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He's going to kill them they have to get away--
she commands it--
and then they are away and it occurs to her that she never specified where to. She slowly unclenches her arms from their death grip around her sister and looks around.
Odette and Illia land in Calado
powerispain
She considers. "India caste, Nihon caste?" she doesn't sound very certain. "Prussia doesn't caste, Anglia doesn't caste, Genosha doesn't caste."
"Oh, it just hasn't spread around yet - maybe they don't have the right ones."
"Where was it that it started here, I forget -"
"Ancient Prato under Confl the Third."
"Showoff."
"Mustn't have the right ones."
"Or they're just aliens."
"Obviously they're aliens."
"I mean that they can be different."
"I know what you meant."
"And green and grey and purple and orange."
"That's mixed up," protests Alaior, "it isn't how the song goes."
"It doesn't matter, darling."
Everyone makes various faces. "That too."
"But they aren't in the song because they're dirty," says Alaior, "and don't go in a song with us or anywhere else."
"If the aliens don't have reds -"
Some of the adults take a step or two back and one picks up Alaior.
"They're not red," says Alaior, "they're brown."
"They still might not be clean," murmurs her mother.
"It would probably be best if the senator and his people were the ones to explain things to you instead of a one-year-old yellow."
"Why wouldn't they be clean -" asks Alaior.
"We should still be polite to the aliens, darling."
"I'm not being impolite."
"Shhh."
It doesn't take much longer. Luta tells the senator that there are aliens in the house. She takes a picture of them.
Sure. "I know that could have been doctored, Senator, but -"
"Mm-hm, mm-hm, I'll send out Cadra. Which of the brood were you again -"
"Luta, Senator."
"Mm-hm."