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were colonists on a ship that was captured by slavers. I was twelve. A woman named Giselle Blanc bought me and my mother, but someone else bought my dad and my sister and brother. I never saw them again. Three years later, Blanc found out that Mom and I were both Silent, and she decided to sell us for a hefty profit. My mom was sold, and I never saw her again, either. Then Ara bought me and set me free. After the Children of Irfan taught me how to use my Silence, I looked for my family everywhere in the Dream but no luck. Then the Despair hit, and Sejal touched almost every Silent mind in the universe. He told me he felt a man and a woman who are sure to be my relatives--though I don't know which relatives--and that he felt Bedj-ka, too. That's why we're here."
      "This is not what I am asking, Kendi. You are a hero of the--"
      "Stop saying that," Kendi said. Traffic cleared and he sped up.
      "--of the Despair, and it is true whether you deny it or not. Padric Sufur's twisted children failed to destroy the Dream because of you--"
      "And because of Ben and because of Sejal and Katsu and Vidya and Prasad and a whole mess of other people," Kendi pointed out.
      "But you are the only one who took advantage of your status," Harenn continued, ruthlessly pursuing the point. "Vidya and Prasad and Katsu and Sejal were content to become a family again and settle among the Children of Irfan. Ben seems to be happy following you wherever you go. But you--well, I do have to say that I have never thought of you as a modest person--"
      "Thanks."
      "--but you went beyond mere immodesty. You bullied the Council of Irfan into giving you an expensive ship--"
      " Loaning me an expensive ship."
      "--something which usually only a Father Adept is granted, and then you staffed it with not one but two so very priceless Silent who can still reach the Dream--"
      "Yeah, well Ben threatened to quit his consulting job, and the Council didn't want to lose him, especially since he's Silent now and they're hoping he'll become a Brother one day."
      "--and then you took this expensive ship off to find not your family, but mine. So I am asking--why are you doing this?"
      Kendi drove in silence for several moments. Then he said, "It's because of Ben."
      "This you need to explain."
      "When I go home at night--or back to my quarters, anyway--Ben is there. I have somebody, and you--" He stopped and felt his face turn hot.
      "I have no one?"
      Kendi cursed himself. There were a hundred other things he could have said, but he had to choose the one that would throw Harenn's broken family into her face.
      "It's not just that," he hastened to add. "It's also because Bedj-ka is still a little kid. He isn't even ten years old yet. My brother would be over thirty now, and my sister's in her mid-twenties. They're adults. They don't . . . they don't need their family like Bedj-ka does. So I decided we should find him first."
      Harenn looked at him. "That sounds like something Mother Ara would have said."
      Kendi stiffened and stared straight ahead at the green road unwinding before him. Trees, fields, and scattered houses rushed quietly past the groundcar. Harenn's remark had pierced him like an arrow, and he didn't know how to feel. Pride mixed with sorrow mixed with . . . relief? To Kendi's horror, his eyes teared up. He firmed his jaw. Not in front of Harenn, not while he was in charge of the expedition and she was under his command, however casual that command might be.
      Harenn lightly touched his hand. "Whatever the reason, I am glad you made this choice." Then she turned to stare out her own window, leaving Kendi free to rub his eyes without being observed.
      They traveled for some time in companionable silence until the computer said, "Your destination is one hundred meters ahead of you on the right." Harenn sat up straight. Kendi turned down a short gravel driveway that ended in front of a tall, barred gate. From this vantage