Part 0 and Prologue

Kinetic Energy

Metastable Equilibrium

Paradigm Shift

Epilogue

The metal shell of the carriage shook and rattled as it raced under New York City. The people packed into the subway car shook along with it, standing in the bucking train with the ease of long practice. Millions of commuters rode the subway daily, the art of avoiding one another's eyes almost instinctual amongst them. After all, you never knew who the others sharing your car might be, or where they were going, or why. Discarded newspapers littered the floor underfoot, the words trodden into a grey obscurity. Only the headlines were still legible, their thick black type reminding the passengers, as if they needed reminding, that the world was in transition, holding its breath in anticipation of the day's events.

The packed train arrived at Grand Central, where all but a few travellers tumbled out. The platform was thronged, the crush almost painful, but then for many of them, it was a routine ordeal. Now they were part of the stream of people moving onwards and upwards; a daily ritual of rebirth as the subway disgorged its passengers into the morning light that streamed through the windows far overhead. The people didn't look up to those distant windows. They walked with their eyes on their feet, each occupied with their own thoughts, wrapped protectively in a cloak of anonymity.

They did not realise that they were part of a crowd until they stepped out of the world's busiest railway terminal and into the street, each one alone in a throng of a hundred thousand people. There was only one direction in which they could move down 42nd Street, but few were concerned. They had always planned on reaching the same destination.

The impressive sweep of the United Nations building opened out before them, its graceful lines a stark contrast to the office block that towered far above it. Flags flew proudly overhead, the hundreds of brightly coloured emblems snapping on the cool spring breeze. The river of newcomers poured into the plaza that surrounded the building, and became lost in the sea of people already waiting there.

The new arrivals dispersed quickly, drifting through the crowd until they found like-minded souls. Some joined those protesting vociferously, the blue-uniformed local police keeping those in favour and opposed separate by their sheer physical presence. Others just milled about with aimless uncertainty, as if even they were uncertain as to why they had felt the need to come here. The atmosphere was almost that of a carnival, entertainers and food vendors gathering to feed the crowd and to feed off them. But no carnival had ever had the sense of anticipation that grew as the sun rose over the UN building, silhouetting it against the brilliant light.

The crowd fell silent as huge television screens, hastily erected overnight, lit with the view of the General Assembly Hall. A sigh rippled through the crowd as five figures shimmered into existence on the speaker's dais, almost drowning out the jeers voiced by a few, here and there. Silence fell once more as the anxious people strained to hear the debate, knowing that one way or another, it would change their world.

**************

Abby felt the eyes of the world upon them. The attention pressed down upon her, from both inside and out, making it difficult even to draw breath. But the moment of panic passed and Abby smiled wryly to herself, imagining what her friends would say, if they could see past her tight mental defences. The focus of the Assembly wasn't even upon her. Not yet.

Frustration left her feeling angry and helpless. The violence that had swept the world in the long night flashed again in front of her eyes. She ought to be speaking, not just sitting here. She ought to be doing something to end the upheaval she had triggered. She sighed mentally, careful not to let her feelings show to the watching world. She knew better than this. There was a time to speak and a time to remain silent. Her time would come. Setting aside her fears, she forced herself to concentrate on the Secretary General's opening remarks. The man spoke calmly, matter-of-factly, letting his eyes scan the delegates and linger on the television cameras laying out the situation for the watching world.

"And so today the United Nations of this Earth may stand at a parting of the ways. In this forum our options will be debated and their relative merits weighed. On the one hand we have the Tomorrow People, represented here today." He nodded an acknowledgement to Abby and her delegation. "They believe that they are the first of a new people, a people with a right to life, liberty, representation and a future free from persecution. But is Homo novus a species apart? Are the Tomorrow People really, as they believe, a new race? And if so, will Homo sapiens accept or reject its unexpected offspring? To guide us in this determination we can look to the past. We can consider the horrors of genocide, witnessed time and again throughout our history; whenever one race has perceived a threat, real or imagined, from another. But in every case both persecutor and persecuted were human, with inalienable human rights. This organisation was founded to champion those rights, and to seek to end, in any way we could, the loss of innocent life in warfare, terrorism, domestic or international strife." He paused, letting his words sink in. "Must one be human to be entitled to human rights, equal in dignity from the moment of birth? What is humanity? Are we to fall back on the biological definition that has served us in the past? Or to consider instead the moral and ethical implications that arise from the emergence of a second sentient species?"

Once again the Secretary General paused and allowed the Assembly to consider his questions. His eyes sought out a few key delegations, the focal points for the discussion that would follow. His gaze came finally to Abigail, resting on her small group for long seconds before he turned back to the hall and continued. "In the debate that follows, I will call on the delegations in this hall to speak for the people they represent. I am sure we will hear many views, many opinions. We will hear of a secret conflict that has been ignored for too long. No doubt some of what we hear will shock us. Tempers and anxieties will run high, and yet I ask each of you to think before you speak, remembering that the eyes of the world will be upon us. Whatever is decided, a return to the old illusion of stability is not an option. The time for inaction is past. It is possible that when the debate here is ended there will be no agreement. It is possible that some of our member nations will defy the will of this Assembly, whatever that turns out to be. While I cannot condone such a decision, neither can I deny that it is your right. The role of the United Nations Organisation has always been as a forum, its staff here to advise and guide, not to lead." He smiled a self-deprecating smile, glancing again at the TP delegation, which sat conspicuously beside him on the dais. "As I have been reminded several times in the past twenty-four hours. Nonetheless, it is both the duty and the privilege of the Secretary General to seek the solution that best accords with the Charter of this organisation. Today we face a problem that is truly global. Increasingly, in future years, it will affect each and every one of us. It is my belief that the Charter of the United Nations and, equally importantly, the spirit in which it was written, is clear. Regardless of anthropological or social distinctions, I cannot believe that the Tomorrow People are inhuman, nor that they deserve the treatment they have received to date. Such abuses cast doubt not on their humanity, but on our own." He took a final deep breath and spoke clearly and without hesitation. "Hence, I formally declare this special debate of the United Nations General Assembly open, and place the proposed draft resolution before the Assembly with my commendation."

*************

"Welcome to your first day of what I'm sure you'll find a gruelling four-year degree." The lecture theatre was huge, not as large as the UN Assembly, but with similar tiers of seats, from which she stared down eagerly at the speaker. The scene from the depths of her memory replayed itself behind Abby's eyes, the unexpected recollection surprising her with its sudden clarity. "I use the word gruelling as a warning to everyone here. This is not an easy course; we expect hard work and dedication. More than that - we demand it! From here I can see a mass of bright, enthusiastic faces. Like everyone else who has gone before, you believe that by studying politics you'll discover the truth behind the world. I know this because once I thought, like you, that by understanding the political processes I would be able to make a difference, to make my mark on this planet and create a better place."

In Abby's memory she watched as the speaker glared at the audience, knowing that they would be denying this truth to themselves, just as he had done in the heady days of his own youthful exuberance. "I'm making a wager with each of you here and now. I'm betting my life's savings that none of you will ever make a genuine difference to the politics of this planet. In the real world things like that just don't happen. And if, in twenty years time, any of you come back to me and say 'look what I've done,' then I'll gladly pay up!" A snigger went round the room then. Abby, like everyone else, made a personal vow that she would be the exception to his rule, the one who called in that bet! With a cough to regain the students' attention, he continued: "I can't promise that, by studying with us, any of you will become world leaders, making life and death decisions on behalf of the masses. What I can promise you is an enjoyable time here, the opportunity to study and debate amongst people of equal academic excellence. And most of all, I promise you lots and lots of gruelling, backbreaking hard work!"

The memory of her college days faded fast as the Secretary General's last few words echoed around Abby's skull, bouncing off the emptiness she found there. She was expected to speak, that much was obvious to her as the Secretary General re-took his seat, but what on earth was she meant to say? Slowly, Abigail Rollinde rose from her seat and approached the podium, Ben, Josh and Stephanie taking up their allotted positions around her. I wonder how much old Professor Howe is worth these days, she mused, taking a deep breath in preparation for the moment when her words would make the difference he had spoken of so long ago.

Turning briefly, Abby smiled at the Secretary General, before lifting her chin authoritatively to address the crowd of delegates. "Thank you, Mr. Secretary General, for those kind opening remarks. On behalf of Tomorrow People worldwide, I acknowledge your frankness on this matter, and agree that the time for inaction has indeed passed. You have made reference to the world's history; to genocide, terrorism and human rights. These are issues that I'm certain we will return to during the forthcoming debate. But to begin, I would like to reply to your statement regarding the genetic right of the Tomorrow People to regard themselves as a distinctly new species of man. Evidence abounds within the scientific literature with regard to the genetic diversity that has fashioned Homo novus. We are different, and, whether Homo sapiens wishes to acknowledge it or not, we are evolving and indeed will continue to evolve for many years to come. This is nature's ultimate trick upon us all. We didn't ask to be born different; we did not court the acts of discrimination and hatred against us. We are here now, amongst you, and that is a fact that the world must accept before anything further can possibly be discussed."

Pausing for a moment, Abby looked up at the tiers of seats. (How many of you are with me?) she 'pathed, towards the crowd of onlookers. Abby knew that some of the people before her were Jimmy's strategically positioned security personnel, but she was certain that there must also be hidden Tomorrow People amongst the throng. (How many of you are brave enough to stand up right now and demonstrate that our people are here amongst the Saps?)

There was utter silence in the hall - no one moved a muscle. There was no wave of people rising to their feet in spontaneous support, no telepathic acknowledgement that they had even heard her request. Not overly surprised, but still a little disappointed, Abby sighed heavily.

(They're scared, Abby, that's all.) Kershia's thoughts were imbued with feelings of understanding, lightening Abby's burden as the two women shared their disappointment. (Give them time...)

(If I hadn't listened to you, maybe Vancouver...)

(I'm certain they would be willing to follow your orders, Abby. But would they be any less scared of exposure than anyone here?)

Noticing the Secretary General becoming restless in his seat, Abby realised that her silence made it obvious that they were using telepathic communication. Aware that she could be accused of unfair use of such a medium, she pushed her disappointment aside and nodded gently towards Kershia. (You're right, Kersh, they're just not ready yet. I guess I expected too much...)

Abby was just about to speak again when an aide rushed forward to whisper in the Secretary General's ear. Gently at first, then with more urgency, a murmur had begun to ripple around the auditorium. Nodding gravely the Secretary General stood and approached Abby at the microphone. "Excuse me, Ms. Rollinde, but I think there is something you should see..." He looked up at the delegates, raising his voice to command their attention. "Something that all of you should see." Giving his aides an authoritative nod, he indicated that Abby should look at the TV monitor that stood at the side of the stage.

Previously, the screen had shown images of the podium, but now the picture changed to reveal the scenes outside the United Nations building itself. Abby's jaw dropped open as she assimilated the picture. The bulk of the crowd were seated on the hard concrete of the concourse, but amongst them individuals were rising to their feet. The tide of people standing gathered momentum with every second that she watched the televised images. As they stood a comment passed from person to person, rising in volume as more spectators joined their voice to the cry: "I am a Tomorrow Person and I have nothing to be ashamed of!" Abby could hardly believe her eyes or ears. Here were the Tomorrow People brave enough to respond to her call; here amongst the ordinary souls of New York were those willing to take their chances and announce who and what they were.

Relief and joy washed through Abby's mind as tears began to well up in her eyes. She had always hoped for, but never dared to expect, such support from her people. Yes, she thought decisively, they are your people. Pride filled her as she noted that over half the crowd was now on its feet, silently willing her forward.

The Secretary General turned back towards her then, noticing how overwhelmed she had been by the scenes. "I can see that your people are indeed amongst us," he said with a wry smile. "I believe that a short recess might be in order at this time."

Placing his hand gently on her arm, he led Abigail back to her chair. "Thank you," she whispered as she took her seat. (Thank you.)

********

The United Nations General Assembly, 11: 45 a.m.

"'The current belief is that recessive advantageous mutations will be expressed amongst the general population. If we accept that the mutation causing the psionic abilities displayed by a Tomorrow Person is indeed advantageous, then there is sufficient evidence to conclude their manifestation to be a naturally occurring speciation event. Mutations occurring on autosomes will be less likely to be expressed. Therefore many more of the general population may be carrying the mutation responsible for creating Homo novus than is currently expressed, but the numbers will continue to increase substantially in the future.

"Thus we can conclude that the people of Earth are becoming a divergent population (incipient species). When individuals are crossed from these divergent populations, the new mutations do not show deleterious effects caused by gene interactions. Hence we can conclude that the two species are not separated to any great extent.'"

Abby finished reading the summary of findings from the scientific report, summoned telekinetically from Luna some minutes earlier, and looked around the auditorium. "I do not claim to be an expert on genetics," she declared decisively, "but the evidence seems clear. The Tomorrow People - Homo novus - carry a number of different gene sequences to Homo sapiens, the resulting variation exhibiting itself through varied brain structures and some less obvious physiological changes as well. The fact that offspring from pairings between the two types of human produces viable results, i.e. their children are fertile, indicates that Homo novus is not an entirely separate species, but rather an example of population divergence. They are human and entitled to the same moral and ethical rights as any other person on the planet!" She paused to allow her assertions to sink in. "However, I believe that many governments of the world have already demonstrated their knowledge of this inherent diversity by the development of genetically targeted biological weaponry, the foremost authority in this branch of weapons research being the United Kingdom."

