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' "Not the system"."

'You still believe that?"

Steve shrugged. 'Six months with the Mutes gave me time to think about

things too."

'And...?"

'It, uhh . .. changes you ... makes it hard to go back."

'But you still want to."

Steve weighed his reply carefully. 'Like it or not, that's where the

future is, Jodi. The Mutes can't win. And when they're gone how long

do you think you guys'll be able to hold out?"

'It's a big country..."

'Sure it is. But even if you and the other guys had gotten away from

the M'Calls you'd still be living like hunted animals from one year to

the next."

'Not necessarily. Once we'd built up our numbers Malone was planning

to cross over the Rockies. He told us there was some good country on

the other side. A place close to the sea where it never snowed and

where there were so many food-trees nobody ever went hungry."

'Oh, yeah?"

'Yeah. A place called California."

'Pipe-dreams, Jodi. Even if this place existed why bother to make the

trip? It's a dead end. Who is there to come after you? Only the

First Family can create new life. It doesn't matter how clever Malone

is, or how many there are like him. You guys are never going to amount

to anything."

'You're probably right,' she admitted. 'But it's a dead end either

way. Even if you and I were lucky enough to get back home in one piece

the Federation would never put us back into circulation."

Steve bit his lip. 'Why?"

'Because we've been out too long. We know too much."

'Like what?"

The undamaged side of her face was creased by a dry smile. 'Isn't it

obvious? You were captured last June and you've been breathing

unfiltered air ever since. How do you feel?"

'Okay, but ' Have you asked yourself why?"

'Yeah, but ' She waved his reply aside. 'There is no magic bullet,

rickman. The stuff they give you at your MedEx is either a vitamin

shot or a placebo. I don't know who fed you this idea about an

anti-radiation serum but there ain't no such thing. It's not

necessary. There's no more sickness in the air."

Steve thought back to what the President-General had said about the

need to deny the existence of Mute magic.

If they could do that and make any claims to the contrary a Code One

offence then they were capable - as he already suspected - of even

greater deceptions. But he could not tell Jodi that. He had to appear

a reluctant convert in order to draw out everything she knew- or now

believed. He eyed her cautiously. 'How did you figure that out?"

'Medicine-Hat has been free-basing for three years. He knows of

breakers who haven't been near a hypodermic needle for more than five

and they're still in good shape."

She saw his look of disbelief. 'The guy is absolutely straight - why

would he make up a story like that?"

'Why not? He's a breaker. You didn't have any choice, and maybe he

didn't either, but most of these guys are bad hats. Drop-outs,

cee-bees, deserters. It's only natural for them to bad-mouth the

Family and the Federation. They want to make themselves look good."

'Okay - what's your explanation?"

'Jodi, I don't have one. All I know is my guard-father put in a double

six up the line and he's dying because of it may even be dead for all I

know. If there's no more sickness in the air how did he - and all the

others - pull a trick?"

She gave a sour laugh. 'Brace yourself, Brickman. I'm gonna let you

in on the big joke. The radiation that's killing Trail-Blazers is not

in the atmosphere. It's inside the wagon trains!" Steve tried to come

to terms with what she was saying.

'But... what about the geiger counters? When you take them outside -'

Jodi cut him off. 'They're wired up to give a reverse reading.

Everything's been rigged from start to finish.

Everything we've been told is a pack of lies!" It was too much. Steve

was no stranger to conspiracy theories but the enormity and the