Demon princes 01 05 the.., p.58
Demon Princes 01-05 The Star Ki, page 58
“My apologies to you,” said Gersen. “I hope you have not been seriously injured.”
Ethuen gave him a look of unspeakable dislike; Mano made a muttering sound in his throat.
“Well, then,” said Navarth cheerfully. “What now?”
“We will pick up our friends,” said Gersen. “No doubt they are wondering what is to become of them.”
“Then what?” growled Ethuen. “How are we to find our way back to Sogdian? We have no spaceship.”
Gersen laughed. “Were you deceived? This is Sogdian. That is the sun Miel. How could you not notice?”
“Why should I3 A lunatic pilot careened through the cluster for hours.”
“A subterfuge. Zog was no lunatic. But he was careless, he performed no acclimati7ation routine; when he flung open the port there was no difference in pressure or composition. The light was the same intensity; the gravity was the same, the sky was the same color, the clouds were of the same shape, the flora of the same type.”
“I noticed nothing,” said Navarth. “But I am no space traveler. I feel no shame. If I ever return to Earth, I shall never depart again.”
“First: a stop at the city of Kouhila. The folk wilt be pleased to learn that they need pay no further taxes.”
At Afar, Gersen found the Distis Pharaon as he had left it. Mano, Wible and da Nossa had spaceboats of their own; the other guests were conveyed back to the Oikumene by the ship which Viole Falushe had ordered for their use. Navarth and the three Drusillas came aboard the Pharaon. Gersen flew them to New Wexford and put them aboard the packet for Earth. “I will send you money,” he told Navarth. “It will be for the girls. You must make sure that they are raised properly.”
“I have done my best with Zan Zu,” said Navarth gruffly. “She is raised. What is amiss with her? The others will need more care.”
“Exactly. And when I am next on Earth I will see you.”
“Good. We will sit on the deck of my houseboat and drink my fine wine.” Navarth turned away. Gersen took a deep breath, went to say good-bye to Drusilla Wayles. She came close to him, took his hands. “Why can’t I come with you? Wherever you go.”
“I can’t explain to you. But—no. Not now. I tried it once, to no avail.”
“I would be different.”
“I know you are. But there might be worse problems. I might not be able to part with you.”
“Will I ever see you again?”
“I don’t think so.”
Drusilla turned away “Good-bye,” she said listlessly.
Gersen took a step after her, halted, then swung around and went his way.
Gersen chartered a freight earner and took it to the Palace of Love. The gardens seemed wild and less well tended An indefinable gloom had come over the airy structures Retz greeted him with cautious cordiality. “I have been doing your bidding. Slowly, easily, not to disturb or alarm.”
He took Gersen on a tour of the special environments, he described the weird and intricate thought-patterns Viole Falushe had imposed upon his young victims. One by one the victims were emerging into the upper air; some astonished; some delighted, some dazzled and frightened, and whimpering to return.
The villages in the garden had changed. Many of the Fortunate Folk had departed; others had returned from the backlands with their children. In time the Palace of Love would become a remote farm community.
Gersen could not leave Viole Falushe’s books to moulder. He loaded them aboard the freighter and consigned them to the care of Jehan Addels at New Wexford. With a final admonition for Retz, Gersen himself departed, and flew off through the stars of Sirneste Cluster, back toward the Oikumene.
Months later, sitting on the Esplanade at Avente, on Alphanor, Gersen saw a young woman approaching. She wore fashionable garments in the best of taste, she obviously had been raised in an atmosphere of gentility and good manners.
On a sudden impulse Gersen stepped forward. “Please excuse me,” he said, “but you resemble someone I know on Earth. Are your parents Earth-folk?”
The girl listened without embarrassment. She shook her head. “This may seem strange, but I do not know my parents. I may be an orphan, or”—she made a rueful little grimace—”something else. My guardians receive money to provide a home for me. Do you know my parents? Tell me, please!”
Gersen thought, what in the world am I up to? Why disturb the girl with the details of her background, or worse, the nightmare she had so narrowly avoided? For here, certainly, was Viole Falushe’s urgent business on Alphanor.
Gersen pretended doubt. “I’m mistaken—I think. The resemblance must be a coincidence. You could not possibly be the person I thought you to be.”
“I don’t believe you,” said Drusilla I. “You know, but you won’t tell. I wonder why not?”
Gersen grinned. The girl was immensely appealing, with a thousand charms and graces. “Sit here on the bench a moment. I’ll read you a ballad or two from the works of the mad poet Navarth. When he wrote them he might have been thinking of you.”
Drusilla I seated herself. “An unconventional way to start an acquaintance. But I’m an unconventional person .... Well, then, read the poetry.”
The Face
The Demon Princes, Book 4
Jack Vance
Part I: Aloysius.
1
From Popular Handbook to the Planets, 330th edition, 1525:
Aloysius, Vega VI
Planetary constants:
Diameter 7340 miles
Sidereal day 19.836218 hours
Mass 0,86331 standard
Et cetera.