Putting down the report, Abby felt a wave of anger pass across her thoughts. She looked over at the UK delegates accusingly, noting how they struggled to keep the guilty nervousness out of their eyes. "The resignation of Ms. Rianna Malloney from the Anbridge Military Research Establishment last year did not go unnoticed by us. Although her allegations were apparently unsubstantiated, we believe that there is enough evidence to conclude that the United Kingdom has been engaged in this type of secret weapons research since the late 1970s. And what's more they have been using human beings, captured Tomorrow People to be precise, as live guinea pigs in these research programmes." A murmur flashed around the auditorium, whether it was of astonishment or acknowledgement, Abby was not sure, but at least their reaction demonstrated that the truth was being accepted at long last. Buoyed by the reaction, she forged ahead with her next allegation. "Such research is not confined to the walls of secret military establishments either. We have been monitoring activities in the so-called 'security camps' for some years and it is clear that Nazi-style experimentation has been undertaken not just in the United Kingdom's camp in Cumbria, but also in the major camp in Canada. I know this to be true - I have personally seen the devastating effects these experiments have had upon the inmates there. Frankly, I don't want to believe what I've been hearing recently about mortality rates in the big US camps." She took a deep breath, shaking her head. "That such camps exist at all is diabolical, but the treatment the detainees are receiving is tantamount to torture."

Abby glanced towards the American delegate, but he met her look with stony indifference, almost as if he believed that nothing she said would have an effect in the long term. Unsettled, she looked instead towards the Canadian delegation, catching the eye of LeVesque, the head of Policy, Advocacy and Information, with whom she had spoken some months earlier. Acknowledging that he recognised the journalist who had approached his office, he leaned forward to indicate his desire to respond to the point she had raised. Pressing the button on the desk in front of him, he waited for the light to indicate that he was called to speak. Standing slowly, he took a deep breath.

"I have carried out my own investigation of the Canadian Camp and although I accept that the detainees have undergone less than satisfactory handling by those in charge - a situation which the Canadian Government is hoping to improve imminently - I do feel it my duty to point out to Ms. Rollinde -" his voice was sarcastic as he recalled the false name she had used during their brief encounter " - that the Canadian Government has remained within the letter of international law on this matter. At the time of the Camp's commencement there were no UN directives on how best to deal with the perceived threat to our country's national security, and therefore we feel exonerated of your allegations of mistreatment."

On the stage Abby looked angry enough to explode. Sensing her friend's increasing annoyance, Kershia stood and walked over to her side. "Sir," she began firmly, allowing Abby a few moments to compose herself, "if you feel that attacking and burning people's homes and businesses, swooping on innocent women and children during the early hours of morning, snatching them from their beds and shutting them away in rat-infested prison camps is reasonable treatment, then I'd like to know what your country would do to its real enemies!"

Patting Kershia on the shoulder, Abby indicated that by her impassioned exaggeration of events she had said quite enough. Turning back to the Canadian speaker, she schooled her expression back to one of calm authority before continuing. "I apologise for my colleague's angry outburst. She was present at the raid in Barcelona where over a hundred Tomorrow People lost their lives. I was personally present at the raid on the Toronto Headquarters and have many friends who witnessed the military-style attack perpetrated against our operations in Melbourne. Many of my friends died in these raids, many more have been detained for years against their will. Can you honestly stand there with hand on heart and deny any sympathy or remorse for what was done in the name of security?"

Now the Australian delegate rose to his feet, bewilderment on his face as he was forced by circumstances to defend his country's actions. "I also have knowledge of the attack upon the Melbourne Lab, and wish to extend my deepest sympathies to everyone involved. It was indeed quite an uncalled-for act to destroy so many lives." His companions shifted nervously in their seats. They were experienced enough to see the logic in a public apology, but none of them were prepared for such complete contrition on behalf of their government. Glancing down, the Australian delegate ignored their worried expressions and whispered instructions, instead seeming to overcome some personal impasse before raising his eyes towards the podium. "You see, I know of the destruction, since I was also present at the raid. Not in my role as a UN ambassador, I must add, but in my previous life as..." he hesitated briefly, allowing Abigail to pierce through his fragile shielding, and watching a look of amazement spreading across her face. "...as one of the senior personnel in that Lab!"

There was a gasp from the audience, followed by countless angry shouts.

The Australian delegation looked about them in shocked realisation of how easily they had been duped, each moving his or her chair in an unconscious effort to distance themselves from this once-trusted interloper. But the uproar in the hall was nothing compared to the shrieks of joy reaching them from the thousands of onlookers waiting outside in the UN Plaza. Bolstered by the cheers of support, the Australian delegate pushed on with his response. "In my capacity as UN ambassador I have been striving to do what is best not just for the Tomorrow People of Australia, but for Australia as a whole. Back in our history we were a penal colony; we were also supplanters of the native people on our island, something we have endeavoured to correct for many years. This dual legacy has created a nation proud of its capacity for tolerance and acceptance. Therefore I am announcing that the Australian Government has already instigated a full and open investigation into the running of our internment camp in the Western territory, with the intention of suspension of hostilities towards all those identified as Homo novus and the release of all prisoners."

Once again there was a yell of overjoyed support from outside the hall, forcing the speaker to pause and wait for the disturbance to die down.

(Well, I never!) remarked Kershia, smiling at Abby and the others. (Makes some of our own operations look positively mundane.) She sensed the delighted snigger from Josh and Ben.

(And so the walls of Jericho came tumbling down!) added Stephanie as she shared the pleasure they all felt.

Once order had returned to the hall, the Australian delegate continued confidently, knowing that his declaration was not just timely for the TPs cause, but had been public enough to carry him though the career struggles ahead. "Personally I am ashamed of the treatment my friends and colleagues have received for the past few years, and have endeavoured in my own way to turn the tide of hatred that seems to have swept through the halls of power in many countries. However, in defence of my own nation, I feel it prudent at this juncture to point out to the Assembly that if it were not for the British military's continued insistence on the use of dangerous substances such as Barlumin and their dogged determination to experiment with the use of other biological agents, I am certain that the Australian camp would have been disbanded long before now."

The backbiting and legal argument seemed to go on for an age. Was it one nation's fault or another that the Camps had been allowed to proliferate? Had this country or that abused their Homo novus population more harshly? Was it even wrong that they had done so? Despite the Secretary General's speech and the evidence presented by the TPs spokesperson, Abigail, the moral implications of the Tomorrow People's emergence were far from settled, or even widely accepted. On the podium the TP delegation, unaccustomed as they were to the ebb and flow of international politics, grew visibly restless. The crowd outside were growing restless too, their stirrings visible on the monitors that still reminded the Assembly of the watching world.

The British delegate pointed out that as the world's only source of Barlumin ore, the United Kingdom had a global responsibility to share its natural bounty with others. The Americans suggested that the British should be praised for their generous response to the requests of other nations. Few others even pretended to believe that their actions arose from any such noble motive. Sarcastic comments and thinly veiled insults, couched in diplomatic ambiguity, flew across the assembly hall. It was enough to drive any sane man mad.

Sitting amongst the delegates, the Deputy Chief of the UN security force fingered the butt of his sidearm restlessly. Of course this entire situation was mad to begin with. It seemed ridiculous that decent men could even be considering entering into a pact with the Tomorrow freaks. The stories he'd heard over the past decade couldn't all have been wrong. These were the people who had stolen the jobs from honest men with their mind tricks. Worse still, these were the people who stole children from their parents, twisting them into unrecognisable parodies of themselves. They were too powerful. They couldn't be trusted. Surely that had been obvious when his men had been so easily incapacitated the previous day! The shame of the memory burned his cheeks even now. And yet ... the delegates in the hall hadn't seemed surprised to see the TP delegation arrive, almost as if they had been expected to intervene at this meeting.

He shook his head angrily. Were the news sheets right? Had the TPs already taken over the power in this world? If it was true then the Assembly was no more than a sham.

The security officer eyed the TP delegation sceptically. The Rollinde woman was the focal point. She might be what she said she was, but if those others were political aides, he'd eat his hat. Well, the boy might possibly be Abigail's assistant; the other man and the two women certainly weren't. They might fool the delegates here, but one security guard could always spot another and those three moved with the caution and instinctive grace of trained guards. One of the women glanced in his direction with a slight frown, her eyes scanning the crowd. He looked down quickly, eager to avoid her gaze. He'd heard the stories about what a TP could do if they got their fingers in your mind.

His eyes still averted, and resenting that necessity, he scanned the crowd too. Things were too tense today; too many delegates were sitting on the edge of their seats, nervously fingering ... he frowned, focussing on one delegate who was peering about him alertly, ready for trouble ... fingering some kind of ... weapon!

He went cold, a shiver running down his spine. The device half-concealed in the man's hand was metallic and strangely designed, but undoubtedly a firearm. A TP gun - the conclusion was instantaneous and inevitable. His vague fears about the TP menace suddenly crystallised, the Deputy Chief looked desperately around the crowd, knowing now what to look for. There! And there. And there. How many of them were there? TP infiltrators, all of them armed with the same strange looking weapons.

He had to warn people! He had to do something! Panic filled him, and suddenly one of the TP freaks was looking at him, eyes wide with surprise. They knew that he knew about them! He was out of time. Desperately, he jumped up from his seat, striding forward between the curved rows of seats. Eyes turned to follow the unexpected motion, and he waved his arms in alarm, shouting a warning. On the podium one of the women was out of her chair now, launching herself towards Abigail and the Secretary General where they sat side by side. The security officer wasn't even aware that his gun was in his hand and pointing at Abigail until it went off. He had drawn it on instinct, years of training overriding all logical thought. He didn't see Stephanie forcing Abigail out of the way, coming between her and the bullets; didn't see the TP woman fall to the ground, didn't hear the uproar that followed. With four stun beams converging on him, he didn't feel anything for quite some time.

********

"Stephanie!" Abby screamed her friend's name both aloud and mentally, feeling the other woman's pain as if it were her own. Stephanie had pushed her aside in that moment of terror and confusion, sending her sprawling on the stage. Now Abby scrambled desperately back to her side, trying to touch her mind, trying to ease her agony. Around and below Stephanie's pale form, blood spread in a pool, a dark stain against the pale carpet. Abby ignored it, focussing all her energy into holding onto the barest whisper of agonised thought from Stephanie, even as it slipped out of her telepathic grasp.

Kershia fell to her knees beside them, her concentration too entirely on their injured friend. (Stephanie?) Her telepathic cry went unanswered. Desperately, she strengthened her call, trying to feed that additional strength into Stephanie's still body, hands hovering above her chest. (Hold on, Steph. Hold on!) The glow of power enveloped the three of them, but even that didn't seem to be enough as it flickered feebly around them.

(Abby, you have to get out of here!) Ben's thought was sick with horror and fear, but even now his security training kept him focussed on their safety. (Kershia, you too!) He stood protectively between them and the rest of the hall, shielding the women from the firefight that had erupted with his telekinesis strained to its limits. Josh was at Abby's side, trying to pull her away and to safety. Without a second thought Abigail shoved him away telekinetically. The pale young man stumbled to one side, giving up on trying to make Abby see reason. His haunted eyes locked instead on Stephanie.

(Steph!) Roger's anguished mental touch arrived at the same time as he did, jaunting from Luna to her side. The name carried terror and the same emotion twisted his face, tears falling to his cheeks. Unmoving, seemingly lifeless, Stephanie didn't respond, even as he fell to his knees by her side, scooping her into his arms. Blood stained his clothes, ignored as he clutched her desperately against him. The echoes of Roger's call faded slowly in all their minds, hollow and lost amid the emptiness that filled them.

In that dazed state it felt like hours, but it was mere moments before Travin arrived. With quick, anxious motions he laid a hand on Stephanie's pallid forehead. Not wasting time on words, the doctor pushed Kershia and Abigail away with a burst of telekinesis. His thoughts were urgent, but coolly efficient. (Jaunt us in, TIM!)

******

Kershia felt the anger and fear in the minds of the Luna-based TPs as Stephanie and the two men faded into shimmering light. She felt the same emotions in the minds of the Saps too, startled and frightened to find so many TP security amongst them. The dream of a peaceful solution, a dream she had hardly started to dare to believe in, was falling apart. It wasn't hard to see the potential for disaster that hung in the air. Struggling to think clearly despite the hollowness she felt inside, Kershia reached mentally for her friends. (We have to stop this. We have to calm them all down!)

Members of Stephanie's security team had jaunted to form a screen in front of the stage, holding back the still stunned crowds and protecting their leaders. They held their stunguns nervously, fingers hovering above the triggers. Others were scattered through the crowd, and they too had their weapons out and pointed at the Sap security guards. The Saps were armed in turn. Lethal projectile weapons were directed at the intruders who had taken down one of their own. The room still rang with the echoing ricochet of bullets, pulled from the air by telekinesis, and the whine of stunguns, freezing the panicking security guards and delegates alike into frozen tableaux.

This couldn't go on. Tears streaking her face, Kershia struggled to her feet, leaving Abby on her knees behind the protective shield of Tomorrow People.

