The three ringed him now and hemmed him in. Antyok leaned back in his chair and said easily, ‘I don’t know what you mean by suggestions. If you are accusing me, please stick to evidence-legal evidence. The laws of the Empire go by written, filmed, or transcribed material, or by witnessed statements. All my letters as administrator are on file here, at the Bureau, and at other places. I never asked for an A-priority project. The Bureau assigned it to me, and Zammo and Bannerd are responsible for that. In print, at any rate.’
Zammo’s voice was an almost inarticulate growl, ‘You hoodwinked me into teaching the creatures how to handle a spaceship.’
‘It was your suggestion. I have your report proposing they be studied in their reaction to human tools on file. So has the Bureau. The evidence – the legal evidence, is plain. I had nothing to do with it.’
‘Nor with the globes?’ demanded Bannerd.
The captain howled suddenly, ‘You had my ships brought here purposely. Five thousand globes! You knew it would require hundreds of craft.’
‘I never asked for globes,’ said Antyok, coldly. ‘That was the Bureau’s idea, although I think Bannerd’s friends of The Philosophy helped that along.’
Bannerd fairly choked. He spat out, ‘You were asking that Cepheid leader if he could read minds. You were telling him to express interest in the globes.’
‘Come, now. You prepared the transcript of the conversation yourself, and that, too, is on file. You can’t prove it.’ He stood up, ‘You’ll have to excuse me. I must prepare a report for the Bureau.’
At the door, Antyok turned, ‘In a way, the problem of the non-Humans is solved, even if only to their own satisfaction. They’ll breed now, and have a world they’ve earned themselves. It’s what they wanted.
‘Another thing. Don’t accuse me of silly things. I’ve been in the Service for twenty-seven years, and I assure you that my paper work is proof enough that I have been thoroughly correct in everything I have done. And captain, I’ll be glad to continue our discussion of earlier this evening at your convenience and explain how a capable administrator can work through red tape and still get what he wants.’
It was remarkable that such a round, smooth baby-face could wear a smile quite so sardonic.
From: BuOuProv
To: Loodun Antyok, Chief Public Administrator, A-8
Subject: Administrative Service, Standing in.
Reference:
(a) AdServ Court Decision 22874-Q, dated 1/978 G.E.
1. In view of the favorable opinion handed down in reference (a) you are hereby absolved of all responsibility for the flight of non-Humans on Cepheus 18. It is requested that you hold yourself in readiness for your next appointment.
R. Horpritt, Chief, AdServ,
15/978 G.E.
Evidence
‘But that wasn’t it, either,’ said Dr Calvin thoughtfully. ‘Oh, eventually, the ship and others like it became government property; the Jump through hyperspace was perfected, and now we actually have human colonies on the planets of some of the nearer stars, but that wasn’t it.’
I had finished eating and watched her through the smoke of my cigarette. ‘It’s what has happened’to the people here on Earth in the last fifty years that really counts. When I was born, young man, we had just gone through the last World War. It was a low point in history – but it was the end of nationalism. Earth was too small for nations and they began grouping themselves into Regions. It took quite a while. When I was born the United States of America was still a nation and not merely a part of the Northern Region. In fact, the name of the corporation is still ‘United States Robots—.’ And the change from nations to Regions, which has stabilized our economy and brought about what amounts to a Golden Age, when this century is compared with the last, was also brought about by our robots.’
‘You mean the Machines,’ I said. ‘The Brain you talked about was the first of the Machines, wasn’t it?’
‘Yes, it was, but it’s not the Machines I was thinking of Rather of a man. He died last year.’ Her voice was suddenly deeply sorrowful. ‘Or at least he arranged to die, because he knew we needed him no longer.-Stephen Byerley.’
‘Yes, I guessed that was who you meant.’
‘He first entered public office in 2032. Thu were only a boy then, so you wouldn’t remember the strangeness of it. His campaign for the Mayoralty was certainly the queerest in history—’
Francis Quinn was a politician of the new school. That, of course, is a meaningless expression, as are all expressions of the sort. Most of the ‘new schools’ we have were duplicated in the social life of ancient Greece, and perhaps, if we knew more about it, in the social life of ancient Sumeria and in the lake dwellings of prehistoric Switzerland as well.
But, to get out from under what promises to be a dull and complicated beginning, it might be best to state hastily that Quinn neither ran for office nor canvassed for votes, made no speeches and stuffed no ballot boxes. Any more than Napoleon pulled a trigger at Austerlitz.
And since politics makes strange bedfellows, Alfred Lanning sat at the other side of the desk with his ferocious white eyebrows bent far forward over eyes in which chronic impatience had sharpened to acuity. He was not pleased.
The fact, if known to Quinn, would have annoyed him not the least. His voice was friendly, perhaps professionally so.
‘I assume you know Stephen Byerley, Dr Lanning.’
‘I have heard of him. So have many people.’
‘Yes, so have I. Perhaps you intend voting for him at the next election.’
‘I couldn’t say.’ There was an unmistakable trace of acidity here. ‘I have not followed the political currents, so I’m not aware that he is running for office.’
‘He may be our next mayor. Of course, he is only a lawyer now, but great oaks—’
‘Yes,’ interrupted Lanning, ‘I have heard the phrase before. But I wonder if we can get to the business at hand.’
‘We are at the business at hand, Dr Lanning.’ Quinn’s tone was very gentle, ‘It is to my interest to keep Mr Byerley a district attorney at the very most, and it is to your interest to help me do so.’
‘To my interest? Come!’ Lanning’s eyebrows hunched low.
‘Well, say then to the interest of the U. S. Robot & Mechanical Men Corporation. I come to you as Director-Emeritus of Research, because I know that your connection to them is that of, shall we say, ‘elder statesman.’ You are listened to with respect and yet your connection with them is no longer so tight but that you cannot possess considerable freedom of action; even if the action is somewhat unorthodox.’
Dr Lanning was silent a moment, chewing the cud of his thoughts. He said more softly, ‘I don’t follow you at all, Mr Quinn.’
