"Of course it'll persist. Our fine residents have such varied ideas of authority and how to react to it that there's no way we'll ever get everyone to comply. Ashraf had the right idea when he mentioned a council, but..."

Look at how far they've come with that.

Saul decides that now is a good time for coffee, so he continues talking as he moves to the kitchen, hands all over the place. "A list would be good, so long as something's done with it. Sonya and I conducted that survey a while back with that same idea in mind — forming some kind of governing body — but nothing came of it. Is this your water, baby?"

He's talking to Steph, of course. And he means the kettle, whose contents have almost entirely boiled away. Maybe they need to invest in a whistling one...