Catt was back in the elevator. The attendant looked at her, as if expecting more conversation, but Catt's mind was elsewhere, counting days. Two months? She wasn't certain, but she thought that was how long she had been living in Great Bakak. How had she not realized there were only five months in a year?

Catt passed through the library lobby. The brightness seemed a blur now. The air smelled cloying. A sense of urgency had gripped her. She had only three months left, not the ten months she had ima...