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your originally selected parent, you are the only one that the Orb chose. It sets us on our path, and while we don’t know it at the time, it shapes us. It is very humbling to know that some of my best choices in life were nudged there.”
    He joined her looking out over the expanse of the city.
    “It explains why my first memories after it entered were all the crossroads moments in my life. It was there every time I wanted to back away and run, whispering that I needed to try harder, do what was necessary.”
    “It tends to do that. It drives us to put ourselves in the position where we become what it wills us to be. The best our genes can make us, I suppose.”
    “This happened to you?”
    “Far away and long ago, but yes. I was standing between a village and a drunken Admaryn. He had a long knife that sliced through my torso. It was not pleasant, but my death was quick.”
    “Who retrieved you?”
    “An Enjel named Krassion. He passed away a century ago. He was the first Nameless I had ever seen. The Admaryn called us the Hooded Ones and that was what came to take me Home.” He sighed, and she could see the shift in his shoulders as he remembered his rescuer.
    “Was he your tutor?”
    “No. That was Veviki. He was a Kreedan with a bad temper, but he taught me what I needed to know to serve the Orb of Time.”
    She chuckled. “The Kreedans are born bad tempered.” The race was thousands of years old in the Alliance and yet, the insectoid population was constantly harping and nit picking on other species.
    “That they are. He was an informative tutor though. The Orb sent him to worlds where his body would not cause comment.”
    She smiled, “When do I pick a cowl?”
    “Whenever you like. We can go to the repository now if you like. You can get a better feel for what is available.”
    She nodded. “I am not tired, so we may as well go. When is sunset?”
    “It depends. Your perceptions will colour the amount of light that comes into your rooms. When you are tired, the light will fade and trigger your sleep cycle.” His voice was matter of fact.
    They walked across the bridges, and when she heard the only sounds of mechanical movement on the whole way, she knew that they had reached their destination.
    Inside the building, she noted a line up and a large display where one of the Nameless was making selections. “What is this place, exactly?”
    “It is the Acquisitions repository. Anything you can imagine can be provided and all clothing that we use is obtained and stored here.” His arm waved out to cover the entire warehouse.
    The whirring that was audible belonged to the mechanical arms that swivelled on bases and visited all portions of the warehouse. The arms not only delivered objects to the waiting Nameless, but they were putting objects away and dropping some into slots connected to long tubes that disappeared into the floor.
    “They deliver too?”
    He laughed, “Once you know what you have in mind, you can request clothing to be sent to your rooms. It isn’t something to do lightly though, you can order far more than you think if you are not careful.”
    She smiled, “So, I simply get in line?”
    “That is the way it works. You see that man who just started to glow?”
    “Yes.”
    “The others will let him pass. That glow is the sign of the Orb calling him to duty.”
    He was right. As soon as the others noted the glow, they parted and gave the illuminated one first crack at the selector.
    “Well, that is polite.” She smiled and walked toward the line of folks waiting to take their turn at the selector.
    The process went pretty fast. She kept an eye on the glowing man as he returned from a change room, and when he flared brightly and disappeared, she closed her mouth with a snap.
    “Wow. I thought I was imagining the flash of light.”
    Harken was surprised. “You remember that?”
    “Well, more like it was printed on my memories. I can see myself falling out a window. Wait, did