“So—what?” Thayu said in a low voice after we left the room. “The Athyl Exchange is out, as well as Beratha, Miran and likely Kedras? A total system failure. Why?”
I shrugged, remembering with unease how I used to feel a certain amount of fear when going through the Exchange. Since when I was a student and first had the system explained to me, it had never ceased to amaze me how blasé people got over such an intricate, precise and deeply vulnerable system. “Whatever has caused it, this is unlikely to be fixed in a day.” I said in a lower voice, “You know what worries me? If Ezhya had gone to Asto, he would have already let himself be heard. He’d have broadcast an official statement using the military’s installations. So he has not gone to Asto, and he didn’t stay in orbit around Ceren bec
