"That's true," Wi'son-gil agreed, adjusting a pair of dark glasses over his pink eyes, then sighing with satisfaction. "It would have been simpler had the revolution failed. Enough people hated the rule of the Mutant-maker before the revolution; probably, instilling the intellectual challenge of the physical sciences would have been enough. Now, unfortunately, it won't." Ker-jon frowned. "I'm not sure I understand. What do you mean?" "Flam-harol is developing a militant organization and a more rigid caste-system than we've ever had before; you know that. What we've got to do--what we've been trying to do all along--was to unite the mutants and the non-mutants with a real external challenge. A rebirth of the physical sciences and a subsequent conquest of them would have done it. But not now; now we'll need something more concrete. "A serious threat, perhaps. What if the Ark stopped functioning, Ker-jon?" "Stopped functioning?" "Of course. We have day-lights. We have night-lights. We have hydroponic gardens supplying both air and food, which, except for a few minor adjustments that the bio-technicians can make, function perfectly in themselves. We have instruments of astrogation, and the same thing applies. We don't even know where we're going! "Damage all that. Damage everything which carries us along so smoothly, and what will happen? We'd either all join together to conquer the new challenge, or we'd perish." "You'd take a chance like that?" Ker-jon demanded. Cluny-ann nodded vigorously. "We have to. It's either that or we'll sink lower and lower, until there's nothing left of civilization." "Okay," Ker-jon spread his hands out wide. "You're both way ahead of me. How will we do it?" * * * * * The albino smiled. "We've found the old records which explain how the Ark runs. With them to guide us, we'll try our hand at sabotage." "Hold on. Just hold on! Why do you have to do that? If you have the records, why don't you simply take control of the machinery and force Flam-harol and his crew to step down." The albino shook his head. "That's precisely what we _won't_ do. All the Ark has ever had to face was human challenge, one man usurping control from another. That extends down to all levels, Ker-jon. We have to make a complete break with that tradition, or we'll find ourselves right back where we started from, just as Flam-harol did. Psych-tech Ab'nath will stand behind me on that, and he knows what he's talking about." "You're telling me," Ker-jon said, remembering the dream.