"Everyone calm down!" She shouted the words, cutting for a moment through the furore. There was a moment of hesitation as the Luna-based agents heard her, as the Saps recognised her as Abigail's aide. It wasn't enough. The Luna agents had orders to protect her at all costs, and after what had happened.... Until the TPs backed down, there wasn't a chance of the Saps doing the same and, of course, vice versa. She felt the situation sliding back towards chaos, even as she tried again. "Lower your weapons!"

"Lower your weapons!" repeated a man's voice sharply, cutting through the noise. He reinforced the command telepathically. (That's an order! Abby, Kershia, make sure your telekinesis is ready for any attack.) Jimmy's thoughts were clear and focussed. (Josh, Ben, I'm trusting the two of you to protect them.) Eyes turned towards Jimmy as he stepped into one of the crowded aisles, people falling back away from him. The Sap security guards turned too, some of their weapons pointing towards Jimmy now, others dropping to point towards the ground. Jimmy watched them with grim satisfaction. "Team Two, you're relieved. Return home." He frowned as the TPs hesitated, uncertain. (Now!) he added angrily. Stephanie's team jaunted out en masse, returning to Luna in frustration, and leaving Abigail and the others in view.

Slowly, Abby raised her head, meeting Jimmy's worried eyes. "You'd better come up here, Jimmy."

Kershia waved a hand vaguely at the prone figure of the stunned Sap security officer who had first attacked. The man lay in one of the wide aisles, close now to Jimmy's position as he approached down the huge hall.

"How is he?" Kershia called, an instinctive concern for the welfare of others fighting against her desperate fear for Stephanie. After all, several stun beams had hit the man simultaneously.

Jimmy hesitated, the same look of chagrin on his face as Kershia's. His expression became cold, dispassionate, as he shut any such feelings aside. The milling group of Saps clustered around the man backed away as the TP approached. Only one security guard stood his ground, the barrel of his gun wavering as it pointed towards Jimmy. Even with Jimmy's reserve, now wasn't the time to test his patience. With a simple glance at the gun, his telekinesis reached out, twisting the barrel in a shriek of tortured metal. Ignoring the confused guard, Jimmy squatted by the attacker's side, his hand glowing briefly as it hovered above the man's chest. He stood with a graceful motion, speaking to those around him but projecting his voice so the rest of the hall could hear. "He'll be out for three hours, but fine when he comes around." Jimmy hesitated. "He ought to be treated for stress though. He's been suffering from it for some time by the feel of it. He's badly fatigued."

"Put down your guns." The Secretary General's order broke the confused silence that followed Jimmy's remark. He spoke from the stage, moving up beside Abby and Kershia, fixing his gaze on the few Sap guards with their weapons still on display. "There will be no more bloodshed here today."

Jimmy waited until trigger-happy fingers were far from the holstered weapons before jaunting to the stage, his posture mirroring Kershia's on Abby's other side.

Abby gave a tired smile. "May I present my head of security?" she asked wryly.

The Secretary General spared Jimmy a glance of acknowledgement before turning back to Abigail. "We'll have words about that later," he said grimly, "but under the circumstances we need to calm things down before the situation escalates further. Especially after what happened to your friend. Stephanie, wasn't it?" He paused, looking calmly into Abby's shocked eyes. "Is your friend badly hurt? Is there anything that my people can do?"

Abigail shuddered, sharing the thought with the others. TIM still hadn't been in touch. Surely he would call them with news? She looked at him with emptiness in her eyes, echoing that felt by everyone inside and outside the hall. The Secretary General was waiting, his face full of concern, and suddenly Abby was once again aware of the world watching this scene unfold, hundreds waiting for word, perhaps even Steph's parents and brothers back in England. What could she say?

"I ..." Abby's answer froze on her lips as TIM's mind touched hers and those of all the others, the reassurance it carried sending a gasp through Kershia and Josh.

(Stephanie will recover.) TIM wasted no time in giving them the report, and there was a tremble in his voice. (She was on the point of death, but Travin managed to revive her. Any more delay and she would have been far beyond even my help.)

Ben seemed to sway for a moment and even Jimmy relaxed a little, some of the tension draining from his body in a relieved sigh. Abby knew her face had lit with a smile that must seem wildly out of place, given the circumstances. "I think she's going to be all right, sir!"

********

(You're sure, TIM?) Jimmy asked the question anxiously as he took Stephanie's seat to one side of Abigail. At the speaker's podium the Secretary General was once again calling for calm, urging everyone to take a few moments to settle themselves after the sudden and shocking interruption.

(TIM's sure, Jimmy, and so am I.) Travin answered the question tiredly, but with certainty. (She's lost a lot of blood and will need time to recover her strength, but Steph will be okay.)

Jimmy nodded, satisfied and relieved. The cracks in his normal cool façade began to close as he scanned the now mostly seated delegates for threats. Abby and Kershia exchanged understanding looks. They were all shocked, the sensory ghost of Stephanie's agony lingering in their minds to remind them of how close they had been to disaster.

Kershia leaned back in her chair, her brown eyes full of worry. (But how does this change things, Abby? We were prepared for it, but I didn't expect violence, here of all places. I know we had cause, but we swore to stick to the UN rules - including the one about not bringing in outside security! Now we've shown how many agents we had here. We showed that we've brought armed guards into the United Nations itself!)

(They can hardly criticise!) Ben's thought was harsh with anger.

(I know, Ben,) Abby told him quietly. She glanced across at Kershia. (I'll talk us out of this. Somehow!)

She watched as the Secretary General left the speaker's podium and crossed the dais to stand in front of them. The other delegates were beginning to settle down now in response to his appeal, although the hall still buzzed with murmured conversation. Their former advocate studied the outwardly silent group uneasily, his tentative encouragement of their efforts replaced by a wary caution. Abby met his eyes without hesitation, waiting for him to speak.

He nodded towards Jimmy. "You said this man is your head of security. You have an organised security force then?"

"You've heard today about what we've been facing," Abby reminded him calmly. "Would you have us totally defenceless against it? Even here, we're outnumbered fifty to one."

He broke eye contact, clearly troubled. "Are there more of your people here? I mean your trained agents, not just delegates who happen to be one of you."

Abby hesitated for a moment, half-expecting Jimmy to respond, or at the very least tell her how to do so. He was silent and Abby felt a surge of relief that her security chief still trusted her ability to make the right decisions, even after he had so nearly been proven disastrously right. Of course, she thought wryly, it was equally likely that that he was simply biting his tongue because he had no choice. Even Jimmy knew the possible consequences of being caught in a deception now.

The Secretary General took a step forward impatiently while she considered her response. "Well? Are there?" he demanded.

"There are," Abigail admitted in a clear voice and without any trace of guilt.

He shook his head, explosively breathing out a held breath. "You've broken one of our strictest rules! If you'd tried to lie to me now ...." His voice trailed off and his expression creased with consideration. "What would happen if I ordered you to send them away? All of them?"

"Then I would order them to go, but I would go with them." There was no hesitation in Abby's voice now, only regret. "You're standing here debating whether I and my kind even have the right to breathe the air of this world. What happens if you make the wrong decision? You've seen now how minds have been poisoned against us. What's to stop this happening again? Stephanie was badly hurt - she almost died, and would have done if left to the mercies of your medicine. And yet every day hundreds of my people face attack, whether with guns, or more primitive and brutal, but equally lethal weapons. "

Abby paused, shaking her head firmly. "I will not stay if my people go. And not because I'm afraid for my own life." She laughed humourlessly. "If that was all I had to worry about I wouldn't be here now. I will leave because I have an obligation to all the other Tomorrow People who have had their lives shattered by a genetic chance. I am not prepared to risk torture and interrogation, because I know too much now." With a wave of her hand, she indicated the others four TPs around her. "We all do. And we're not willing to give you the lives and liberty of all the innocents in our own Lab, and in the Labs we know or have visited. We're not willing to betray our people."

********

TIM's sensitive detectors picked up the sigh that rippled through Luna's lower levels at Abby's declaration. For a moment he wondered if he should let Abigail know that her conversation with the Secretary General had been broadcast to the wide world and beyond. No, he decided quickly. The young TP delegation looked jittery enough after what had happened, without adding to the pressure upon them. Abby had said nothing she wouldn't be proud to repeat in front of an audience. Certainly it had done the people of Luna no harm to hear their leader reaffirm her commitment to them. Now the Secretary General nodded slowly, watched by a billion people as he accepted the position in which Abby found herself.

TIM sighed too, relieved that the TP delegation wasn't about to be ejected. The historic scene from the UN Assembly was displayed on every viewscreen in the Luna complex, replacing status reports, entertainment and teaching alike. Interest had been intense at first, children and their parents glued to the screens and listening to every word spoken. It wasn't until the discussion had moved onto the minutiae of genetics and anthropology that attention had drifted, the everyday tasks of Luna resuming fitfully and patchily around the complex.

They had stopped in an instant as the wave of shock and horror from those still watching had informed the rest of Stephanie's injury. Luna responded almost as a single organism, outrage and frustration reverberating through the mental landscape and influencing each of the resident Tomorrow People. They wanted to be there, supporting Abby with their presence as well as their thoughts. TIM knew how they felt. Nonetheless, he had reported Stephanie's condition to the complex at the same time as he had to Abby, Kershia and the others, eager to head off unrest. Even with Roger's team trying to keep things calm on the lower levels, the mood down there was explosive. The last thing any of them needed now was yet another distraction.

Back on Earth, the Secretary General struck the block on the speaker's podium with his gavel, calling the Assembly to order. Silence fell gradually, conversations dying away. Eyes fixed on the man in front of them as he guided the discussion back to where it had been so dramatically cut off. With the situation on Earth calming, TIM turned part of his attention inwards, looking in on the room where Stephanie slept, recovering her strength. Roger sat by her side, his eyes anxiously on her face despite assurances from both Travin and TIM that it would be several hours before she woke.

Travin sat by Stephanie's bedside too, his eyes on the monitors above Stephanie's bed. He glanced up as he sensed TIM's thoughts upon him, his expression inquisitive.

"TIM?"

"Just looking in," TIM told him, careful to keep his voice calm. Travin simply nodded and TIM let his focus rove onwards, ranging through each of Luna's crowded rooms before flickering across a random selection of Labs on the world down below. All were quiet, the world waiting for the outcome of the UN debate.

Satisfied, TIM turned his attention further outwards, checking on the Watchdog satellites. He paused, a mental frown sending a ripple of colour through his biotronic fluids. Watchdog fifteen had reported a tentative contact within the distant Oort cloud. Of course this wasn't the first such fleeting detection since Nova had warned them to monitor the region for spy vessels. Over the last few months the retasked Watchdog had caught sufficient glimpses of the ships waiting in the ice cloud to recognise them as standard Federation Kalinars. Every reminder of their presence pained TIM. Was the outcome of the Inquiry such a forgone conclusion? It seemed abhorrent to him that the Federation, his own creators, could so forget the spirit of what they stood for.

Nonetheless, today of all days, the Tomorrow People couldn't afford to ignore activity on the fringes of their Solar System. Abby and Kershia's admittedly understandable decision to ignore the Inquiry's imminent conclusion would not prevent it being reached. TIM grimly reassigned a second Watchdog to scan the same area, knowing it would take several hours to complete such a sensor sweep. Sighing, he returned his full attention to the UN assembly. For the moment at least, anything more was out of his hands.

The entire crowd outside the Assembly hall rose to its feet as Stephanie collapsed, a collective gasp spreading across the plaza faster than thought. As all eyes took in the implications of the shooting, the tension between the two factions increased dramatically. Still held apart by the local police, they shifted towards one another aggressively, an eerie hush falling across the crowd as they tensed in response to the standoff on the screen. TP newcomers arrived in the hall to whisk the injured woman away from the chaotic scene, and the crowd watched, dozens of angry shouts suddenly breaking the silence.

The BBC's UN correspondent watched the scene on the monitors lining the interior of the outside broadcast van, and a tingle ran down his spine, his well-honed journalistic senses springing to life. There was about to be trouble; he could feel it. The fear and outward hostility between these two groups was almost tangible, and he was right here in the thick of it! Understanding that there was a Pulitzer Prize in the making, he grabbed the sleeve of his cameraman, flung open the back doors of the truck and pushed the startled man out before him.

"Whatever happens, Sam, keep shooting!" he bellowed above the din of the enraged hordes as he jumped down from the van. Then, looking back at his producer for confirmation that they were recording, he began to describe the scene to the watching audience. "I am outside the United Nations Assembly, where only moments ago violence erupted inside the conference hall..."

**********

Over and again, her memories of the attack replayed themselves behind her eyes. It would never have happened if she and Abby hadn't jaunted here with so little thought of the consequences for their friends. Could she have done anything to stop this happening? Could she have got between Abby and the bullets instead of Stephanie?

With a shake of her head Kershia forced herself to concentrate on the debate that had resumed around her. Steph was going to be okay. They had weathered this storm and their actions had done their people no discredit. There would be time to worry about the rest later. For now they had other concerns.

The British delegate was standing, his expression cool and collected despite the criticism the United Kingdom had sustained. For the fifth time, he repeated his country's - Kershia's own nation's - position.

