11/03/2026 09:34

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I turned, and sensed the information-shape of Florimel. Hefelt hot, but after another hellish desert afternoon, the evening air was still warm enough tomake both friends sweat as they waded through the unstable sands, so there was nothing surprisingthere. The buck stood on wobbly legs at thebottom of the pit, hitching as it sucked air. But what about the boy? What about Gally? They'll take him, too! She stared at him, then at the child.

There was some kind of secretinvolved, something that must be kept from the grown-ups, but it all streamed away like windblownsmoke as he awakened. There were so many puzzles, and so little time to spend on them. The people within the Otherland network--those he had summoned into risk, andto whom he had spoken in the Atascos' simulation--were almost completely hidden from him. Perhaps he used the aspect-dampening gear just to prevent suchdiscoveries.