Aloysius, with its sister planets Boniface and Cuthbert, is accounted among the first worlds to be colonized from Earth, and the traveler who enjoys the ambience of antiquity will here find much to please him.
Contrary to popular assumption, the first settlers were not religious zealots but members of the Natural Universe Society, who dealt gingerly with the new environment, and built nothing at discord with the landscape.
The NUS is long gone, but its influence still permeates the system, and almost everywhere will be noted a sedate reverence for native customs and textures.
The axis of Aloysius inclines to an angle of 31.7 degrees from its plane of orbit; there are seasonal fluctuations of notable severity, mollified somewhat by a dense and moist atmosphere. Of the seven continents Marcy’s Land is the largest, with New Wexford its chief city. The least of the continents is Gavin’s Land, on which is situated the city Pontefract.
It may here be noted that each land, during the Sacerdotal Epochs, represented the diocese of a cardinal and bore his name, thus: Cardinal Marcy’s Land, Cardinal Bodant’s Land, Cardinal Dimpey’s Land, and so forth. The appellative has fallen into disuse and is rarely heard.
Through a policy of low taxes and favorable regulations, both Pontefract and New Wexford have long functioned as important financial centers, with influence reaching everywhere across the Oikumene. Many important publishing houses also make their headquarters at these places, including the prestigious Cosmopolis magazine.
Religions, sects, creeds, movements, countermovements, orthodoxies, heresies, inquisitions: this is the stuff of early Vegan history; emphatically so on Aloysius, which derives its name from the patron saint of the Aloysian Order. The Ambrosians, who preceded the Aloysians, founded the city Rath Eileann beside Lake Feamish, at the center of Linliffet’s Land. The conflicts between these nominally devotional brotherhoods make a fascinating chronicle.
Indigenous flora and fauna are not particularly noteworthy. Through intensive effort by the original settlers, terrestrial trees and shrubs are widespread, the conifers especially finding a hospitable environment, and the seas are stocked with selected terrestrial fish.
Jehan Addels, after his meticulous habit, arrived ten minutes early to the place of rendezvous. Before alighting from his car he took pains to scrutinize the surroundings. The scenery was dramatic but apparently devoid of menace; Addels found nothing to excite his misgivings. To the right stood Phruster’s Inn, with timbers blackened by centuries of wind and rain, and the Dunveary Crags beyond, rising crag upon buttress, finally to disappear behind high mist. To the left Phruster’s Prospect confronted three-quarters of a full circle and several thousand square miles of territory, varying with whims of the weather.
Addels alighted from his car, cast a single skeptical glance up the awesome Dunveary slopes, and walked out upon the observation platform. Leaning against the parapet he hunched his shoulders against the wind and waited: a thin man with parchment-colored skin and a high balding forehead.
The time was close upon midmorning; halfway up the sky Vega glowed pale through the mist. A dozen other folk stood along the parapet. Addels subjected each to a careful inspection. Their flounced and tasseled garments in muted reds, browns, and dark green marked them for country folk; residents of the town dressed only in shades of brown, with an occasional black ornament. This group seemed innocent. Addels turned his attention to the panorama: Lake Feamish to the left, Rath Eileann below, vaporous Moy Valley to the right .... He frowned down at his watch. The man whom he awaited had given precise instructions. A lack of punctuality might well indicate crisis. Addels gave a sniff, to express both envy and disdain for a way of life so much more eventful than his own.
The time of the appointment was at hand. Addels noticed a path which, originating at the edge of Rath Eileann far below, slanted back and forth up the hillside, to terminate at a flight of steps cut into the rock nearby. Up this path came a man of average stature, unobtrusively muscular, with rather harsh cheekbones, flat cheeks, thick dark hair cropped short. This was Kirth Gersen, of whom Addels knew little except that by some mysterious means, no doubt illegitimate, Gersen had come into the possession of vast wealth.[14] Addels earned a large salary as Gersen’s legal adviser, to date with his scruples, such as they were, intact. Gersen seemed well acquainted with IPCC[15] procedures, which in times of stress afforded Addels a degree of nervous comfort.
Gersen ran up the steps, paused, saw Addels, and crossed the observation deck. Addels took dispassionate note that after a climb which would have reduced Addels to a state of gasping exhaustion, Gersen was not even breathing deeply.
Addels performed a stately gesture of greeting. “I am pleased to find you in good health.”
“Exactly so,” said Gersen. “Your journey was pleasant?”
“I was distrait; I hardly noticed,” said Addels in a measured and meaningful voice. “But certainly you are enjoying your stay at the Domus?”
Gersen assented “I sit in the lobby for hours absorbing the atmosphere.”
“For this reason you remain here at Rath Eileann?’
“Not altogether. This is what I want to discuss with you, where we won’t be overheard.”
Addels looked right and left “You suspect eavesdroppers at the Domus?”