"We really must contest Ms. Rollinde's allegations. The British Government is well aware of the TP problem and believes it is largely self-manufactured. This group has become isolated as a result of its own actions, rather than those of the authorities. Frankly, we have some doubt as to whether the Tomorrow People are even genetically distinct enough to allow the form of biological attack which we are accused of contemplating." He smiled a tight, sarcastic smile. "We would challenge our guests here to substantiate their allegations or withdraw them!"

Kershia felt the fury from those around her, echoing her own.

(Typical Sap arrogance!) Jimmy snapped incredulously. (How can he say that?)

Abby's thoughts were frustrated. (The galling thing is that he's right. How do we prove it? We have records, but what's to say they're not faked? How can we prove something that is being flatly denied?)

Kershia stood abruptly, signalling her desire to speak. The Secretary General nodded consent, waving her forward to the speaker's podium. Kershia stalked to the podium, anger radiating from every line of her body.

(Kershia ...) Abby's thought dissolved into a wordless caution, words not able to express her angry feelings. Kershia nodded, but her dark eyes were already tight with suppressed emotion. She leaned against the lectern, meeting the gaze of the British Ambassador and forcing him to look away.

"You doubt whether a virus attack is possible?" Kershia kept her tone polite, her eyes widening as if in genuine astonishment. "I'm surprised the British Government would allow their ambassador to be so ill-informed. I can assure you that such a programme is not only feasible, but has been carried to fruition by your superiors. I suggest you return home for clarification." Her tone hardened, the astonished expression falling away like a mask. "You honestly expect us to believe you've never heard of Operation Malthus?" She looked around at the guarded expressions on the faces of dozens of delegates. "You must be one of the few people here to be so poorly briefed. Even countries that were never involved seem to know what we're talking about! I worked as an undercover double agent, spying on Operation Malthus for years, but perhaps you didn't realise that?"

She paused, grimly amused by the surprise on the faces of the delegates. "No? Oh yes, I remember - you've never heard of it. In any case, now you know. Do you think I didn't ensure that my people have incontrovertible evidence? Evidence that even the most biased of courts couldn't discount? Of course we can prove what we're saying." She paused momentarily, watching as uncertainty crept into the eyes of the British Ambassador.

(Kershia, be careful what you say!) Abby's mental voice was tightly shielded, hiding any hint of concern from even the telepathic delegates amongst them. (You jaunted out without a shred of evidence except the children and what Jimmy's team gathered! I don't want to expose Thomas and the other kids to this!)

Kershia didn't spare her a glance. (Trust me!) she thought simply. Her focus still on the British delegation, she spoke with an easy confidence. "I would be happy to bring such evidence to any court you consider suitable, either here or back home in London. I am not ashamed to stand in front of my own country and tell them what's been done in their name. Are you?" She looked around the room almost casually. "Of course, I imagine I'm not the only one here who could enlighten you. I imagine Canada knows a fair amount about Operation Malthus. Monsieur LeVesque?"

LeVesque looked up quickly, startled to be called upon after his earlier failure to support Abigail. "I ... I..." he stammered defensively. "Well, yes, but only because the Brits didn't want it any more. We would never have..." His voice trailed off, chagrin robbing him of his voice as he saw outrage cross the expression of the British representative and a tight smile of triumph on Kershia's face. He sighed, nodding. "All right, I think you've made your point. Canada is aware of Operation Malthus, its aims and objectives. But we aren't alone in this." He looked pointedly towards the American delegation, who had been watching the day's debate with a quiet aloofness that was beginning to worry Kershia. She was starting to wonder what they were waiting for. "More than one nation was involved in Malthus, right from its inception."

Kershia nodded, some of her energy fading. She looked back to the British, her voice sad. "Did you really think you could deny it? Deny what you did to those poor children?" She was aware of a ripple of murmurs passing through the crowd and shook her head, realising that she hadn't meant to mention the Malthus kids. She pushed on, not quite ready to yield the floor. "Like everything else that's happened over the years, people know. Not everybody, sure. Not the people out there, watching this now." She gestured to the television cameras. "But you can't stand here and lie to the wor-"

(Abby! Kershia! There is a fleet of ships on the edge of this Solar System, emerging from the Oort cloud!)

Kershia's voice cut off and she turned, her wide eyes meeting Abby's suddenly pale face as TIM's urgent call reached them both.

"A fleet?" Abby spoke aloud as well as telepathically, attracting the attention of the entire Assembly. She stood, her expression upset. "TIM, can you put it on screen here?"

Kershia spoke softly, her all but inaudible words caught and magnified by the microphones in front of her. "TIM warned us to expect the Federation's verdict." She shook her head as the screen, which had shown the crowd outside, was overridden by the distant computer. It darkened, now showing a deep starscape, only a scattering of pinpoint lights breaking the night. For a moment the entire Assembly stared, too shocked to make sense of the view.

"Abby, what's happening?" Josh asked quickly, standing beside her with anxious eyes on the image. "What are they doing here?"

"The fleet of spaceships is moving against the fixed stars." TIM's rich voice spoke calmly, projected through the room's speaker system. The delegates responded automatically, picking out the moving specks on the screen.

"There must be hundreds!" Ben had come to his feet with the others. Now he sank back into his chair, his face in his hands. "The Inquiry has decided against us."

No one contradicted him, Jimmy moving to rest a hand comfortingly on the younger man's shoulder. His other hand was clenched into a fist, white-knuckled with anger.

"Would someone please explain what's going on!" The Secretary General's voice rang angrily above the rising buzz of startled questions. With a visible effort, he calmed himself, taking a deep breath before continuing. "Abigail?" The Secretary General spoke cautiously, but with some urgency. "What are we looking at? And why?"

Abby looked at him sadly, and then at the television cameras, knowing that the entire world had a right to see this, but not how to tell them.

"TIM, is there any way to zoom in?" she asked quietly, ignoring the Secretary General's question until she felt able to respond.

"We are on maximum enlargement, Abigail, " the biotronic computer told her. "It will be some minutes before Watchdog fifteen is able to resolve individual vessels. However, four Federation Kalinars are now moving from the Oort cloud to join the fleet." The view on the screen changed, four spinning discs eliciting a gasp from the assembled delegates as they dwindled into bright points of light.

"About time we got a good view of them!" Jimmy snapped.

Abby took a step towards him, sending him a calming wave of thought before looking back at the screen and raising her voice. "Any official word from the Trig?

"None as of yet."

Abby nodded. "Thank you, TIM." She turned back to the Secretary General, her face calm now, the politician's mask firmly in place. "I assume you've been briefed on our previous contacts with world governments. You know, even if the rest of the world doesn't, that the Tomorrow People have represented Earth to the Galactic Federation for many decades." She sighed. "Of course, we are just a little world, one amongst millions. We knew we wouldn't even be eligible for membership until our race became fully telepathic. Until then, why should the Federation bother with us?"

She shook her head. "But no one ever dreamed that we would come to this." She lifted her hand, gesturing to indicate the room and everything beyond it. "The Galactic Federation are frightened, sir, of what humanity will do with the technology that has been lent to us, and what it will do with the technology that we have devised ourselves. The Inquiry was established over a year ago to judge whether we now present a threat to our neighbours. And what can be done about it if we do."

The faces of the entire Assembly displayed varying degrees of astonishment and outrage. The Secretary General took a step forwards towards the screen, as if he could step through it and into the distantly unfolding scene. "Who are they to decide such a thing!" he demanded angrily.

A slight smile played around Jimmy's lips for the first time, his dry sense of humour showing itself under pressure. "Believe it or not, that's more or less what we said."

"Well, they seem to have made up their minds," Kershia said grimly, shaking her head.

"And this means they've decided we're a threat?" the Secretary General asked. His eyes were still on the screen, split now between the simple view and a schematic representation of the distant fleet. Abby and Kershia exchanged solemn looks and it was Kershia who answered him quietly.

"This means that they've decided that, sooner or later, Homo sapiens are going to wipe out the Tomorrow People. They've decided that your race will take its aggression into space and that it can't be allowed to do that. They're going to fold us in space, Homo sapiens and novus together, close us off into a universe of our own, where we'll never hurt anyone again."

The outcry that followed Kershia's statement echoed around the room, its volume growing as more and more of the delegates raised their voices. Dejected and demoralised, Kershia stepped down from the podium, rejoining her friends. In the furore, with their mental defences tight against it, none of the Tomorrow People heard Josh at first, until the frustrated young man jaunted across the dais and to the speaker's podium, anxious to attract their attention. The noise died away into startled silence as the Saps stared at the still novel display of teleportation.

"Abby! Kershia! That's an intercept, not a rendezvous!" The others turned to stare at him, and Josh sighed as he finally caught their attention. He gestured at the schematic display on the screen, frowning. "Look at the Kalinars. They're not joining the fleet, they're facing it down!"

"Agreed," TIM added, his voice emerging unexpectedly from the speakers. Abigail frowned, Kershia, Jimmy and Ben clustering around her as they all peered at the four small triangular symbols strung out in a line in front of dozens of others.

"But that makes no sense!" Abby protested. "Why...?"

Everyone was watching the screen now, the Saps confused by the sudden uncertainty amid the Tomorrow People. And so every eye was watching when the image of deep space was suddenly split by four beams of light, striking out and ensnaring the Kalinars. There was a collective intake of breath in the hall and it was echoed outside, across the world and on Luna beyond. The people of Earth watched in astonishment as the small vessels struggled to break the grip of the fleet ships before being slowly drawn in towards the intruders as if on a shimmering leash.

Abigail was the first to find her voice. The General Assembly and the TP debate itself were irrelevant now, only events on the edges of the Solar System of any importance to the millions of scared viewers worldwide. "TIM, call the Federation! Call the Seniors. Tell them what's..."

"I am unable to contact the Trig!" TIM's voice held a note of anxiety, its artificially calm tones slipping for the first time. "All Federation communication channels are being jammed."

"Jammed?" Kershia repeated in surprise.

Jimmy shook his head in confusion, his expression grim. "The question is: are they trying to jam the Kalinars or TIM specifically? They've not even tried talking to us - we have to assume that they're hostile. If they know TIM is here..."

"Invasion!" Josh mouthed in horror. "And their timing is perfect - wait for the world to be distracted by petty squabbling, for us to be at our weakest..."

Jimmy shot his young companion an irritable glare. (There's enough panic out there already, without you making things worse!)

Kershia's eyes widened in panic. "We have to clear the top level!"

"Under way," TIM told her immediately. He hesitated. "Fortunately, the Kalinars appear to be disabled rather than badly damaged. I believe I may now be able to identify some of the vessels in this fleet."

As they watched, the view from the Watchdog narrowed to a small section, which first blurred and then sharpened as TIM attempted to enhance the image. Josh took a step forward, peering intently at the screen, trying to make out the shape of the ship centred on the screen. He gasped.

"That's a Sorson warship!"

Jimmy shook his head sharply. "Impossible! The Federation wouldn't permit ..."

Josh glared at him. "It doesn't look like the Federation have had much of a say now, does it?" the younger man snapped. "Believe me, that's a Sorson ship."

"Josh may be right. They've never forgiven us for defeating them," Ben said bitterly. His expression became angry and determined. "But we've done it once. We'll do it again if we have to."

"What about the other ships, Josh?" Abby asked, shaking her head. "Are they all the same?"

Josh frowned with concentration as TIM's enhanced section shifted, ships slipping into and out of view. "That's Regoran, I think. And a Thargon thickship. Saiyonaran? And I'm not sure, but is that a Sophostrian ship? They don't often use one. I don't understand! These people don't even like each other. What are they doing here together?" He leaned forward, even more startled. "TIM, is that what I think it is?"

"It would appear to be a vessel from the Adonisian Spacefleet," TIM said neutrally, no longer allowing his emotions to affect his voice. "We can only assume that the refugee crisis on Adonisia has become too serious. They have decided to act themselves to neutralise the threat we present."

Kershia didn't try to hide her sense of outraged betrayal. "We trusted them! We thought that Adonisia, of all worlds, was our friend."

The Tomorrow People exchanged angry looks, equally surprised and upset to find their closest allies working against them. They had never felt quite so isolated as they seemed to be now.

"Please!" The Secretary General's voice cut through the Tomorrow People's conversation, reminding them of their surroundings for the first time in several minutes. "What's happening?"

Abigail tore her gaze from the screen. The fast moving ships upon it were clearly visible now, even without TIM's enhancements. Whoever they were, whatever they wanted, they were coming to Earth. All the people of Earth would be here to face them. Shaking her head, Abby answered the man's question honestly.

"I really wish we knew, sir. I really wish we knew."

*****

Timus had warned them that 'it was only a matter of time', that the outcome from the Inquiry was 'imminent', but as usual the slow, meandering deliberations of the One Mind had taken what felt like an eternity to reach a verdict.

Gathered together, the huddle of Tomorrow People sat in silence, their eyes darting back and forth from one another to the door through which they expected Timus to arrive at any moment. The minutes since Stephen had gathered them together had turned into hours, and they had spent this time watching scenes broadcast from the UN Assembly, their horror growing as the situation back on Earth spiralled out of control. The anxiety of the long wait was telling now on all of their nerves.

"Why don't they just get it over with!" snapped Paul irritably, clutching Elena's hand so tightly that she was forced to peel his fingers free, for fear of injury.

"When has the Federation ever been that decisive?" exclaimed Mike, equally aggressive. "We know what they are going to say. It doesn't take a genius to figure it out!"

