"Ten who also know it's a portal. A few hundred who could find it if they found out that there was a portal and not just a thing."

"And you trust all of those people?"

"I told the organizer, first, and she told the other eight people who know what it is. I trust her and trust her trusting them. The few hundred just know that they're supposed to stay out of that stairwell. They're reds, but they're not specific reds."

"What are some ways more people than that could find out?"

"If someone goes in the stairwell they could find it the same way I did. We don't know how it started, so I guess it could happen again somewhere else, probably somewhere with clean people since most places are like that. It could be - giving off some kind of sign, that they could see from outside the neighborhood and notice."

"How long has it been there, do you know?"

"Not long. The stairs get used. Maybe from a few hours before the first time I came through at most."

"What do you think these other people would do if they found the portal?"

"The other reds or the cleans?"

"Either."

"Cleans will clear us out of the building and come through the portal to explore. Reds might go through, or tell more reds."

"And the cleans are the ones who you are concerned would be hostile?"

"To us. Not you, I think."

"If we objected to hostility towards you?"

"They'll be upset if you've let us touch things they might want to handle. I don't think they'll be violent to you. I would be surer if you knew how to travel faster than light but you don't."

"As far as we know that's not possible."

Nelen nods.

"If they wanted to be violent towards us do you have a sense of what they would try to do?"

"No, I don't really know - I'm sorry."

"Even things that seem obvious to you might be interesting to us, like what weapons your society has, or how many people, or what they'd want..."

"They have guns. I don't know if you have those, I guess you might not. There are six hundred million people in Anitam and thirteen billion on Amenta. They want more space, everyone wants more children than they're allowed to have in the amount of space there is."

"Have you experimented with whether people can go through the portal if there's an obstruction on one side?"

"No."

"Are the people on your side of the portal in immediate danger?"

"Not especially, no."