'Listen up, everyone.’ Tee climbed up onto a couple
of storage crates as the Outers gathered around him.
‘We’re in for a hell of a fight.’ He
paused. ‘And, in all honesty, I don’t know
that we can win it.’ He paused again, choosing his
words carefully. ‘But we have to try. Not just for
ourselves, but for all future Outers. Because if there
is one certainty in this contrived, artificial, imposed
world – it is that there will always be more of
us. There will be other characters, other versions of
ourselves –’ he looked directly at Tark ‘–
who will stand up and say No. So for the sake
of all these future Outers, as well as for ourselves,
we now come to the point where we must again say No.
We will not lie down and die. We will fight for our existence.
We will fight for our freedom.’
A cheer went up from the Outers.
‘Win or lose,’ continued Tee, his eyes moving
about the common room, meeting gaze after gaze. ‘Whatever
the outcome, we will achieve it without the Designers.
Win or lose, we are free!’
