'I wish I could say that I didn't know exactly what you meant about people playing political games over who should get citizens' rights, but-' Tayrey shrugs. 'Those who benefit from trying to take others' freedoms are always going to look for loopholes. We've had robust enough opposition to stop them from getting anywhere, but it's always a danger.'

Then she adds, more optimistically: 'At least societies founded on resisting tyranny will recognise the intrinsic value of liberty.' Something Tayrey had believed self-evident, until she'd met people content to live in a cage because they feared what might be outside it. 'That counts for a lot.'