“Ten of you shall accompany the final representatives to the shunt and offer witness. The selected pair shall carry the burden of choice and honor. These two I shall name now.

“Doctor Gailet Jones, female, citizen of Garth, Terragens Federation, Clan of Earth.”

Gailet did not want to move, but Michaela, her friend, betrayed her by planting a hand in the small of her back and gently urging her forward. She stepped a few paces toward the dignitaries and bowed. The vodor boomed again.

“Irongrip Hansen, male, citizen of Garth, Terragens Federation, Clan of Earth.”

Most of the chims behind her gasped in shock and dismay. But Gailet only closed her eyes as her worst fears were confirmed. Up until now she had clung to a hope that the Suzerain of Propriety might still be a force among the Gubru. That it might yet compel the Triumvirate to play fair. But now…

She felt him step up next to her and knew the chen she hated most was wearing that grin.

Enough! I’ve stood for this long enough! Surely the Grand Examiner suspects something. If I tell her…

But she did not move. Her mouth did not open to speak.

Suddenly, and with brutal clarity, Gailet realized the real reason why she had gone along with this farce for so long!

They’ve fooled with my mind!

It all made sense. She recalled the dreams… nightmares of helplessness under the subtle, adamant coercion of machines held in ruthless talons.

The Uplift Institute wouldn’t be equipped to test for that.

Of course they wouldn’t! Uplift Ceremonies were invariably joyous occasions, celebrated by patron and client alike. Who ever heard of a race-representative having to be conditioned or forced to participate?

It must’ve been done after Fiben was taken away. The Suzerain of Propriety couldn’t have agreed to such a thing. If the Grand Examiner only knew, we could squeeze a planet’s worth of reparation gild from the Gubru!

Gailet opened her mouth. “I …” She tried to make words come. The Grand Examiner looked at her.

Perspiration condensed on Gailet’s brow. All she had to do was make the accusation. Even hint at it!

But her brain was frozen. It felt as if she had forgotten how to make words!

Speechlock. Of course. The Gubru had learned how easy it was to impose on a neo-chimpanzee. A human, perhaps, might have been able to break the hold, but Gailet recognized how futile it was in her case.

She could not read arthropoid expressions, but it seemed somehow as if the Serentini looked disappointed. The Examiner stepped back. “Proceed to the hyperspace shunt,” she said.

No! Gailet wanted to cry. But all that escaped was a faint sigh as she felt her right hand lift of its own accord and meet Irongrip’s left. He held on and she could not let go.

That was when she felt an image begin to form in her mind — an avian face with a yellow beak and cold, unblinking eyes. No effort could rid her of the picture. Gailet knew with terrible certainty that she was about to carry that image with her to the top of the ceremonial mound, and once there she and Irongrip would send it upward, into the oval of warped space overhead, for all to see, here and on a thousand other worlds.

The part of her mind that still belonged to her — the logical entity, now cut off and isolated — saw the cold covinous logic of the plan.

Oh, humans were sure to claim that the choice made today had been rigged. And probably more than half of the clans in the Five Galaxies would believe it. But that wouldn’t change anything. The choice would still stand! The alternative would be to discredit the entire system. Stellar civilization was under such pressure, right now, that it could not stand much further strain.

In fact, quite a few clans might decide that there had already been quite enough trouble over one little tribe of wolflings. Whatever the rights and wrongs, there would be substantial sentiment for ending the problem, once and for all.

It came to Gailet all in a rush. The Gubru did not merely want to become chims’ new stage consort “protectors.” They meant to bring about the extinction of humanity. Once that was accomplished, her own people would be up for adoption, and she had little doubt how that would go!

Gailet’s heart pounded. She struggled not to turn in the direction Irongrip was guiding her, but to no avail. She prayed that she would have a stroke.

Let me die!

Her life hardly mattered. They certainly planned to have her “disappear” immediately after the ceremony anyway, to dispose of the evidence. Oh, Goodall and Ifni, strike me down now! She wanted to scream.

At that moment, words came. The words… but it was not her voice that spoke them.

“Stop! An injustice is being done, and I demand a hearing!”

Gailet had not thought her heart could beat any quicker, but now tachycardia made her feel faint. Oh God, let it be…

She heard Irongrip curse and let go of her hand. That alone brought her joy. There was the sound of squawking Gubru anger, and high “eeps” of chim surprise. Someone — Michaela, she realized — took her arm and turned her around.

It was full night now. Scattered clouds were underlit by the bright beacons of the mound, and by the turbulent, lambent tunnel of energy now taking form above the artificial mountain. Into the stark light of the floater car’s headlamps a solitary neo-chimpanzee in a dust-coated formal robe approached from the last test station. He wiped sweat from his brow and strode purposefully toward the three surprised officials.

Fiben, Gailet thought. Dazed, she found that old habits were the first to reassert themselves. Oh, Fiben, don’t swagger! Try to remember your protocol…

When she realized what she was doing, Gailet suddenly giggled in a brief wave of hysteria. It shook her partially free of her immobility, and she managed to lift her hand to cover her mouth. “Oh, Fiben,” she sighed.

Irongrip growled, but the new arrival only ignored the Probationer. Fiben caught her eye and winked. It struck Gailet how the gesture that had once so infuriated her now made her knees feel weak with joy.

He stepped before the three officials and bowed low. Then, with hands clasped respectfully, Fiben awaited permission to speak.

“—dishonorable, incorrigible, impermissible interruptions — ” the Gubru’s vodor boomed. “We demand immediate removal and sanction, punishment—”

The noise suddenly cut off as the Grand Examiner used one of her forward arms to reach up and switch the vodor off. She stepped daintily forward and addressed Fiben.

“Young one, I congratulate you on making your way up to this place all alone. Your ascent provided much of the excitement and unconventionality that is making this one of the most memorable of all ceremonies on record. By virtue of your test scores and other accomplishments, you have earned a place on this pinnacle.” The Serentini crossed two arms and lowered her forebody. “Now,” she said as she rose again, “can we assume that you have a complaint to voice? One important enough to explain such abruptness of tone?”

Gailet tensed. The Grand Examiner might be sympathetic, but there was a veiled threat implied in those words. Fiben had better make this good. One mistake and he could make matters even worse than before.

Fiben bowed again. “I — I respectfully request an explanation of… of how the race-representatives were chosen.”

Not too bad. Still, Gailet struggled against her conditioning. If only she could step forward and help!,

For some time the dim slopes beyond the circle of lights had begun to fill with the Galactic dignitaries — those who had departed earlier to watch unknown events downslope. Now they were all hushed, watching a humble client from one of the newest of all species demand answers from a lord of the Institute.

The Grand Examiner’s voice was patient when she answered. “It is traditional for the ceremony sponsors to select a pair from among those who pass all trials. While it is true that the sponsors are, on this occasion, declared enemies of your clan, their enmity will officially end upon completion of the rites. Peace will exist between the clan of Terrans and that of Gooksyu-Gubru. Do you object to this, young one?”