Elizabeth stood and began to pace the chamber, her eyes never straying far from the door. "Stop it, please!" she appealed, even her usually unruffled tone edgy and tense. "If this is the last time we'll all be together, then I'd rather remember it as..."

Her comment was cut short as the door began to slide open. She froze in response to the long-awaited movement, the others jumping to their feet as they noticed her reaction.

For a moment no one moved. The doorway was fully open now. But neither Timus nor a Federation representative entered the room. Glancing nervously at Stephen, Elizabeth took one tentative step forward, and was startled when a deafening alarm began to sound.

"What the...!" exclaimed Paul.

With a flurry of his voluminous gown, Timus strode into the small anteroom. Greeting them with a curt nod of his head, he motioned for them to look once again at the display hovering above the link table that had moments before relayed shocking scenes from Earth. Rapidly fading and reshaping itself, the display now showed the deep star field that lay beyond the Trig's artificial walls.

"You look troubled, Timus," began Elizabeth, returning to her seat in an effort to quell the alarm in all their minds, beckoning for the others to follow suit. "Has something happened on Earth?"

Ignoring her question, Timus indicated that they should all look at the display. "I do not have time to explain...." He paused, glancing back towards the still-open doorway as the alarm's tone increased in pitch. Seeming to make a decision, he spun around to face them. "But you are my friends, and I believe that you deserve an explanation, nonetheless. The Trig is under attack!" The statement was direct and emotionless, clearly tearing at the heart of the venerable Ambassador. "Never before in the entire history of the Federation has such an outrage been perpetrated towards the Trig." He paused consideringly. "Setting aside your own misdemeanour during the war between the Sorson and Thargon Empires, of course." The Tomorrow People looked anxiously at the display before them. Clearly visible now were fifty or more vessels, stationing themselves at equal distances around the massive structure that made up the space station. "I was not expecting anything so..." he coughed nervously. "Had there been time, the entire Trig could have been teleported into the safety of hyperspace." "You can do that?" Stephen's tone was incredulous. "This thing -" he waved his arms towards the walls of the chamber "- is as big as a solar system... is that actually possible?"

"Indeed it is, Stephen. The Galaxy has not always been as peaceful as it is today. In the early days, shortly after the Federation was formed, we devised a means of protecting ourselves from possible attack. Unfortunately such a teleport requires huge amounts of energy, the charge building up over several days. On this occasion we have been caught unawares."

Elizabeth looked around at her friends' troubled expressions, her eyes eventually returning to Timus' worried face. "Timus, you describe it almost as if you were there yourself. From what I've read in the archive the Trig is thousands of years old. How could you have been around at its creation?"

"Forgive me, Elizabeth. You are quite correct, but I fear you are forgetting that I am merely a clone, one of many in a long line of clones which stretches back to the very beginning of the Federation itself. The eight original founding member planets gave partial DNA templates that were combined to create a single sequence from which I myself, my sixty-three brothers and the Trig, were created. By threatening the Trig, these vessels are threatening all life on this space station."

Now Stephen looked up at his old mentor and friend in astonishment. "Are you saying that the Trig itself is alive?"

Timus paused, momentarily exchanging a private thought with some outside source. "There is not much time, but I will endeavour to explain as simply as I can. If it were not for the Transcendent Integrated Mind, which runs all the functions of this artificial planetary system, none of us would be able to survive out here in the depths of space. Have you never wondered why TIM and all the other biotronic devices with which you converse daily share a single voice? They are all clones created from that original genetic material.

"And now the Central Nexus, the very heart of the Trig itself, is under direct threat from hostile forces. If they destroy it..." he shook his head dejectedly. "Well, let me simply say that it is highly unlikely that we could manage to jaunt clear after such a barbaric act; there would simply not be the power available. To remain in that eventuality would prove to be equally deadly, since the environmental systems would inevitably fail completely within mere moments of its destruction. That is why I have to leave you now. Members of the One Mind are forming a link, a bridge through which to channel communications in the hope that somehow we can avert this crisis."

Suddenly Mike jumped to his feet, striding angrily across the small room. "But what about the Inquiry?" he demanded. "What about us? Are we meant to just sit here and do nothing?"

Timus' expression was one of supportive acceptance. He knew that the intentions of the Tomorrow People were good, as always, but he had no time to procrastinate further. With a deep breath and a wave of his hand he turned to leave. "The One Mind has far more important things to worry about than the future of one small planet. In light of the current emergency, the Inquiry has been suspended. The verdict is postponed... indefinitely." Their eyes widened and jaws dropped in disbelief. "You will remain here until further notice. You will be able to follow events on the display."

Timus gave them all a wan smile. "I am sorry, my friends. You will have to be patient. That is all I can say."

While the journalist talked, the crowd shifted restlessly. They eased ever closer to one another, and to the riot police stationed nervously between them. He was just commenting on Kershia's revelations about children being used as pawns in genetic experimentation, when the image broadcast from inside the hall - and displayed on a huge screen suspended from the front of the UN building - changed to reveal a pitch-black starscape, spotted with millions of tiny suns. Something totally unexpected was happening inside the hall, the debate now abandoned as the delegates, both TP and Homo sapiens, stared anxiously at the interior screen. Outside, the mass of people fell suddenly silent, stopping their forward advance with one single coordinated movement.

Immediately the conversation between Abigail's delegation and the Secretary General diverged on a totally new tack; there was mention of fleets of unknown spaceships, of possible invasion by hostile alien forces, and the revelation that the intergalactic body known as the 'Federation' were preparing to isolate the planet Earth somehow. Confusion showing in his face, the BBC correspondent was lost for words for the first time in his career. He stood alongside everyone else in the UN plaza, staring open-mouthed at the sharpening image of the alien vessels.

Aware that this new threat had overridden any violence the crowd was capable of, the experienced journalist dragged his eyes away from the scenes inside the hall, and swung around to face the shifting mass of people now standing calmly within the huge paved area. All movement had stopped dead, differences that they had been prepared to fight for only moments before swept away by the knowledge that even the TPs themselves were powerless to prevent the advancing fleet.

His eyes began to pick out movement in the throng. It was not obvious at first glance, but as the momentum increased, fewer and fewer faces could be seen clearly. Grateful that his cameraman had also noticed the telltale signs of jaunting Tomorrow People, the journalist forced his mind back onto the task at hand, and began to comment on the rapidly thinning crowd. With one last ringing noise, half the people before him suddenly vanished, leaving him stunned into silence.

It took just a few seconds for the experienced reporter to regain his composure. He spoke directly to the viewing audience. "Well, Ladies and Gentlemen, wherever these Tomorrow People have teleported to, I pray that they can reach a safe haven. With this alien fleet bearing down upon our planet, perhaps the Tomorrow People - with their ability to transport themselves instantaneously away from danger - are man's only hope for the future of our race."

********

Abigail felt the thoughts beating against her mental defences. She recognised the mental touches of Lab Leaders from every continent on Earth. They were anxious, desperate to know what they could tell their people, whether they should take any action and, more importantly, whether any action was possible. More distantly, she could feel Luna as a telepathic weight against the quiet depths of space. Its residents were panicking, their fear shining like a beacon in the mental environs of Earth.

Abby stood in front of the UN Assembly and tried to keep the confusion out of her face and voice. "Listen to me!" She shouted the words and they were punctuated by a rapped call for attention from the Secretary General's gavel. "Listen to me." Abby repeated more quietly, but with no less passion. "Why ever they're here, this fleet is not going to attack us now. We can deal with this - Homo sapiens and Tomorrow People together! We know these worlds! Half of them are Federation members." She forced a false confidence into her voice. "They're physically incapable of killing - just as we are. Some of these people have been our friends for decades!"

(And the others?) Jimmy demanded quietly. (The Sorsons are hardly friendly towards us. They're not even meant to have faster-than-light travel since the war ended!)

(And who was meant to enforce that? The Federation are supposed to carry out their own ruling, but who did they assign the task to?) Ben's anger hadn't subsided and it hammered against the minds of his friends. (The Sophostrians? The Adonisians? I think they've decided to toss the old rules out of the window. Obviously they've reached the conclusion that we're more of a threat than the Federation is. They've decided not to wait for the official ruling, just in case it went our way!)

Abby tried to shut the thoughts out, concentrating instead on the outraged speakers on the floor of the assembly hall, noticing that some of them were on their feet indicating their need to speak with her directly.

"You said Thargons and Sorsons?" The American delegate was asking. "The same who attacked back in the Seventies?" He shook his head, glancing at the briefing notes that were displayed on his palmtop computer. "Are you aware of how much damage those ships are capable of?" He waved the device in front of him. "There doesn't seem to be a lot of evidence for peaceful intensions in the records here!"

Abigail nodded, aware of a murmur of astonishment as the Assembly realised how much the Americans had admitted in asking the question. "True, but I must ask you: who stopped them last time?"

The American gave a reluctant smile and a half-bow from where he stood. "The Tomorrow People."

Abby smiled back at him despite his reluctance. "There were just a few of us back then. There are a lot more now." She opened her mind to her people and felt her friends support her as they reached out. (Ben's already said it: we can defeat them again!)

"News reports from around the world suggest that the TP-Sap disturbances that have plagued Earth for the last twenty-four hours are subsiding, Abigail," TIM reported. "Many people are returning to their homes in light of this new threat, and it would seem that your words are having some effect." He paused suddenly, and they waited nervously for his next report. "However, the incoming fleet now appears to be dividing!"

Abby and the others looked back at the screen, hearing the note of tension in their friend's voice. They watched several ships peel off the rapidly approaching fleet on a trajectory for the moon rather than the Earth. Sudden realisation left them all momentarily stunned, but it was Kershia who put it into words: "They know about Luna!"

Jimmy winced at the look of surprise on the faces of the Secretary General and other delegates at the mention of the Luna complex, but then sighed and shrugged. "I suppose it was inevitable," he said, almost to himself. (TIM, are all Luna's bulkheads locked down?)

With a fleeting look towards Jimmy, Kershia restlessly paced a few steps forwards and back again. (Are Roger and Travin still up there? We need people on the lower levels - reminding our residents that they're safe.) With a sigh, she explained her earlier outburst to the watching Saps. "Luna is a moon base, built as a refuge." She forced confidence into her voice, suddenly remembering the television broadcast being watched even up on the moon. "It was designed to resist attack. Nothing can hurt it that far underground."

Worried scepticism echoed from mind to mind, but Abby nodded, eager to reinforce Kershia's effort. "This fleet isn't going to attack," she repeated. "I'm sure they have no reason to." (But Luna is prepared, isn't it, TIM?) she added anxiously, careful to keep her thought private.

TIM's response was grim. (As prepared as it can be. Remember, Abby, a Thargon ripper ray could blast right through the moon's crust and easily destroy Luna.)

Abby shuddered, assailed by a graphic image of Luna's destruction. Despite her anxiety, she forced her expression to remain calm. "TIM, we don't seem to have a time delay talking to you. Do we still have the inter-Lab communication frequencies open? The Adonisians, at least, should hear those, shouldn't they?" She looked up at the assembled delegates and then at the Secretary General, not waiting for the biotronic computer's reply. "Sir, one of us will have to speak to these visitors. Given that they are already moving into orbit around our Luna complex, may I suggest that you allow me to make enquiries? I assure you that I have ample reason to be cautious."

The man hesitated before slowly nodding his agreement. There was an immediate uneasy ripple in the hall, delegates shouting out in protest.

"We don't need them!" The American delegate's voice was louder than the rest and he slammed a fist onto the table in front of him angrily. "It's all very well them coming here, but talking for the world? Secretary General, we can deal with this ourselves! We have nukes..."

This time the outcry was deafening, Saps and TPs alike protesting. Horrified by the mere suggestion, Kershia jumped to her feet.

"Don't you Saps ever tire of blowing things up? Of anyone, we have the most to lose here. There are TPs in every country in the world..."

With an angry glare, the Secretary General quelled her protest. He raised his voice, speaking to the Assembly as a whole. "Now, more than ever, we have cause to accept that we share our world. Would you have one nation speak on behalf of all? Or would you have me speak; the blind leading the blind?" He shook his head. "I am quite sure that our Homo novus guests here could have this conversation telepathically. That they could ... jaunt? ... out of here and leave us to watch in confusion. They've chosen not to." He turned his back on the Assembly, meeting Abigail's eyes. "Speak, but remember that you don't speak for everyone."

********

"This is Abigail Rollinde of the Earth." Abby gave her affiliation clearly and with pride. She spoke aloud, allowing TIM to pick up and rebroadcast her words, but also telepathically, with Kershia, Jimmy and the others in a tight mental link around her. "Calling the approaching fleet. If anyone in the fleet is hearing this, please respond. You are in orbit of a closed world. You are being observed by the indigenous non-telepathic population. Under the laws of the Galactic Federation your actions are illegal. Withdraw from this system, or explain your presence, immediately." She paused, waiting for any sign of a response before going on. "We must demand that you release the four Kalinars you are holding, otherwise your actions will be deemed as hostile and met with resistance. I repeat: you are trespassing in a closed system without our invitation. Please explain your actions, immediately!"

There was a long moment of silence as the echoes of Abby's demand died away.

(No response, TIM?) Kershia asked nervously.

