command-usually Ara's-for so long, he had assumed it would feel odd to be giving the orders himself. But that wasn't at all the case. Rather, it seemed as if everything he had gone through, including the Despair, had been preparing him for this very position.

"We've got permission to land, Father," Lucia said, looking down at her boards. "Tiq has a spaceport, and we'll be landing in about an hour, Irfan willing."

"Where's Harenn?" Kendi asked.

"She went down to engineering," Gretchen told him. "We're in tip-top, but she said it would be easier if she kept herself busy, even if it was make-work."

Kendi nodded. Like Harenn, no doubt, he felt the urge to get out behind the ship and push.

"Restless, Father?" Gretchen asked archly.

Kendi glanced down and realized he was tapping his feet against the deck plates. He forced himself to stop. "Just anxious to get started."