The fluoro-globe spun, and slowly the Cepheid seemed to grow tense as well, as his eyes shifted to the colorful sheen of the globe’s fragile surface.
The Cepheid said, ‘What is that?’
Antyok started, and his face smoothed into an almost chuckling placidity, ‘This? A Galactic fad of three years ago; which means that it is a hopelessly old-fashioned relic this year. It is a useless device but it looks pretty. Bannerd, could you adjust the windows to non-transmission?
There was the soft click of a contact, and the windows became curved regions of darkness, while in the center of the room, the fluoro-globe was suddenly the focus of a rosy effulgence that seemed to leap outward in streamers. Antyok, a scarlet figure in a scarlet room, placed it upon the table and spun it with a hand that dripped red. As it spun, the colors changed with a slowly increasing rapidity, blended and fell apart into more extreme contrasts.
Antyok was speaking in an eerie atmosphere of molten, shifting rainbow, ‘The surface is of a material that exhibits variable fluorescence. It is almost weightless, extremely fragile, but gyroscopically balanced so that it rarely falls, with ordinary care. It is rather pretty, don’t you think?’
From somewhere the Cepheid’s voice came, ‘Extremely pretty.’
‘But it has outworn its welcome; outlived its fashionable existence.’
The Cepheid’s voice was abstracted, ‘It is very pretty.’
Bannerd restored the light at a gesture, and the colors faded.
The Cepheid said, ‘That is something my people would enjoy.’ He stared at the globe with fascination.
And now Antyok rose. ‘You had better go. If you stay longer, the atmosphere may have bad effects. I thank you humbly for your kindness.’
‘I thank you humbly for yours.’ The Cepheid had also risen.
Antyok said, ‘Most of your people, by the way, have accepted our offers to them to study the make-up of our modern spaceships. You understand, I suppose, that the purpose was to study the reactions of your people to our technology. I trust that conforms with your sense of propriety.’
‘You need not apologize. I, myself, have now the makings of a human pilot. It was most interesting. It recalls our own efforts-and reminds us of how nearly on the right track we were.’
The Cepheid left, and Antyok sat, frowning.
‘Well,’ he said to Bannerd, a little sharply. ‘You remember our agreement, I hope. This interview can’t be published.’
Bannerd shrugged, ‘Very well.’,
Antyok was at his seat, and his fingers fumbled with the small metal figurine upon his desk, ‘What do you think of all this, Bannerd?’
‘I am sorry for them. I think I understand how they feel. We must educate them out of it. The Philosophy can do it.’
‘You think so?’
‘Yes.’
‘We can’t let them go, of course.’
‘Oh, no. Out of the question. We have too much to learn from them. This eeling of theirs is on!y a passing stage. They’ll think differently, especially when we allow tliem the completest independence.’
‘Maybe. What do you think of the fluoro-globes, Bannerd? He liked them. It might be a gesture of the right sort to order several thousand of them. The Galaxy knows, they’re a drug on the market right now, and cheap enough.’
‘Sounds like a good idea,’ said Bannerd.
‘The Bureau would never agree, though. I know them.’
The newsman’s eyes narrowed, ‘But it might be just the thing. They need new interests.’
‘Yes? ell, we could do something. I could include your transcript of the mterview as part of a report and just emphasize the matter of the globe a bit. Afte: al , you’re a member of The Philosophy and might have mfluence with important people, whose word with the Bureau might carry much more weight than mine. You understand—?’
‘Yes,’ mused Bannerd. ‘Yes.’
From: AdHQ-Ceph18
To: BuOuProv
Subject: OuProv Project 2910, Part II; Birth rate of non-Humans on Cepheus 18, Investigation of.
Reference:
(a) BuOuProv letr. Cep-N-CM/car, 115097, dated 223/977 G.E.
Enclosure:
1. Transcript of conversation between L. Antyok of AdHQ-Cephl8, and Ni-San, High Judge of the non-Humans on Cepheus 18.
1. Enclosure 1 is forwarded herewith for the information of the BuOuProv.
2. The investigation of the subject project undertaken in response to the authorization of reference (a) is being pursued along the new lines indicated in Enclosure 1. The BuOuProv is assured that every means will be used to combat the harmful psychological attitude at present prevalent among the non-Humans.
3. It is to be noted that the High Judge of the non-Humans on Cepheus 18 expressed interest in fluoro-globes. A preliminary investigation into this fact of non-Human psychology has been initiated.
L. Antyok, Superv. AdHQ-Cephl8,