(None as of yet, Kershia. I will inform you immediately if - ) TIM's telepathic voice cut off , his final words echoing in their heads.

(TIM?) Abigail called urgently "TIM, are you all right? What's happening?"

She was still speaking when the image of spaceships against the night sky faded from the screen, no longer under TIM's control. For a moment all they could see was whiteness, but then both the screen and their eyes adjusted. Dark shapes emerged from the light. Tall figures clad in flowing robes crewed the ship, their slender forms eliciting a gasp from the Saps in the hall.

The Tomorrow People barely noticed the Adonisians. Their eyes were for one face and one alone.

"John!" The name escaped from Abby's lips in a stunned rush. It was picked up and echoed by others in the room, every TP and half the well-briefed Sap authorities realising its significance. Abby shook her head as if trying to deny the evidence of her own eyes. How was this possible? How could John, of all people, have betrayed them?

The eminent Tomorrow Person sat in the captain's seat of the spaceship, exuding an air of authority which left no doubt that he belonged there. Nonetheless, there was weariness in his posture as he sat on the edge of his seat. Hair that had been grey when she last saw him was now a pure white. Abby studied John quickly, drinking in every detail of her mentor's appearance. For so long now they had been hoping and praying for his return, but somehow none of them had ever expected to see him again.

(He looks old.) Kershia's thought was concerned. Abby spared her friend a sympathetic glance. Kershia and the other British TPs had known John when his name was just an awed whisper to Abigail. Now she felt the chaotic conflict of emotions in their minds. (Old and tired.)

(It's been a long year for all of us,) Ben said quietly.

Kershia shook her head. She glanced briefly at Ben. (It's more than that,) she insisted. (As if he's lived a decade in just a few months.)

(Perhaps his conscience has been troubling him,) Jimmy commented grimly. They felt his sense of duty battle against his respect for his old leader. (He walked out on us when we needed him most.)

John leaned forward in his chair. Brown eyes peered out of the screen as if he were actually looking through it to study the Assembly. He spoke levelly, his cultured English tones sending a wave of surprise through the hall.

"Greetings, Abigail. Greetings, Mr Secretary General."

The Tomorrow People just stared at him in disbelief.

(Well? Nothing to say?) John's mental touch against their minds was like an echo of times past, but there were differences too. They felt none of the emotions behind the words. John's mental defences were rock-solid, across the thousands of kilometres that separated them.

Abby looked into John's eyes and wondered what he was hiding from them. Was he feeling guilty, as Jimmy had suggested? Or was he watching affairs on Earth with as little emotion as it appeared? His eyes narrowed slightly, looking from one of them to the other as he waited for their response. Abby's chest tightened with sudden hope as she saw the nervous gesture. Perhaps John was more anxious about how they would respond than he was pretending. She frowned, angry with John for the chaotic emotions he inspired.

(What is there to say?) she asked simply, still unsure how to respond. The lines around John's eyes tightened as he sensed her ambivalence, and for a moment she caught a fleeting glimpse of his regret.

His mental shields lowered just enough for Abby and the others to detect concern in his thoughts. (Is Steph ...?)

(What gives you the right to even ask?) Abby's anger burst from her in a sudden torrent. She trembled with the force of it. For decades John had hidden his thoughts from the younger Tomorrow People, only allowing them to see what he chose, when he chose it. She looked around at the General Assembly, at the stunned faces of the Saps and the wary expressions of the Adonisians on the screen behind John. He had left without a word, and broken every law the Tomorrow People and the Federation had on his return. Did he expect them to welcome him with open arms? Did he think he could just step back into his old role, telling them only what he chose? (What is Stephanie to you now? Or any of the rest of us, for that matter? Didn't you decide to leave all this, all of us, behind?)

Behind her Kershia and the others recoiled in shock. How could Abby speak like that? This was John! This was their leader! His name had carried with it a weight of history and respect that would never be equalled. But ... it was Abby who had led them through the darkest of times. It was Abby's leadership, and their hard work, that had brought the Tomorrow People to this point.

Taking a deep breath, Kershia forced down her concern for her one-time mentor, and instead broadcast her total support for Abigail. They had a new leader now. (It's a long time since you left,) she said sadly. (I would have done anything you asked. But you're the one who walked out on us, John. Not the other way around.)

Abigail took a deep breath. The rapid telepathic exchange had been private, hidden from Sap population and Tomorrow People alike. The silence that had followed John's initial greeting was being broken now by a ripple of murmurs. She shook her head, aware that her tone would shock every Tomorrow Person on Earth. "Greetings, John," she said coldly. "But I am speaking for the world now. I am still waiting for an explanation of your fleet and its presence here."

John pulled himself upright in his seat, his face emotionless as he began his response. "I'd hoped never to find myself in this position, but events have forced me to take these drastic actions. During my many years working as one of the Earth's representatives to the Galactic Federation I have watched the machinations of that organisation with an open mind. But it was not until recent years that I became truly aware of the offhand way in which they treat not only the member planets, but also developing closed worlds and other technically advanced, non-telepathic races. The Federation has become arrogant and condescending in its dealings with all races in the Galaxy. And in my opinion, and the opinion of the races affiliated to this fleet, this attitude has to stop!"

Abby glanced around at Kershia and shrugged. It seemed fairly obvious that John had prepared this speech well in advance of his arrival here today, and neither of them would disagree with the sentiment in his words. But what was becoming rapidly apparent was that John had no intention of responding to Abby's direct question and such a snub was angering both women. (What's he up to?) asked Kershia, on a private channel. (Isn't all this a bit obvious?)

Abby had no time to reply as John launched further into his verbal attack. "The planet Earth epitomises this attitude on the part of the Federation. Inquiry ZD28-FV6 is an example of the bureaucratic and authoritative way the One Mind deals with any threat to its prized pre-eminence over sentient races. The proposed confinement of the planet Earth within a multiplex time-space distortion would be an action that by its very nature could never be undone. The Federation are sweeping the troubles of this developing culture under the carpet, as if by doing so they can ignore their own part in the violent unrest battering the world. No alternative has been considered, nor has any serious attempts at negotiation been entered into. The One Mind's arrogant confidence in its own judgement would lead them to make the most tragic and unjust decision in the history of their organisation."

"Too right, John!" The words burst out of Josh before he could stop them, eliciting an irritated, but sympathetic frown from Abby.

Despite the vast distances between them, John glanced towards the youthful TP and smiled gently. "I can see that there are others who also feel as I do in this matter." His face became earnest once again. "Including many other species in the Galaxy. This fleet comprises member worlds that feel the Federation has become moribund in nature. Also joining us are other technological races; races such as the Sorsons and Thargons who have been at the receiving end of previous indiscriminate judgements doled out by a Federation which refuses them the simple dignity of membership. We are agreed on one simple truth: the Galactic Federation is drowning in its own self-importance and narrow-minded autocracy."

********

"... narrow-minded autocracy." John's face filled the viewscreen, the powerful transmission overriding every display on the Trig. He paused, clearly waiting for some response.

In the anteroom to the chamber of the One Mind, the senior Tomorrow People watched open-mouthed, wordless and breathless at the sheer scale of John's endeavour.

"I can't believe it!" Elena exclaimed, her voice a surprised whisper.

Stephen shook his head, a grin splitting his face at the thought of his old friend's audacity. "We knew he was plotting something." The other Tomorrow People exchanged a rueful thought, and Stephen's smile faded as he recognised that none of them had shared his deep confidence in their leader's eventual return. He frowned. "You didn't think he'd come back, did you?"

"Even you weren't sure he'd be back in time," Mike pointed out, crossing his arms irritably. "After leaving us in the lurch like that, well..."

Elena moved around the group to lay a soothing hand on Mike's arm. "You don't have to feel guilty, Mike," she told him softly. "We all doubted him."

"We can worry about each others' feelings later." Stephen dismissed the subject with a wave of his hand, frowning at the screen. "Let's just find out what he hopes to achieve."

"And what he thinks he's doing threatening the Trig." Elizabeth made no attempt to hide her anger. She glared at the screen in outrage. "He hasn't even consulted us. There are millions of innocent beings here. Even if what John says is true, and I'm not disputing it, how does it give him the right to threaten a peaceful space station?"

"And what gave the Federation the right to threaten Earth?" Paul shot back quickly. "Come off it, Liz. They've been asking for all they've got."

Elizabeth shook her head, her mouth set in a disapproving line. The broadcast from Earth was still overriding even the emergency displays on the viewscreen. She watched the screen, changed now to show the Saps and TPs alike as they considered John's well-rehearsed speech. Would this aid the Tomorrow People's cause on Earth? Or would it just be one more hindrance to their eventual acceptance by the Sap masses? She sighed, knowing that - even more so than when the Federation inquiry had been considering their fate - the future of the Earth was out of their hands. Stephen glanced at her, sensing and echoing the frustrated thought.

"Come on," he urged the distant figures in the UN assembly hall. His hands clenched by his side into tight fists. "Say something!"

They were still waiting when the screen flickered, a second signal overriding the first. For a few moments the two transmissions fought for dominance, dark shapes appearing as sinister ghosts above the images of Abby and the others. Slowly, the scenes from Earth faded from view, leaving a familiar and unwelcome profile centre screen.

"Federation weaklings!" The Sorson stood on the bridge of a warship, the white surfaces marred by the unmistakeable signs of age and disuse. Its body quivered with indignation, its smooth lines firm and strong despite the decay around it. "For centuries your pathetic organisation has asserted its superiority as if granted the right by some supreme being. Your illegal and unprovoked intervention in our legitimate dispute with the Thargon upstarts led directly to the unfortunate unpleasantness between my race and those of your people who felt the wrath of the glorious Sorson Empire." The Sorson shifted, its single flipper gesturing to emphasise its vocal protest. "Now, your own worlds call upon we Sorsons, recognising our strength. Our mighty space fleet is restored. We are no longer constrained by the unjustified and needlessly harsh reparations imposed on us by your ineffectual One Mind! Finally your so-important Trig lies within our sights."

The being turned to its subordinates, which manned the corroded consoles. Its voice rose in pitch as it gave the inevitable order. "Fire!"

Elizabeth closed her eyes, awaiting the shuddering that must accompany the destruction of her longtime home. It took her several moments to realise that it was not coming. She opened her brown eyes, scanning the now static-filled viewscreen. "What happened?" she demanded.

Mike shrugged, releasing the grip he had taken on the link table. "The screen went blank as soon as it finished talking."

Elizabeth shook her head angrily. "John should have known something like this would happen! He couldn't expect so many races ..." Her voice trailed off as the display returned to the view immediately outside the Trig. The Sorson ship was bound in a tight web of constraint beams emitted by two vessels of Adonisian design along with a single Regoran starship. As the Seniors watched, the aggressor jerked violently, pulled aside by the Adonisians in the moment it attempted a second assault on the Trig. Its powerful laser beam passed to one side of the massive structure, dissipating harmlessly amid the interstellar hydrogen of deep space. There was a moment of silence and then the Sorson ship went dark, its power dying as if in response to some outside command.

No one was surprised when the transmission from the Trig's cameras was overridden once more. It was only as the pale, thin face of the new speaker registered in their minds that the Seniors gasped, barely able to take in the further shock.

"It just keeps coming, doesn't it?" Paul asked rhetorically, shaking his head as he recognised the familiar features.

Violet eyes met the screen calmly, as if Nova could see into the minds of each of the myriad watchers.

"Our apologies," he said evenly, his high fluting tones seemingly untroubled. "Some degree of disagreement on how best to proceed is unfortunately inevitable. Nonetheless, as John has stated, our fleet stands in agreement on our aims. We must insist that the Federation considers our demands." He signalled to a subordinate in an unconscious echo of the Sorson captain's actions, and the scenes broadcast from Earth again filled the screen. Nova's voice sounded across it, disembodied and ominous, fading as the volume of the main transmission returned to normal levels. "And we are willing to enforce them."

********

Abigail and Kershia exchanged troubled looks, not sure what to say in response to John's denunciation of the Federation. The Saps arrayed before them seemed baffled, still too startled to learn of the Federation's existence to fully comprehend John's assault upon it. The two women felt the reaction of the Tomorrow People too, both those inside and those outside the hall. The support for John's position was near universal; the Tomorrow People had lived for too long with the threat of the Inquiry hanging over their heads to protest against John when he declaimed against it.

Kershia shook her head, worried. It would be too easy for them all to fall back under John's sway now. He didn't know, didn't seem to understand, how things had changed on Earth in his absence. And the Tomorrow People didn't realise how quickly the ground could fall out from under their feet. She felt Abby agree with that sentiment wholeheartedly. A ripple of restlessness was spreading around the hall, the Sap delegates wondering why the Tomorrow People had chosen now of all times to launch this crusade. The Secretary General shifted in his seat, clearly about to rise to his feet in order to make some response. If Abby was going to answer John at all, it had to be now.

