When Liana got back to the hostel, the other girls were already there. Silmoa asked where she had been, and Liana told her about dropping off the boxes. Silmoa looked suspicious, but didn't comment.
When it came time to go to the dormitory, there was a change to the routine. Normally, everyone had to walk past the thought-scanner, stopping in front of it before they went into the room. Tonight, people were told just to go quickly into the dormitory. A woman Guardian called out each of their names – their Barty names – and they had to reply 'here'. It took much longer.
When they had got into their beds, Liana whispered to Silmoa, 'Why do you think they didn't use the thought scanner to check who was here?'
'I don't know,' said Silmoa. 'They're always changing the routine in one way or another.'
'No,' said Liana. 'Like I told you, the signal from the thought-scanners are blocked. That's why they didn't use it.'
'How do you know?'
'Because ...' Liana didn't know what to say. It was no use saying again that she had overheard the Bartys talking about it. They wouldn't have done that in front of her. Both she and Silmoa knew it, and anyway, Liana didn't want to lie again. 'I can't tell you. But I'm not helping the Bartys. I promise.'
'All right,'said Silmoa, 'but I wish I knew what was going on.'
'Don't worry,' said Liana. 'But there is something I want you to do. To help me. And all of us.'
'What sort of thing?' said Silmoa.
'I can't tell you now. I'm not even sure what it will be. Tomorrow. Go to sleep.'
Liana was eager to sleep, hoping to get back to speak to Herago. She had thought of a plan, and wanted to tell Herago all about it. But she was too excited to sleep. She kept turning over, unable to get comfortable. She lay on her back and closed her eyes. She tried breathing slowly. She listened to her own breathing. After a while, she felt the special relaxation in her body that told her she was asleep. She opened her eyes, thinking that she would be in the middle of her dream, flying towards Seren-ila, or waiting for Herago outside the House of the Green Jewel.
But when she opened her eyes, she was still in the dormitory. There was a dim light in the room – there was always a light on, so that they could check up on people in the night. Liana looked over at Silmoa next to her, breathing gently in her sleep.
Liana decided to do something she had never done before. She sat up. Why? She didn't know. It was a risk - somebody might see her. Nevertheless, she swung her legs out of the bed, and stood up. Looking back at the hard bed, with its scratchy cover, she got a shock.
Under the cover, somebody else was sleeping. Who had made their way into Liana's bed? How did they do it without her noticing?
Liana leaned closer to the bed and looked at the figure. There was no mistaking who it was. A shock of bright red hair that seemed to float above her head. Freckles on the sides of her nose. A long, pointed nose, long fingers, long legs.
Liana was looking at herself.
Liana laughed. She realised now that nobody would tell her off for getting out of her bed, because she hadn't. She was still asleep under her itchy cover. This was a dream.
Up to now, she had remained very quiet, afraid that she might wake people or draw attention to herself. But now she realised that there was no need to be quiet. Nobody could hear her. Nobody else was in this dream. The thought-scanners were blocked, so they couldn't monitor her thinking. She could shout. She could even sing.
And that is what she did. Quietly at first, she began to sing:
Seren-ila, Seren-ila
A land made from its people
Seren-ila, Seren-ila
Fashioned from love and kindness
Our mountains protect us
Ciblara, Mertinara,Anglara, Greblara
Sending ash to feed our crops
Seren-ila, Seren-ila
Fashioned from love and kindness
Between mountains are meadows
Between meadows are lakes
In the lakes swim the fish,
In meadows hop the rabbits
Who are also our people
Seren-ila, Seren-ila
Fashioned from love and kindness
Seren-ila, Seren-ila
A land made from its people
Seren-ila, Seren-ila
By now Liana was singing loudly, but she didn't care. Nobody would hear her. She launched into the last line of the chorus:
'Fashioned, fashioned, fashioned - from love and kindness.' Liana was surprised to hear another voice joining in with hers. She looked around, and there, sitting on the edge of the bed, was Silmoa. But it wasn't Silmoa. Because, as well as Silmoa, there was Silmoa. There was Silmoa who sat up, but there was also Silmoa (or was it Simek?) who was still lying down, breathing deeply. Still asleep.
