I’d been hoping he wouldn’t ask that until after we’d handed out the Shops, but I did have a plan.

In the last Challenge, I’d been put up against another person in a situation where only one of us could walk away with the prize. A repeat of that scenario seemed the most likely to me, but that didn’t mean I hadn’t considered what would happen if more people became involved. Fairly distributing the prizes - or at least, distributing them in a way people would accept - was something I had bashed my head up against for a while.

The most straightforward solution, distributing them randomly, seemed to have been made impossible by the alien abilities. Who could trust a dice roll when a Telekinetic might be present? Clairvoyants could see behind people’s backs. Clairaudients could hear whispered communications. Many abilities had bonuses with a sensory component, like Micah’s ability to detect temperature at will. I couldn’t think of a single physical tool I was confident was cheatproof, and other forms of randomization - like having people try to guess a number - were dependent on people trusting my word alone. Considering that the losers would be actively incentivized to doubt me, that seemed like a recipe for disaster.

I’d struggled to think of another way to hand out any rewards that people would accept. It seemed like an almost impossible task, and for a while I’d glumly resolved to put a dice set in my backpack and hope no one recognized how fallible dice had become.

It was only when I’d begun wrestling with another issue - how to get a bunch of mistrustful strangers to share their most helpful information - that I came up with a way to solve the first problem.

“We can’t stay here all day. I was going to suggest that everyone who isn’t going to get a Shop offers up one piece of information. Everyone else can vote on whether the information is helpful or not. The six people who get the most votes would get the prizes.”

I saw a calculating look come over Gauge Boy’s face.

Yeah, expected that. Better head that one off.

“Considering your role, however, I’d like to suggest that we allocate one of the other prizes to you at the start. That will allow you to provide an honest assessment of each hungry individual without fear of influencing their votes one way or another.”

That surprised him, and he lost his grumpy look for the first time since I’d seen him.

There was general agreement with my suggestion. No one wanted him incentivized to give us anything but the truth. Gauge Boy moved through the crowd, sorting people into two groups, one that was better off and one that was in dire need. He ended up with too many people in the “starving” group and had to go through them one more time to determine who among them was truly worst-off.

Gauge Boy had gotten under my skin, but with his own prize secured, his hostile demeanor crumbled. I could see him wince as he took the hand of each of the Shop hopefuls and felt how poorly they were doing. They stared in his face as he sorted them.

I didn’t envy him such an awful task. It was patently obvious which group was which, and he looked heartbroken as he had to ask a woman to move to the healthier group. She broke down in tears, not letting go of the hand that he’d touched to hers. In the end, he needed assistance to peel her off of him.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry!” he repeated. “There are only six Shops. Only six. I can’t… There isn’t…”

Better him than me. He’d earned his prize, whatever the hell it was.

I could see agitation growing among those who wanted a Shop, but no one caused trouble until Gauge Boy made a clear statement about who would earn the prizes.

Those not chosen reacted in different ways. Several people simply stared emptily, despair written across their faces. A few broke down in tears. And a handful, finding that the group hadn’t decided in their favor, decided to try to take what they wanted.

I wasn’t surprised. While Gauge Boy had been making his examinations, I’d been at work as well. The girl younger than Micah was in the hungriest group, but I moved Micah and the two teenagers back into an alcove and asked them to stay put, and asked several of the better-fed adults to guard the raised dais. As for myself, I began gathering the rations people had brought and sorting them into piles.

As soon as the winners were announced, I did a mass Draw Attention from where I stood behind the group. The people who had decided to try to go against Gauge Boy's decisions had barely taken a step before my ability hit them. It forced them to spin to face me, and the unexpected change in momentum made most of them fall. Even the two who remained standing were disoriented and struggling for balance.

I snapped at them. “Think for a minute! You haven’t done anything wrong yet, but the minute you touch the prizes, the minute you attack people, you lose this food.” I pointed at the piles near my feet. “We want to help you. Let us! If you decide to go against the group, you’ll get nothing. Nothing! But if you cooperate, you’ll get to go back with over 10,000 calories apiece. It's not perfect, but it's something. Take it! It will give you time to figure out a more permanent solution”

Most of those who had turned toward me froze, arrested by the sight of such a bounty of food. I’d made sure to have it out and visible, so they had something tangible to turn away from if they decided to be idiots.

One person made the wrong choice. The instant Draw Attention broke, he spun and threw himself toward the dais. He actually got a hand on one of the prizes… but he had no chance of holding it for the 75 seconds needed to complete his claim.

A woman in a leather bomber jacket hit his chest with a tremendous kick. He was lofted into the air and landed ten feet from the dais. I could see his leg bend at an odd angle as it hit the floor, and he immediately began coughing blood.

He lost his grip on the prize orb, and Bomber Jacket hopped down to retrieve it. There was a moment’s tension after she picked it up, and I could see she was considering hanging onto it… but then, oh-so-casually, she moseyed back to the central platform and set it down.

I was grateful that she hadn’t decided to make her own play; I could kick a leafenrat through the air, but as emaciated as the would-be thief was, he was still substantially heavier. Bomber Jacket was strong.

The thief himself… I couldn’t help but feel sympathy, but I knew better than to suggest healing him. He was alive for now and would get to listen in to our discussion. Being too soft on him would just encourage others to go against the group. The best thing I could do for him was to keep things moving so he could get home to his own friends and healers before his injuries overwhelmed him.

I injected a hint of exasperation and scorn into my voice. “Well, there’s one man who lost access to this food. More for everyone else… unless anyone else is planning something stupid?”

There was a moment’s silence as the hungry people glanced between the dais and my piles, but no one moved.

“Good,” I said, relieved.

A hungry woman who’d been chosen spoke up. “Can I claim my Shop now?”

“We’re planning to exchange information. Are you sure you don’t want to stay?”

“My kids are waiting. They’re hungry. This is all we need!”

I could sympathize with her desire to get back quickly. We hadn’t dawdled, but we’d still been here for over twenty minutes. No one had an objection to her claiming her prize early… but unfortunately, it didn’t let her leave. Color drained from the prize orb when time expired, but she wasn’t teleported back home.

“Why am I still here?”

I grimaced. “I would guess all the prizes need to be claimed before anyone leaves.”

She turned to us, tears welling in her eyes. “Well, hurry up, then!”

I didn’t need to be told twice.