The door closed.
Ziko looked at the door.
Looked at Ryke.
Looked at me.
"He said he knows," Ziko said. "He said he was *telling* us, not *asking.*"
"Yes," I said.
"Mitch Avaro told Ryke Mallen that he *knows* he has three days."
"Ziko—"
"The baby did something to him," Ziko said, with complete conviction. "She's been here two days and she's already changed Mitch. This is the Stabilizer effect. It's already working."
Silo: "That's not how it works."
"How do you know how it works?"
"It's not how anything works. Babies don't—"
"Mitch told Ryke he *knows,*" Ziko said again, gesturing at the door. "Mitch. Who has been asking Ryke's permission for things since—"
"He files things without asking," Silo said. "He never asked about the Stabilizer Registration."
"That's different. That'
