from the walls.

Ram asks what is that tapping? And Peter sighs and says The present
generation of students has no discipline at all.

At this B brakes with one hand against the wall and cocks her head to
listen; next moment she laughs and starts banging with her fist on the
wall.

Peter exclaims in Mandarin and tows her away by one wrist like a
reluctant kite. The rapping starts again on the far side of the wall
and I suddenly recognize a primitive signaling system called Regret
or something, I guess because it was used by people in situations they
did not like such as Sinking ships or solitary confinement; it is done
by tapping water pipes and such.

Someone found it in a book and the more childish element in College
learned it up for signaling during compulsory lectures. Interest
waning abruptly when the lecturers started to learn it, too.

I never paid much attention not expecting to be in Solitary
confinement much; this just shows you; next moment Ram opens a door
and pushes me through it, the door clicks behind me and Solitary
confinement is what I am in.

I remember this code is really called Remorse which is what I feel for
not learning when I had the chance.

However I do not have long for it, a speaker in the wall requests
everyone to lie down as acceleration is about to begin. I strap down
on the couch which fills half the compartment, countdown begins and at
zero the floor is suddenly _down_ once more.

I wait till my stomach settles, then rise to explore.

* * * * *

I am in an oblong room about eight by twelve, it looks as though it
had been hastily partitioned off from a larger space. The walls are
prefab plastic sheet, the rest is standard fittings slung in and
bolted down with the fastenings showing.

How many of my classmates are on this ship? _Remorse_ again as
tapping starts on either side of me.

Discarding such Hypotheses as that Ram and Peter are going to hold us
to ransom--which might work for me, since my Dad somehow got to be a
millionaire, but not for B because her parents think money is
vulgar--or that we are being carried off to found an ideal Colony
somewhere--any first-year student can tell you why that won't
work--only one idea seems plausible.

This is that Finals were not final and we are in for a Test of some
sort.

After ten minutes I get some evidence; a Reading Machine is trundled
in, the door immediately slamming shut so I do not se