“Providence has delivered us to a place where all the secrets of the universe are kept, and it wants to give them to us. All we've got to do is make the connection!”
"What would you rather do?" Constance asked again, with impassioned emphasis. "Would you rather sit around and wait for United Space to finish fixing up its ship, so we can go back and wait for more? Wait for them to keep on traipsing here and there throughout the galaxy, never bothering to ask our opinion one way or another until they find some world they deem a suitable place for us to work off our debt? Or would you rather do what we colonists do best—take what we've got right now and make it work for us?"
There was a murmur of agreement from those gathered nearby. Including, Lamont noticed, some members of the Westward crew that had been transplanted with the colonists.
Constance crouched down next to Abner, who was watching her with an expression of stunned admiration. "Abner, what've we got?"
The young man shook his head, uncomprehending.
"How many other levels are beneath us in this tower?" Constance asked.
"Hundreds," Abner answered.
"And what are they all for?" Constance pressed.
"Lord knows," Abner stammered. "It could take a century to explore it all. Some of them look like they might be laboratories, factories. Some of them might be living spaces for creatures very unlike us."
"Creatures from the moon below?" Constance asked.
"Well, no, I don't think so. The landing bays we all saw have dozens of vehicles with all kinds of wild designs. Folks must have come here from all over once upon a time."
"And there must have been a reason," Constance agreed loudly. "A reason they came and a reason we came. Providence has delivered us to a place where all the secrets of the universe are kept, and it wants to give them to us. All we've got to do is make the connection!"
There were more murmurs from the crowd. Among them, Lamont could see members of the group that had originally camped around the grove; their expressions had become especially ecstatic. He could hear them exclaiming things like "Communion!" and "Wake the sleeper!"
Constance stood again, using Abner's sloped shoulder for leverage. "So much has yet to be revealed, brothers and sisters," she intoned, "but I've been told a wonderful secret: The tower is a beacon now, but once it was the scepter of a great empire, a civilization spanning stars and stars. We have been brought here so that we can reawaken that glory! What we are doing now, in this garden, are just the first faltering steps, learning to use the awesome power that we've been given. When we've learned what this tower has to teach us, we'll be able to do anything we want, go anywhere we choose. But we won't have to! The universe will come to us!"
There was a clamor of cheers and applause from the gathered group. Lamont realized that his mouth had gone dry as he watched Constance pat an adoring Abner fondly on the shoulder, nod appreciatively to the crowd, and descend from the platform.