31

You grab Brett by the shoulders, and yell at him to pull it together. He blinks, and nods. Then you and he both turn your attention to snapping others out of the mad fervor.

With impressive rapidity, your authority ripples out, cutting through the madness caused by the Surgeons' scream.

The immediate crisis over, you return your attention to the portal hanging in the sky above you. Thoughout these troubles, it has been expanding in size. Now, it is several yards across, and its bottom edge is almost close enough for you to leap up and touch.

And then, another sound, like white noise, echoes through that portal, resounding in your mind. With a hiss, it starts to form words, like a radio tuning in to a station. And those words are spoken in a chorus of thousands—it is the Surgeons, hundreds of thousands of them speaking in unison, talking to you directly.

Bring us the promise-breaker, Anaru Katariki. He will be punished, and you will be rewarded.

Your team is still regrouping. The scientists and technicians from your research department rush to put their equipment in place once more, hoping to disrupt the portal above.

Amid this confusion, Katariki decides to play a larger role. He marches forward and takes up a position beneath the portal. Then he raises a hand surrounded by a nimbus of sorcerous energy.

You are the only one who has heard the Surgeons' words.