(We have to make them understand.) Abby spoke almost to herself, allowing only Kershia to overhear. (They have to see that it's not the Tomorrow People of Earth who wanted this. We came here to seek peace with the Saps, not more conflict.) She looked up at the huge monitor once again, shaking her head slowly at the screen. Raising her voice to speak, she shrugged theatrically. "There may be much that is true in what you have said, John, but I can't help noticing that you've not answered my question. If your problem is with the Federation, why not take the argument to them? Earth has troubles enough of its own. So I'm asking you once again: why have you brought a fleet here? "

Nodding his head slowly, John looked at Abby thoughtfully. Many years had passed since he first spotted this capable young woman's potential for leadership, and in all that time he had felt confident that she could withstand the trials ahead. Judging by her response to his arrival, he was pleased to see that his faith in her strength of character had been justified.

"I am fully aware of the troubles to which you refer, Abigail, as well as the resolution presently under consideration by the United Nations Assembly." John drew in a slow, deep breath, and then raised his eyes to address not just the TPs and the population of Earth, but also those watching on the distant Trig. "Let me assure everyone listening to this broadcast that the arrival of the Alliance fleet is of relevance to the escalating unrest across the planet Earth, as well as the Federation's current political stance. In addition to the One Mind, there are other races in the Galaxy concerned by the conflict between the Earth's two divergent populations. It is the opinion of these races that both Homo sapiens and Homo superior are equally responsible for the deadlock in which they now find themselves. Although I feel I must add that a more correct term for those people possessing psionic abilities, is Homo novus. You may consider yourselves to be a new type of human being, but you are not superior."

A murmur rattled around the hall, the Sap delegates nodding their agreement with John's unexpected statement. The TPs glanced incredulously towards one another, shocked to hear their revered leader denounce his own people in such a fashion.

John allowed a moment for the auditorium to fall silent. "The fleet of ships now orbiting the Earth and its satellite are just part of this union of races. A large part of the Alliance fleet has also been dispatched to the Trig, their mission specifically aimed at changing the political fabric of the Federation itself. The Alliance races believe that the Federation has outgrown its original mandate. It no longer represents the beliefs and welfare of the civilised, technological species in the Galaxy. We feel that all races, including non-telepathic ones and Homo sapiens, deserve to be heard. And we will pursue this aim in whatever way we feel necessary."

Once again the delegates mumbled in response to his words, although this time it was the TPs who nodded their agreement.

John looked down now, meeting Abby's hard stare, recognising the firm set of her jaw as she accepted the baton of responsibility he held out towards her. "The vessels now in orbit of Earth have been sent to Earth as a peacekeeping force. Their assignment is to disarm the two warring factions, to keep them apart and prevent any further acts of violence perpetrated, on either side. Meanwhile, the leaders of the world are urged to respond to the speciation event now occurring on the planet, laying down a blueprint for future sociological and political change.

"I must stress that the people of Earth are not a special case; they are simply the race about to be apportioned the Federation's rough justice and therefore merely a trigger for a process that has become inevitable. With the fleet stationed around this planet, the threat of the Federation's verdict is now removed, allowing all of you to work together to resolve your differences. The Peacekeeping force will not take sides; they are totally neutral, favouring neither the Homo sapiens nor Homo novus. All they will do is remain in orbit of the planet and its moon, ensuring that these issues are addressed thoroughly."

"I appreciate the intentions behind your fleet's arrival here, John." Abby glanced towards Kershia, recalling her friend's earlier confrontation with the British Ambassador. "But how can you expect us to put our differences aside so easily? If, as you implied, you have been monitoring the debate now underway in this Assembly, then you must be aware of the denials being made by some delegations regarding the treatment they have meted out to the TPs over the past decade. Surely the fleet should be here to help us press home our case against such Sap lies, not to force us into working even closer with them?" She paused, sighing heavily. "We're Tomorrow People, John; incapable of killing, even to save ourselves. We've been doing our best for the planet for the past fifty years, warding off alien attacks, representing the Earth to the Federation, and correcting potential environmental disasters - usually caused by the Saps. You can't seriously say that you're treating us as equals?"

The Secretary General stepped forward, pointing his finger at Abby irritably. "Now hold on just a moment. As I understand it, this peacekeeping force is totally impartial." He lowered his hand, replacing the aggressive gesture with a conciliatory one. "No one asked the Tomorrow People to represent the planet. You took on that role for yourselves. Although your intervention in threatening situations was accepted with gratitude, you were not invited to get involved as you did. I think you judge the Homo sapiens far too harshly; we may not be perfect, but we have done nothing that was not aimed at preserving our own way of life. Any sentient life form is entitled to fight for its survival."

Coughing to regain both their attention, John continued, his tone harsh and uncompromising. "Although the Tomorrow People have represented the world before now, they have no more right to speak on behalf of the Homo sapiens than the Homo sapiens have for the Tomorrow People. The Tomorrow People have been assuming an innate superiority over the Homo sapiens for years, holding back their development. This must stop right here, right now! You're like two squabbling children, fighting over a favourite toy. It's time for the human race to grow up. You must learn to share the world's resources, as well as to stand together to face your adversaries. On this occasion the most imminent danger is not the potential outcome of the Federation Inquiry, but the very real threat from the fleet now in orbit of your world.

"The Alliance includes many non-telepathic races; races as comfortable with violence and slaughter as the Saps themselves. They are here to see that the two divergent human populations cooperate in their endeavours, and if they don't, the species involved with the fleet will act. The Alliance fleet, by its presence here, is holding off the Federation's decision. It is not choosing to do so purely for the Earth's benefit, but for the good of the Galaxy as a whole. If an acceptable outcome is not reached soon, they will be forced to do much more than monitor you from orbit. And neither I, nor anyone else, will have the capacity to stop them!"

(John, you can't expect us to simply give in to the Saps after all that's happened!) Jimmy's angry thoughts were aimed directly towards John's shields, cutting through his defences with their sheer intensity. (These are brutal killers; they can't be trusted. With or without the threat from alien intelligences, they will still try to destroy us. The Saps aren't capable of sharing the planet peacefully. All they long for is to win the race for evolutionary supremacy.) He paused, aware that his outburst was drawing attention from all the minds in the Assembly hall. (One day we'll be able to snatch power from them, but there just aren't enough of us yet!)

John stared out from the screen with such strength that Jimmy almost withered under his fierce gaze. For a moment the younger man lost his resolve, then quickly rallying his own mental defences, he stood his ground and stared back belligerently.

(I am not prepared to compromise the Alliance I have worked so hard to create,) replied John coldly. (The Earth TPs have become as arrogant as the Federation officials on the One Mind. Who said that the TPs are destined to inherit the Earth, anyway?)

(You did!) exclaimed Kershia.

John looked momentarily uncomfortable, embarrassed by the truth in Kershia's statement. He sighed to himself. This group of Tomorrow People were far stronger than he had expected them to be. They were truly deserving of the world's allegiance, and he wanted to tell them how proud he was of the way they had conducted themselves in his absence. But John also knew that it was not just the Earth telepaths who were privy to this broadcast, and now was not the time for him to show any weakness or sentimentality. (I appreciate that my belief in such a possibility has strongly influenced my leadership of the Tomorrow People for many decades. Recent events have lead me to explore the origins of that assertion, and I am sorry to say that I found my own logic lacking as to the outcome of the world's evolutionary process. But what's done is done, and cannot be withdrawn. I am sorry, Abby, Kershia...) His eyes glazed over as if he was reaching for other minds; the minds of his time-honoured friends many light years away. (Times have changed, and it is time we changed with them!)

He fixed his eyes once again upon Abigail's uneasy face, switching back to speech in response to the Assembly's growing restlessness. "The future is in your hands, not mine or anybody else's. All sides in this argument will be treated equally. I may be a Tomorrow Person myself, and your one-time leader, but I am not going to show any personal favouritism in this matter. Once my demands have been met, I will be stepping down as Alliance spokesperson, but I will not be returning to Earth. From now on you must sort out your own differences. You are on your own!"

Abby knew that she should respond to John's announcement, but her mind was in too great a turmoil to think clearly at that moment. John had been away from Luna for just one year, but she felt that she hardly recognised him any more. She couldn't imagine the personal journey that must have led him along this difficult path. Distracted for a moment, she was shocked to realise that he was speaking once again

"Both Luna and the camps must be evacuated within seven Earth days," he stated flatly, then to add emphasis he switched to telepathy. (No segregation will be tolerated, on either side.) "In addition, the Federation must co-opt non-telepathic races onto the One Mind within seven days." He paused, looking deep into Abby's eyes, before lifting his gaze towards the whole Assembly. "If this is not achieved I cannot control the aggressive members of this coalition and they will take action against all parties - TP, Federation and Sap! Luna will be handed over to the Alliance ships as a base..."

"That's impossible!" Kershia's shocked outburst brought a sudden silence to the Assembly hall. "There are thousands of people up there... Scared, homeless people with nowhere else to go..." Her voice trailed off in response to a wave of sympathetic understanding emanating from her old mentor.

"I understand that it will be difficult, Kershia. But you must make this possible. The Alliance requires a base and Luna is the most logical choice." (TIM will be able to aid you with the teleports; re-housing the refugees is something you can deal with later. For now, just clear the base of every man, woman and child. I'm afraid that this is not a request - it is an order. Possibly the last order I will ever give, but it carries no less weight.)

Ben had remained silent since the start of John's address; now he stepped forward, his face tight with anxiety as he started to speak. "Luna's not the real problem. What about the camps? They hold tens of thousands of people and their release is totally reliant on the Saps cooperation. They're all over the world. Seven days isn't enough time to heal everyone of the effects of the Barlumin and clear them out!"

********

"Seven days is enough." The stranger's voice was weak and tired, but it carried throughout the hall. Two men stepped into one of the wide aisles, the pair of them a study in contrasts. Eyes turned to them, trying to make sense of the interruption and of their very different appearances. The first wore a dark uniform, the lines of his firearms very obvious in their holsters at his waist. The second man was shabbily dressed. He seemed pale and ill, almost too weak to walk without support from his companion. His steps faltered and he grasped the back of the nearest chair tightly, struggling to retain his balance. His eyes were locked on the stage, on the distant figure of Abigail. "Not enough to heal us, but enough to get us clear."

"Marc!" Abby mouthed the name soundlessly, disbelievingly. She stared, stunned beyond words by his presence. "Marc!" she called again, jaunting before the echoes of the name could die away. Her voice faded to a whisper as she threw her arms around his neck, almost knocking him from his feet. "Oh, Marc."

Slowly, almost as if he couldn't believe they were finally together, not even an AE suit to hold them apart, Marc wrapped his arms about her. He held her gently, tears unshed in his eyes as they kissed.

Jimmy jaunted a moment later, his stungun once again in his hand as he emerged from hyperspace between his friends and David. The two men exchanged looks of cautious recognition, the tension between the two of them tangible. It was David who backed down, taking a symbolic step backwards with his hands out, open and empty, in front of him. Jimmy hesitated for a moment, eyes on David's holstered Barlumin pistol, but then he nodded, returning his stungun to its own holster with a slight smile of acknowledgement.

"Would someone please explain?" The Secretary General's voice was tired too, almost as if one more small drama came as no surprise after the day of shocks.

On the screen John had paused, watching Abigail and Marc's reunion with a moment of compassion in his expression. Now his expression hardened, determination returning. "The condition applies as much to the Camps as it does to Luna," he insisted, responding to Ben's protest.

"As it should." David's voice rang through the room and he strode forward, leaving the Tomorrow People in a tableau behind him. On the stage Kershia waited with Ben close by her shoulder, watching his approach in shocked recognition of the man she had given up. "The Camps are an abomination which should never have been permitted, let alone allowed to persist."

"And you are ...?" the Secretary General demanded. He stood and leaned forward over his desk, his hands on the surface as if to ground himself in its reassuring familiarity.

"Major David Barton." Kershia's voice sounded hollow even to her. "Commander of the Canadian Detention Camp."

David looked up, meeting her gaze for the first time. There was a questioning look in his brown eyes, an appeal that even he wouldn't know how to put into words. Kershia felt her chest tighten, a thousand dreams and memories replaying themselves in her mind. But times had changed. She had changed. Realisation came suddenly, and she found she could breathe freely as she met David's eyes, liberated. She didn't need him. Not any more. He paused mid-step, reading something of her thoughts in her face. He set his jaw rigidly, falling back on military discipline to keep his expression blank.

He stepped up onto the raised dais, stopping in front of the small group already gathered there. The Secretary General studied him carefully, not wasting time on asking how David had got in here. There was a dangerous energy to the man which suggested that he would not easily be stopped once he had set his mind on something. "And your purpose in coming here, Major Barton?"

David hesitated, distracted as Abby, Marc and Jimmy reappeared to one side of the Secretary General. A matter transporter was clipped now to Marc's belt, but even with the mechanical assistance, the transition seemed to have pained his Barlumin-ravaged mind. The French-Canadian man's legs buckled beneath him, only Jimmy's hastily offered support keeping him from slipping to the ground. Marc shook off the helping hands as he was lowered into a chair, tears of frustration, rather than joy, in his eyes now. David watched the scene with apparent dispassion, seeing it echoed and rebroadcast on one of the big screens which dominated the front of the room. The second screen still displayed the face of John, his eyes once again sad as he watched Marc struggle for dignity.

