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for psi to open the door but caught himself just in time. Strange how quickly those old psionic habits came back! Anyway, using psi to turn a doorknob was just foolish. Doorknobs were for people who didn’t have psi. A psi latch would be inside the door, where it didn’t show.
    Using psi was wrong for bigger reasons, too. Everyone else in the colony was powerless. For that matter, everyone else in the
world
was powerless. It seemed rude to use psi, like eating the only piece of cake while all your friends watched.
    Skies! He was standing in front of the door, staring at it like a freakling.
Just open the flaming door and stop thinking about every blasted thing!
    He pushed the door open by hand. About a dozen of the colony’s leaders were sitting in Hannova’s office.
    “I’m telling you, that quadrider was not there before.” That was Mr. Parvel, Amma’s da, who seemed steamed up about something. He used to be in charge of guarding the library. Now he and Amma’s grown-up brothers were in charge of guarding the whole town.
    Hannova turned to Taemon. “Hello, Taemon. It’s good to see you up and about. Is there something we can help you with?”
    Taemon swallowed. He hadn’t expected to confess his fears in front of such a large audience. “You said to come see you when I could,” he reminded her.
    “So I did,” Hannova agreed, nodding. “I was hoping you could tell us about these thieves led by someone called Free Will. This isn’t the first time they’ve accosted travelers. Could they have something to do with the mysterious new quadrider?”
    “It’s been months since any psi vehicle has moved,” Mr. Parvel jumped in. “And all of a sudden there’s a new one on the side of the road? Why am I the only one who thinks that’s a problem?”
    “I’ll agree that it’s suspicious,” Hannova said. “But there must be a simple explanation.”
    “Only one thing can move a psi vehicle: psi,” Mr. Parvel said. “If Free Will’s people have psi, we’re all doomed.”
    “Now, now,” Hannova cautioned, raising her hand to quiet the nervous chatter that had erupted at Amma’s da’s words. “Let’s not jump to any hasty conclusions. Aside from the mysterious appearance of this quadrider, there is no evidence to suggest that anyone has psi.”
    Taemon caught Drigg’s eye across the room. Should he confess and put an end to the wild speculation before it erupted into full-on panic?
    “I know how the quadrider got there,” Taemon said. The room fell silent as everyone stopped to listen to him. “When Free Will’s men had us, I —”
    “They carried it,” Drigg said, cutting him off.
    Hannova frowned. “What’s that, Drigg?”
    “Free Will’s people. The ones who chased us here, the ones who shot the boy. We saw them carry the quadrider. Maybe they meant to take it back to their headquarters, wherever that is, and try to turn it into something useful — I don’t know. But we startled a group of ’em, and they left it behind. That’s how the quadrider came to be there. Simple as that.”
    “Why didn’t you say so before?” Mr. Parvel asked, looking more than a little embarrassed.
    “Didn’t seem important,” Drigg muttered. “Not when we’ve got real problems to deal with.”
    “Drigg’s right,” Hannova said. “There are some very disturbing rumors floating around, and I want to know if there’s any truth to them. Solovar has the best connections with the city, so I’ll let him fill you all in.”
    Solovar was the white-bearded leader of the city dwellers; he had tried to rebel against Elder Naseph. Now that Naseph was out of the way, Solovar could move freely throughout the city and make good use of his networks of former spies.
    Solovar cleared his throat and spoke in his gravelly voice. “Things in the city are getting worse. People are still hoping to find a way to get psi back. They’re getting desperate. The thought of rebuilding the things that keep society running