Morgen’s round face took on a solemn caste. “Censorship is more important now than ever, my lady. We’ve got to keep word of what happened at Magaria from spreading.”

 Sula hastily washed down a piece of flat bread in order to unleash her reply. “Spreading towhom ?” she said. “Theenemy ? The enemy knowperfectly well they massacred forty-eight of our ships! They know we only have six ships left in the Home Fleet, and they’ve got to know theDelhi ‘s a wreck.”

 Morgen lowered his voice, as if encouraging Sula not to spread this news to the enlisted personnel, who knew it perfectly well. “We have to prevent panic from spreading in the civilian population,” he said.

 Sula gave an acid laugh. “No, we can’t have the civilians panicking. Not thewrong civilians, anyway.” She gave Foote a cynical look. “I’m sure our honorable censor’s family is panickingright at this very moment . The only difference between them and the general population is that Clan Foote is going to panic their way into aprofit. I’m sure their money’s moving all over the exchanges, and it’s being converted into…” Her invention failed her. “…into, ah, convertible things, to be carried to the safer corners of the empire to await a brighter dawn. Perhaps they’re even being carried in the current Lord Foote’s very own pillowcase.”

 “My lord great-uncle,” Foote said quietly, “is too ill to leave his palace on Zanshaa.”

 “His heir, then,” Sula said. “The point of the censorship is that we Peers are going to have a monopoly on the information necessary to survive whatever’s coming. Everyone who doesn’t belong to our order is expected to continue their normal lives, making money for the Peers, right up to the point where a Naxid fleet shows up and starts raining antimatter bombs out of the sky.Then maybe they’ll be allowed to notice that the media reports were less than candid.”