Scharde leaned back against the wall and settled himself for the wait which his ruffling of sensibilities almost guaranteed, and which a show of impatience could only extend. He closed his eyes and pretended to doze.
Minutes passed: ten, then fifteen, the irreducible minimum to be expected under the circumstances.
At half an hour, Scharde yawned and stretched, and began to consider his options, which at the moment were confined to waiting with all the dignity he could muster.
At about forty minutes, when "absentminded indifference, colored with contempt" began to verge into "purposeful insult," there came a scrape of movement in the space at the other side of the mesh.
A voice spoke: "Scharde Clattuc, what is your business with Titus Pompo?"
Scharde's diaphragm jerked and twitched, for reasons unclear, since the voice was unfamiliar. He asked: "Who is talking?"
"You may accept these as the words of Titus Pompo. Why are you
' Cultural psychologists have defined the symbology of "wait times" and its i variation from culture to culture. The significance of the intervals is determined by a large number of factors, and the student can easily list for himself, out of his own :
experience, those which are relevant to his own culture. :
"Wait times," in terms of social perception, range from no wait whatever to weeks and months. In one context a wait of five minutes will be interpreted as "unpardonable insolence"; at another time and place a wait of only three days is considered a signal i of benign favor.
The use of an exactly calculated wait time, as every person familiar with the conventions of his own culture understands, can be used as an assertion of dominance, or "putting one in one's place," by legal and nonviolent methods. s The subject has many fascinating ramifications. For instance. Person A wishes to:
assert his superior status over Person B, and keeps him waiting an hour. At the?;
thirty-minute mark, which B already feels to be unacceptable and humiliating, A) sends B a small tray of tea and sweetcakes, a gesture which B cannot rebuff without j loss of dignity. A thereby forces B to wait a full hour and B must also thank A fofj, his graciousness and bounty in the matter of the inexpensive refreshments. When! well-executed, this is a beautiful tactic, i not using the couch which was provided for your convenience?"
"That was a kind thought, but I don't like the color."
"Really? It is my favorite."
"The couch also looks as if it might fold suddenly backward when one least expected it. I prefer not to risk pranks of this sort."
"You have an uneasy temperament!"
"Still, I am visible ... No doubt you have good reasons for not showing yourself."
There was silence for a moody few seconds, then: "In response to your demands, an audience has been conceded to you; do not waste the occasion by belaboring the obvious."
The voice, of neutral timbre and measured intonation, seemed almost mechanical, and rasped, as if it had been modified by overloaded filters.
"I will try to keep to the business at hand," said Scharde.
"This is a recent murder at Araminta Station. There was a witness, or a near-witness, named Zamian Lemew Gabriskies.
He is now here at Yipton. I therefore request that you find this person and give him into my custody."
"Certainly, and without hesitation! But I must charge you a service fee of one thousand sols."
'"You will be paid nothing for conduct required of you by the law, which you know as well as I do, perhaps better."
"I know your law, certainly, but on the Lutwen Islands we use my law."
"Not so. I agree that you exercise a personal rule here, but only by default, in the absence of established authority, which may be reasserted at any time. The situation is tolerated only as a temporary stopgap, and because, in general, proper social order seems to be maintained--give or take a few distasteful circumstances. In other words you are allowed to rule because it is expedient, not because you have the acknowledged right to do so. The moment you step out of line and start flouting established law, this temporary accommodation comes to an end."
"Use whatever words you like," said the voice.
"The Lutwen Islands are in fact independent, like it or not. Let us all recognize reality, starting with the Conservator. His penalties are insufferably impertinent."
"I know nothing of penalties."
"You haven't heard the news? The Conservator now allows us payment only in scrip. Tourists are no longer allowed to bring sols to Lutwen City: only scrip, which then must be spent at the Araminta commissary for approved goods."
Scharde chuckled.
"Evidently weapons are not on the list."
"I assume as much. The tactic is inept. We acquire as much hard currency as we need."
"How is that accomplished?"
"I see no need to advertise our resources."
Scharde shrugged.
"As you like, I am not here to discuss politics with you. I only want Zamian."
"And you shall have him. My inquiries are complete, and I too regard him as a miscreant. He worked for private gain at detriment to my personal interests."
Scharde chuckled again.
