After nearly an hour, Tharionson's patience began to sharpen into anger. He stood over a table with three open ledgers before him, tracing a finger down an index of suspended decrees, when his eyes stopped on a thin entry half-faded near the bottom of the page.
Severance Authority, Joint Ratification, Restricted Moral-Bloodline Statute, Ref: SD-20-C/S.
His pulse slowed.
The title was not exact, perhaps deliberately softened, but the reference code carried the kind of classification used for documents removed from public circulation without being destroyed.
"Zion," he called, his voice controlled but immediate.
