 Which is least likely contributing to Xeon's request to move to the fields before the Oracle of Delni?
But I knew that where Xeon is, Melia must soon appear. Everything has evaporated in Maternite. A man my age does not hurry in the heat of the midday sun—maddugs nenglishmin go out in the midday sun, as the ancients say, although I often wonder why—but Xeon and Melia ran all the way down to the city. They were aware that they stood in the midst of an unprecedented happening; indeed, an emergency. They were created so long ago, indeed, that the ignorant believe them to have been constructed by the gods themselves. They accompanied me past the marble pillars into the cool recesses of the Hall, then seated themselves on the floor as I took my place by the great table. At such a time, many men feel impelled to make speeches, and one must not be disrespectful. Prayers and supplications were offered to the gods, priests were sent to sacrifice, and finally, as the light of the sun was falling between the pillars, the High Priest of the Maternite Machine was heard. By this time, unfortunately, many of the Conclave had departed for home and supper. Yet perhaps it is for the best, for those left were the most earnest and intelligent. The machines bear the exact number of children each year to balance the number of us whom the gods claim. Such it has always been from time immemorial." It is at such times that I most revere the wisdom of the ancients, who decreed seventy years the minimum age for a member of the Conclave.
 The pressure from Sias to keep the situation private
 The urge to make the event less of a spectacle  The general desire to maintain some control in the situation  The general level of comfort of lying on marble  The pressure from Sias to keep the situation private