“But would you?”

“Sure.”

She sat up beside him. “We can do it, you know. If you really want to.”

“You must be…”

“No, we can,” she insisted. “The Council’s due to vote on the new Chairman in two days, right? The Chairman and the permanent Council members are Class A, aren’t they? Their genetic options are much wider than B’s, aren’t they?”

“Yes, but…”

“I checked it all out. The computer selection rated you and Dan so close together that it wasn’t until the third-order effects were taken into account that it rated Dan ahead of you. And then it was only a shade. But if you’re elected Chairman, then…”

Larry shook his head. “It’s Dan’s turn to be Chairman. He’s a year older than I am. Besides, he wanted to revive his father when we got to Centauri and turn the Chairmanship over to him.”

“But that’s all changed now.”

Larry frowned. “No… Dan and I talked it over a long time ago. He’s a year older than I am, so he’ll get a chance to be Chairman first—”

Very softly, Valery said, “That means in two months I’ll be Mrs. Christopher. Unless you do something about it now.”

“I can’t…”

“Dan’s in no condition to run the Council,” she said. “When they vote, two days from now, he’ll still be in the infirmary. And a lot of the older Council members have always thought he’s much too emotional to be Chairman, even if it’s only for a couple of months. Especially now, when we’re about to make landfall… they’d rather have a stronger, cooler Chairman. You can ask my father; that’s what they’re saying.”

Larry knew. He knew all of it. To be Chairman when we reach the new world. Every eligible young man and woman aboard wanted that honor.

“Do you think Dan could handle that responsibility?” Valery asked, sliding a hand around the back of Larry’s neck.

Not as well as I can, he answered silently.