'Is this a dream?' said Silmoa.
'Yes. And both of us are dreaming it,' said Liana.
'Weird,' said Silmoa. 'Why am I dreaming about you, anyway?'
'No, we're both dreaming, but this is my dream,' said Liana.
Silmoa laughed. 'Who says it's your dream?'
'Have you ever had control dreams before, Silmoa?' Liana asked.
'What's a control dream?'
'This sort of dream, where you know it's a dream, but you can control what happens?'said Liana.
'But I'm not controlling what happens,' said Silmoa.
'No, but I am,' said Liana. 'That's why it's my dream.'
'You're not controlling me,' said Silmoa.
'No, I can't control other people in the dream. They're quite separate. Herago, Selentaya, Piacho and the others. They're all allowed into my dream. But I don't know what they are going to say or do. And I don't know what you are going to do.'
'What do you mean? Herago? Herago is a long way away. And Selentaya and Piacho – who knows where they are? Oh dear. This is obviously just a normal, silly dream, where things happen that really can't happen, and people say things that nobody can believe.'
Liana thought that this was really like the old Silmoa, and for once she was pleased to hear her dismissing what Liana said in such a confident, straightforward manner. But she knew that Silmoa was wrong. How could she convince her?
'Silmoa, I understand why you would think that,' Liana said, 'but I promise, this is all true. Yes, it is a dream, but this is the real Liana talking to you in the dream, and I need you to help us.'
'Hmmm,' said Silmoa, my imagination has never before made something as ridiculous as this.'
'Silmoa, I promise you, I am not something made by your imagination. I'm the real Liana. I'm talking to you. Look, there I am sleeping, and this is me talking.'
Silmoa looked at the sleeping Liana, then at her own sleeping form on her bed. 'More and more curious,' she said.
'I really need to convince you, Silmoa,' Liana said. Then she had an idea.
'Listen, Silmoa,' Liana said, 'I know that you think this is just a weird dream. I'd feel the same if I were you, and hadn't had these dreams before. But I can prove it to you. I can prove that we are talking together – two real people right now. Tell me something to say tomorrow when we're both awake, and I'll say it.'
'How would that prove anything?'
'Because you can ask me to say something you know I wouldn't normally say. You can choose a word that can be a code. You decide.'
'All right,' said Silmoa. 'Here's something I know you wouldn't say. Tell me how glad you are that Tyro invented air for us all to breathe. I know you don't believe all that stuff. To tell you the truth, neither do I, but I can only say that in a dream.'
'Really?' said Liana. 'You want me to say that? You want me to sound grateful to Tyro for something he never did? Can't I say something else, like how beautiful the sky is today?'
'No, that wouldn't be any good. You're always saying boring things about nature. Telling me about the sky wouldn't help anything. No, like you said, you need to say something that I wouldn't expect you to say. Praising Tyro might convince me.'
'If you insist,' said Liana, 'that's what I'll say. And when I do, you'll need to help me with ...'
'It's not enough, though,' Silmoa interrupted. 'You also need to say the word "paradox".'
'Paradox?' said Liana. 'What's that?'
'It doesn't matter whether you know what it means,' Silmoa replied. 'In fact, it's better that you don't. But that's what you need to say to convince me.'
'All right,' said Liana. 'But if I don't know...'
Before Liana could finish the sentence, the dormitory faded, and Silmoa along with it. Suddenly, once again, Liana was back in old Seren-ila, standing, once again, outside the House of the Green Jewel. Herago was standing next to her.
'At last,' said Herago, 'you've got here. We need to work out how we are going to meet up to go to Tyropolis.'
'Where are the others?' asked Liana. 'Are they inside?'
'No, I don't know what has happened to them. I think we just have to go, and hope they will meet us as they said. But I still can't work out how we do that. If we can. It's beginning to look impossible.'
'Impossible is what we do,' said Liana. And she outlined the plan to Herago.