Ex-president Richard Wagner pushed his boat out into the deeper water, and hopped aboard.

It had literally taken years to make the boat, sail, and rigging. He had had to fabricate his tools from scratch, then use them to make everything else. He had worn out most of those tools in the process, and had had to make new ones.

His shelter was as rudimentary as possible. It was just a small cave with interwoven tree branches as a door to keep the storms out. Often, he simply slept on the beach near the boat. He had decided on the first day that all his efforts would be directed toward getting back to the mainland.

He spent as little time collecting food as possible, hence his diet had been extremely bland.

He knew that the Oreni could prevent his little boat from reaching the mainland, but from some of the crazy weather he'd had to put up with, he figured they had been ignoring him. They weren't doing a good job fulfilling their obligation as prison wardens, since they seemed unconcerned about his comfort. So maybe they wouldn't notice this attempt to return home.

The fresh breeze filled his sail with a snap once he pulled in on the sheet, and the boat heeled to one side.

He let his speed build a while before turning due West. In less than a minute, the wind died completely.

It had been two weeks now. Every day, he pushed the boat out, and every day the wind died. It had to be the Oreni, he realized. Those hypocrites weren't leaving him alone, they were actively interfering with his leaving. Yet they couldn't be bothered to keep his weather nice.

"You can't have it both ways, guys!" he shouted into the calm. "Either let me go, or make things nice for me. You owe me that."

"Why?" asked a voice beside him.

He turned to see an Oren standing on the now-smooth water next to his boat.

The Oren spoke again. "You have a visitor back on the island." He then disappeared. The breeze started to pick up again. Wagner considered resuming his westward path, but realized it was pointless just then. Maybe later. He headed back to his camp.

Back at camp was the first human he had seen since bailing out of the VSTOL. And it had to be her. "What are you doing here?" he asked with disdain.

"Keeping the promise I made on the mountain," the woman answered. "I said I would see you again."

"Why do I doubt you're here to rescue me?"

"You are too dangerous to be back among your people. You could lead them to destroy us. We will not allow that."

"You have no authority to interfere with our people's progress," Wagner said.

"How much authority do you need to preserve your own existence?"

"A little smoke and sludge threatens your existence? You must be very fragile beings. Sounds like natural selection at work to me."

"And what is natural about tearing up your environment for some short-term conveniences?"

"Short-term? Where did you get that idea? We need to get back to a technological base comparable to what we had on Deutscherwelt."

"I am sure you want to do that, but the very fact that you are alive now proves you do not need to do it. Nature has provided your needs on this island."

"Who's alive? This is merely existing."

The woman looked at Wagner long and hard. "You want a fully artificial environment you can control."

"Some decorative plants might be nice. Maybe a park or two scattered around. It doesn't have to be fully artificial."

The woman looked thoughtful for a moment. "I think we may be able to work something out for you."

"Why?" he asked suspiciously.

We respect all living beings - even you. We would like you to be happy, as long as you are not harming us."

"Then restore me to my office," Wagner said calmly.

"You have already proven yourself unfit for that position."

"By your standards."

"It is our world," Fourth replied.

Which you decided to share with us," Wagner countered.

"Share is the operative term there. Would you be willing to live with others like yourself in a self-contained environment you can control to a large degree?"

"What do you mean self-contained?"

"Specifically, I'm thinking about an undersea colony. I know a location with a steady current you can tap for electricity, as well as a volcanic vent you can tap for heat. You could essentially have unlimited free energy. With that and the minerals in the nearby rocks, your colony's growth would be limited only by your imaginations."

"Until you Oreni start telling us we can't pollute the oceans," Wagner countered.

"You have to see the whole picture to understand. The ocean already contains every element, but mostly in small amounts.

This canyon is very deep and cold. So far, it is devoid of life. By the time your chemical wastes leave the canyon, they will be thoroughly diluted."

"How deep and how cold?" he asked, crossing his arms.

"Kilometers, and just above freezing. That is why the volcanic vent is important. The water coming from it is superheated. If it wasn't for the extreme pressure, it would emerge as steam. You can use the hot and cold together to select your ideal temperature."

"Cut off from the world at the bottom of a hole," Wagner pointed out.

"That is one way to look at it if you want. On the other hand, you would have Ghanstone communications, and the ability to expand, not only on the seafloor, but also beneath it."

"And how do we do that?"

"You use the raw materials we give you to make tools to build the excavation equipment.

"We can start you out with the basic habitat, greenhouses, electric power and light, and geothermal heat. You people can decide how to proceed from there."

"Assuming I wanted to go along with this, how would we get started?"

"Just say so," the woman said. "It won't take long to prepare. I'd say 10 to 15 days for initial construction, and maybe another 7 to 10 days for things to settle enough to be habitable for your group."

"And what's to keep you from just drowning us once we're down there?"

The woman rolled her eyes. "You can't actually be so stupid as to believe that. We could have drowned you the first time you tried to sail away from here. We really don't hate you. We just couldn't leave you in office."

"And yet you'll put me in office down there," he pointed out.

"No we won't. That would be up to you people. If the others want you in charge, then they will put you there."

"You people took me out of my elected office. You owe me-"

"Nothing," the woman interrupted. "Under your leadership, your people were doing needless damage to our home. "This undersea canyon holds no special importance for the Oreni. You can't really do too much harm there without harming yourselves much worse."

"At least you're being honest about sweeping us under the rug."

"We couldn't be anything but truthful. Truth is what is. To be untruthful is to ignore reality. That would be counter to the whole essence of learning."

"Sometimes truth is unpleasant," Wagner offered.

"Sometimes reality is unpleasant. Do you want your artificial environment or not? We should start building it now if you do."

"What's your hurry? You need these islands for something else?"

"No, Ghan plans to reabsorb them into the seafloor once you are gone. I just don't like talking with you. You are unnecessarily argumentive and confrontational."

"You really believe that Ghan nonsense?" Wagner asked incredulously.

"I have trouble believing this nonsense. Write your answer on the beach when you decide. We'll see it." With that she was gone.