With a wave of one hand, David indicated Marc. He took another step towards the speaker's podium and its microphones. "That's why," he said simply. "Because for three years I have watched my fellow human beings being put through indescribable torment, both passively and, to my shame, actively. I can't believe any longer that the camps, or the prejudice that has been shown against the Tomorrow People, Homo novus, or whatever we're to call them, is justified." He turned to face the audience, speaking now to the entire hall. "I don't know what I intended when I decided to come here. I don't know what I thought I could say. In any case," he glanced up at John's face on the viewscreen, "the time for long speeches has passed now. But I have been on the front line of this battle for many years - just as these TPs have. I have seen the worst of what was done, for the best of motives. I have two thousand men, women and children in my Camp, and I've watched as they've faded away." He shook his head. "How could I sit and watch this Assembly, knowing what I know, and yet do nothing?"

Now David hesitated, stealing a look at Kershia. He took a deep breath, his posture straightening bravely. "I have always done what I believe to be right, and now I am ready to face the consequences for all my actions, whatever those might be. But I have a duty to my species to prevent them making the same mistake that I have made. I am prepared to offer evidence for the abuses and ill-treatment suffered by the inmates of the Camps, and of the crimes against humanity perpetrated by those involved in Operation Malthus, both in its inception and the consequent raids." He looked directly at the screen and at John. "I've given orders for my Camp to be completely evacuated within the next six hours, the inmates relocated to tents and temporary shelter units ten miles from their current location and the Barlumin influence. From there they will be able to receive medical assistance and help in resettlement as soon as it can be arranged."

The British Ambassador was on his feet, his face angry. "You've exceeded your authority!" he snapped.

Marc stood, his painful effort drawing all eyes to him. His expression was questioning as his eyes passed over David; then the usually soft-spoken man allowed his anger to show. "I don't understand what's happening here, but I can see that it's larger than anything I dreamed possible. Perhaps Major Barton has gone further than he was intended to, but have you ever visited a Camp, sir? Have you seen the conditions that my people have been forced to endure?" His voice dropped, becoming low and sad. "Have you seen the ruins of a raided Lab? Or the graves of those who haven't survived?" Marc's voice cracked and Abby touched his arm lightly, instinctively trying to offer telepathic comfort. He cried out softly, raising a hand to his temples as the pain shot through his head. Abby backed away, horrified by the damage to Marc's telepathy. He gave her a weak smile of reassurance before turning back to the assembly hall, his voice now calm and dignified despite his physical deterioration. "I can show you those things, or tell you of what we've endured over the last few years."

"Enough!" The exclamation from the Secretary General silenced both Marc and the shocked response to his words that filled the hall. With a gentle gesture, he indicated that the Tomorrow Person should sit and Marc did so, relieved, if not grateful. The Secretary General looked from Marc, to Abigail, to David and finally to the image of John, before surveying the United Nations delegates who appeared as shaken as he felt by the succession of testimonies that had rocked their worldview. "Enough." He repeated the word more quietly, composing himself. "Delegates, when I opened this debate I predicted that we would hear many things which would shock us. I stated that the problem which faced us was truly global. I could never have dreamed how literally and dramatically those truths would be demonstrated. We have been described as children, and told that we must stand together against our adversaries. Certainly, I still struggle to comprehend the full scale of those adversaries, the 'Galactic Federation', this new alliance or whoever else. Our sibling squabble with Homo novus seems petty by comparison. We have seen the assaults and maltreatment that appear to have become a simple part of life for the Tomorrow People. How can we tolerate such a situation? I do not believe that we can." He paused, glancing up at John with a resentful look. "Even if it would be permitted."

Abby stood, asking to speak, but the Secretary General waved her back to her seat with a sombre shake of his head. "General Assembly, the time for action has come at last. When I opened this session I laid a resolution on the table before you. I proposed that the Tomorrow People be officially represented at this Assembly, afforded all the rights and protections of any other member state present. In the hours since, the issue has become more pressing than I imagined possible. Now I ask the United Nations assembled here to place their votes on the matter at hand. Does Homo sapiens stand alone, facing the threats and the punishments that our neighbours seem determined to impose upon us? Or does humanity stand united, our full potential realised in the partnership of our two races? Now is the time for us to make our decision, in the view of our own world and many beyond it." He nodded to his staff, activating the Assembly's electronic voting system. "Delegates, I ask that you cast your votes on the Resolution placed before you."

********

The result of the vote came quickly, more quickly than the TP delegation had anticipated. The nations of the world seemed to have been overtaken by events, their earlier positions and plans swept away in the urgency of the moment. There were some abstentions, of course, most prominent amongst them those of the United States and the United Kingdom, but the general consensus was one of resigned acceptance of the draft resolution.

Stepping up to the microphone, the Secretary General indicated for Abby to join him. Nodding as the last of the results were displayed on the huge screen, he turned towards the Tomorrow People's spokesperson and smiled. "It seems that the United Nations Assembly is in agreement on this matter. The Tomorrow People are recognised as a legitimate political group and officially admitted into the UN itself. Your people are therefore afforded all the rights and protections which accompany such a position." He extended his hand and Abby, reluctantly at first, offered her own. The customary handshake was firm and accepting, accompanied by warm smiles on both sides.

Abby looked at the many hundreds of delegates seated around the huge hall. "Thank you for your recognition, for your acceptance of my people." She glanced towards the British Ambassador, saddened by his determination not to meet her eye. "I only wish that more of the countries represented here today could understand the trials through which my people have passed in recent years." Abby sighed. "That aside, I also wish that the vote taken had been prompted by a less threatening chain of events." She glanced up at the image of John, not bothering to hide her anger. "We did not court the intervention of this Alliance fleet; we do not agree with its actions, but we are grateful that its presence here has forced both Homo sapiens and Homo novus into a situation where they must work together for the greater good of our world."

Abby beckoned for her TP delegation to approach the podium. "Mr Secretary General, ladies and gentlemen. On behalf of the Tomorrow People, I formally accept membership to the United Nations. I want everyone listening to know that we will do everything within our power to comply with the demands laid down by the Alliance. Seven days is not very long and there is much to do."

Nodding gently, the Secretary General called forward a group of his own aides. "May I propose that you sort out the evacuation of this Luna base, of which we have heard so much, while I instigate a working party to oversee the immediate evacuation of the Camps?" He motioned for David to approach the podium. "Major Barton, you seem to have already found a suitable short-term solution to the problem. Would you be prepared to head a task force, aimed at disbanding all camps worldwide?"

David came to attention and nodded emphatically. "Yes, Sir."

"And I'll join him." Kershia took a tentative step forward, meeting Abby's worried eyes.

(Are you sure, Kersh? After all that's happened...)

(Yes, Abby.) She smiled. (I need to do this. After all the mistakes I made.... I can handle things. You're going to have your hands full sorting out Luna; let me deal with the Camps.) She looked towards the Secretary General. "I have worked closely with Major Barton before, Sir. I am also familiar with Barlumin and the potential difficulties in dealing with Tomorrow People recovering from its effects. Those running the camps, and those interned there themselves, will not forget the hostilities of the past few years easily. This task force needs a TP representative on the committee, and I am volunteering for that position."

David nodded his acceptance of her decision before signalling his own desire to speak. "Kershia is right; working with the many thousands of detainees is a massive task. None of them have been privy to this debate, and without their psionic abilities they will not be easily persuaded to trust us. May I suggest that Marc, the one-time leader of the Canadian Lab, also work with us on this committee? If he feels able to do so?"

Marc pulled himself upright in his seat, his physical discomfort making him wince. Staring determinedly into David's eyes, Marc measured the sincerity in the expression he found there.

"That's settled then," remarked the Secretary General decisively, as Marc nodded in thoughtful agreement. He swung around to address John directly. "As you can see, the people of Earth are already taking steps towards meeting your demands. Will you now withdraw this fleet from our space and leave us to get on with the job of rebuilding our society?"

"I wish it were that simple, Mr. Secretary General. I can see that you have a highly competent group of people working on this task, but as has already been suggested, the ordinary people of your world may not accept this sudden change in policy so readily. We do not believe that you can put decades of hatred and fear behind you so easily. The fragile first steps, which you have taken so magnanimously today, could easily falter in the coming weeks and months, and that may well lead to a renewed threat for the other civilised races of the Galaxy. Therefore I must advise you that the Alliance fleet will remain in orbit as a peacekeeping force until such a time as the species involved are convinced that the Earth poses no more of a threat. I also feel it necessary to remind those watching these proceedings from the Galactic Trig, that they also have a time-limited demand to meet; namely the appointment of representatives from non-telepathic species onto the One Mind. Until all of these demands are met unequivocally the Alliance fleet will remain..."

*******

John's face faded from the screen as he spoke those final words. Images of the fleet in orbit replaced it, an ominous reminder of the threat hanging above them. But then those views disappeared too, to be replaced by the view from inside the assembly hall once again.

"They're giving us space and time," the Secretary General realised slowly. "But they're watching still."

"I have a feeling they'll be watching us for a long time to come," Abby told him, speaking from her seat to one side of the speaker's podium. She rubbed a hand over her tired eyes, and looked up at the Secretary General. "But whether we have an audience or not, you were right: we have a job to do and a society to build."

The Secretary General nodded, glancing down at the small group of TPs. He turned back to the microphone, beginning the process of formally closing the session. Abby let his words of reconciliation and hope for the future wash over her. She'd heard more than enough such discussion today. It was the practicalities, not the rhetoric, that would matter in the months and years ahead.

(It seems almost an anticlimax, doesn't it?)

Abby straightened in her seat, startled by the familiar tones. In her chair on the other side of Marc, Kershia did the same, but their other friends remained still, concentrating on the Secretary General's words. John's quiet observation had been for the two women alone.

(Why did you do it?) Kershia's question was urgent, desperate to understand.

(Because it was necessary.) There was no hesitation in John's reply. (Sometimes we have to do things, simply because they're the right thing to do. Your David could have told you that.)

(Not my David, not any more,) Kershia assured him, calmly. John and Abby accepted that, both minds broadcasting their understanding of the long journey Kershia had made to reach this point.

(In any case,) John continued, (the problem on Earth was largely of my making. I had to do what I could to fix it. The actions of the Federation were simply wrong. I had to do what I could to fix that too.)

(You could just have ordered our people to show themselves,) Abby noted, (to fight for our rights.)

(And they would have done it, not because they wanted to, or because they thought it was a good idea, but because I told them so,) John told her, his tone abrupt. (And so much of what I've told them over the years was wrong. The Tomorrow People are bigger than one man. They needed to see that. In bringing them here and taking the stand you did, you've shown them that.) He paused and they could see the compassion in his thoughts. (But there is still a lot of learning to be done, and untruths to be unlearnt - on both sides. You can handle it, with Jimmy and Marc and the rest of the team you've put together. The two of you are in charge now. I won't be coming back to Earth.)

Abby felt Kershia's regret, and her own thoughts were bittersweet.

(No,) she agreed, saddened but understanding. (You can't come back now - I can see that.)

(The others - the other Seniors - might return from the Trig, but Abby, Kershia, we're all tired. Our part of this fight is over. You have your work cut out for you now. We've set targets, and the Alliance will enforce them. The people of Earth, and the Federation for that matter, don't need me here to hold their hands, nor does the Alliance. I pulled these races together, showed them their common aims, but they will succeed or fail on their own merits, not because of my actions. I'm not going to stay where I can be called upon.)

(You mean you're leaving completely?) Kershia asked, upset. (Out of touch?)

(Indeed.) They felt John nodding. (And I'll be taking TIM too. I can't ask him to stay. He's not a tool, for the Federation or the Tomorrow People to use or discard on a whim.)

(We've never ...!) Abby's protest was cut off by the apology in John's thoughts.

(I know. I didn't mean to imply that you've ever been less than a friend to him, but TIM's like me now, part of the generation that's passed. It's time I took some of the burdens off his shoulders.) John hesitated. (I am only sorry that they must fall instead on yours. The two of you told me, long ago, that soon we would banish the dark clouds that surrounded us. You told me that you were happy to entrust your safety to me. Well, now I return the compliment. I entrust the Tomorrow People to you. Look after them, Abby, Kershia.)

"Abigail! Kershia! Do you have time to talk now?" The Secretary General's voice jerked them out of their telepathic daze, drawing their attention to him for the briefest of moments. When they extended their telepathic awareness once again, John was gone.

(He won't speak to us again,) Abby told Kershia softly, feeling her friend strive to renew the contact. (It's up to us now.)

Her heart aching, Abigail focussed on the matter at hand. The Assembly was closed, delegates and administrators milling around the hall in animated discussion of the day's events. Behind the Secretary General, David stood, ready and waiting for the long sessions of planning ahead, and there were others too, eager to talk to the TP delegates. Abby smiled and Kershia grinned back, feeling the same thrill of excitement. There was much to be put in place, reshaping the Tomorrow People's fight for survival into a new battle, one for understanding and cooperation. There was much to do but now, for the first time, there was a plan and a fresh hope for the future.

Nodding at the Secretary General, she stood, with Kershia, Jimmy and the others following. She looked around at her friends, knowing that none of them had dared believe they would be present this day, the bright dawn when the Tomorrow People finally stepped out of the shadows and into the light.

With a feeling of exhilaration, she fell into step beside the Secretary General, and felt Kershia and David mirroring the action behind them.

Kindred Spirits. Walking separate paths, come at last to their one destination.

The End

Part 0 and Prologue

Kinetic Energy

Metastable Equilibrium

Paradigm Shift

Epilogue

Return to Index