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13'Sao-La

     He selected a wide-mouthed amphora of heavily grained wood. Sculpted and smoothed, it rested nicely in his arms; it poured easily. A fine product, deserving of praise, obviously much appreciated by consumers. All the more painful for them to abandon to an unjust cause ... if they took his lead.
     He glanced around. The crowd had not abated, though buyers left satisfied every few moments. He still had critical mass for a riot. He found his golpe and topador again, poised at opposite sides of the shop, ready to start the play. Conditions right, he joined the buyer queue.


     At dawn, 17'Kuna had started the Kata-for-Delivery, rollcall to get their attention, then the Rollkeeper had:
     1. dispensed mission identities, allotting one actual name and direvnya, copied from the Rendezvous' registry, to each olloman on his roster. Volatile identities, persisting only under queries by agents-for-trade; heavier data-demands would erase the ruse, leaving the anshin, for instance, with the olloman's own entry in the Rendezvous. 13'Sao-La absorbed his with a look.
     2. named triads, then allowed the threesomes to settle positions among themselves. 13'Sao-La drew two unfamiliar ollomani. Amid a thunder of seventy-eight triads negotiating with words and blows, 13'Sao-La plucked chivero, or roamer, for his role while staring down the others. Eyes answering with fear and respect, 11'Gaur chose golpe, or deep center. Also acquiescing, 4'Banteng agreed to topador, or near center. Familiar positions, but in Ganj Dareh-as-arena, there would be entirely new ways to play them.
     3. assigned neighborhoods as targets, then confided the Governor's strategy. All but fourteen communities in Ganj Dareh would take two or more strikes by different triads, specific neighborhoods in specific timeframes across the morning. Objective: focus on differences in people, highlight them with abuse, verbal and physical, then return to the Ready Room with assessments of damage and anshin response.
     4. one in four triads were authorized physical violence, and those were warned against killing anybody on this, the first, Day of Delivery, pointing out that the Voiceless were weak, unskilled, fearful, and so, required more care to avoid fatal injuries
     5. sent them out into the arena.


     13'Sao-La chatted with the Voiceless around him, his words tinged with a western accent. He introduced himself as Gi Seppe Piazzi from Etemenanki. He joked in 5'Khting-Vor's earthy fashion. He even dittied, though his yodel lacked range. He invited them to join the chorus. Some did. Many, buyers and browsers alike, just smiled.


     As chivero, 13'Sao-La had led the way. He quickly assigned three different qi-che routes to their first neighborhood and started his triad on their ways.
     As chivero, 13'Sao-La set the tactics. He saw immediately that 11'Gaur's pale skin, freckles, and red hair, and 4'Banteng's slightly darker complexion and sandy hair, both contrasted with his at the dark end of the human range. He chose from the recent days of training — full of rehearsals, role-plays, and psychology lectures — to form a maneuver that focused on racial differences.
     As chivero, 13'Sao-La heeded the new Ruleskeepers. Before Ganj Dareh, ollomani Ruleskeepers ensured consistency and effectiveness across the League. Now, in this new arena, different Rules and different Ruleskeepers — the anshin — worked against ollomani objectives. However, the Governor had provided for success there as well: patrol schedules, Beobachtung shadows, weapons and skills profiles. Using these, 13'Sao-La selected this bazaar as a target that would maximize impact on the Voiceless and minimize anshin threat.