"Who knows about her?" Franz shrugged. "I know some others here who may want to go. We can see them now, but someone has to stay here with Kathryn."
Sten watched the hungry eyes of Karl and Johnathon as they looked at the now silent woman, sitting dejectedly at the table.
"I'll stay," he said.
The two men moved reluctantly as they followed Franz from the room. Sten sat in silence after they were gone, watching the woman, who was staring sullenly at the table top. He felt the pressure of the room close in on him, and wished he were back in the openness of the mountains. With a start he realized that he no longer noticed the whine unless he listened for it, and that the sound somehow created a feeling of warmth within him. He rose, slammed his fist into his open palm, and shook the woman vigorously.
"Kathryn, how would you like to leave here? Go to a new land, a valley that is still green and fertile? There you could look up at the sky and live and feel free—and raise your children free."
Kathryn looked up dumbfounded. "I couldn't leave here. What would I do? Don't you know that this is real freedom? Here where we have The Leader to take care of everything for us?"
"No! This is bondage. Being told when to sleep and when to eat and what to eat, and slaving for a grain of salt."
"Do you have salt?" she seemed incredulous.
"Out there, Kathryn, you can have as much as you want. Believe me, this is no good. Where is the purpose of your life? Man wasn't born to be a slave to anyone or anything, but to build his own life. You're a woman, meant to have children, to mother them, and teach them, and love them, doesn't that mean anything to you?"
"I ... I don't know. I've never thought about it before."