“Up here the risk is at least minimized I have taken the usual precautions, no doubt you have done the same.”
“[ have taken all the precautions I thought necessary,” said Addels.
“In that case, we are almost certainly secure.”
Addels’ only response was a frosty chuckle. For a moment the two men stood leaning on the parapet, overlooking the gray city, the lake, and the misty valley beyond.
Gersen spoke “The local spaceport is at Slayhack, north of the lake. A week from today the Ettiha Gatgamyi will arrive. The registered owner is the Celerus Transport Company based at Vire on Sadal Suud Four. This ship was at one time the Fanutis,[16] registered to Service Spaceways, also at Vire. The registrations are both nominal. The ship then was the property of Lens Larque, and so presumably is now.
Addels pursed his lips in distaste “In our conversation you mentioned his name Somewhat to my distress, I must admit. He is a notorious criminal.”
“Quite so.”
“And you intend to conduct business with him? Inadvisable. He is not to be trusted.”
“Our business runs along different lines. As soon as the Ettilia Gargantyr arrives, I want a lien, or some other such instrument, placed against ship and cargo, so that the ship is impounded without any possibility of departure. I want title to the ship attached, so that the actual owner—not his agent or his legal representative—must come here to protect his interests.”
Addels frowned “You want to bring Lens Larque here to Rath Eileann? An extravagant hope.”
“It is worth a trial. He will naturally use another identity.”
“Lens Larque standing before a court of law? Absurd.”
“Quite so. Lens Larque enjoys absurdities. He is also avaricious. If the action appears legitimate, he won’t want to lose his ship by default.”
Addels gave a grunt of grudging acquiescence “I can tell you this, at least. The most convincing disguise for legitimacy is legitimacy itself There should be no trouble discovering a basis for action Spaceships trail a rash of small complaints in their wake. The difficulty is one of jurisdiction Has this ship touched Rath Eileann before?”
“Not to my knowledge Ordinarily it works the Argo Fringe.”
Addels said in a formal voice, “I will give the matter my best attention.”
“An important point to remember. Lens Larque is not an amiable man, for all his tricks and fancies. My name—I hardly need emphasize this—must not be used. You yourself would be wise to act discreetly.”
Addels ran nervous fingers through his sparse blond hair “I don’t care to confront him at all, discreetly or otherwise.”
“Nevertheless,” said Gersen, “the ship must be immobilized here at Rath Eileann Use a writ of attachment, or replevin or some such document. The real owner must definitely appear, or else lose title by default”
Addels said peevishly, “If the ownership is corporate, or vested in a limited society, no such result is possible. The action is not all that easy.”
Gersen gave a grim laugh “If it were easy, I’d do it myself.”
“I quite understand,” said Addels in a morose voice “Let me think the matter over for a day or two.”
Three days later, in Gersen’s chambers at Domus St Revelras, a musical tone signaled an incoming call Gersen touched the “Monitor” button; a cascade of exploding asterisks certified that the line was free of interference. A few seconds later Addels’ fine-boned face appeared on the screen.
“I have made guarded inquiries,” spoke Addels in his most didactic voice. “I have obtained definite judicial opinion to the effect that an action of the sort you envisage is valid only if a local citizen has suffered substantial damage, that debt or damage having optimally occurred locally and at a recent time As of now we satisfy none of the requirements Therefore we could not obtain a valid writ.”
Gersen nodded. “I expected as much.” He waited patiently while Addels pulled at his bony chin and selected words.
“In connection with the Ettilia Gargantyr itself, I have searched records for liens, debts, and other actions under litigation. As ships of space pass from port to port, they often incur small debts or inflict minor damages, which usually no one troubles to pursue. The Ettilia Gargantyr is no exception. Two years ago an incident occurred at Thrump on David Alexander’s Planet. The captain provided a banquet for a group of local freight agents, employing ship’s stewards and other personnel to prepare and serve the meal. Instead of the Gargantyr’s mess hall, he chose to use a chamber at the spaceport. The Thrump Victuallers Guild asserted that such a process contravened local ordinance. They registered a claim for lost wages and punitive damages. The ship departed before a summons could be served, so the action remains in abeyance, pending the ship’s return, which is unlikely.”
Addels paused to reflect. Gersen waited patiently. Addels made delicate adjustment of his thoughts and spoke on: “The Victualler Guild meanwhile negotiated a loan with a certain Cooney’s Bank, chartered at Thrump on the same David Alexander’s Planet. Along with other assets they pledged the cause of action against the Ettilia Gargantyr. A month or so ago the Guild defaulted on the debt, and the suit has now been transferred to the interest of Cooney’s Bank.” Addels’ voice took on a speculative tone. “It has often occurred to me that your affairs might most flexibly be handled through a bank. Cooney’s Bank, while essentially sound, suffers from a tired old management. The stock sells at a reasonable price and you could easily buy control. Branches might then be established wherever it became expedient to do so: for instance at Rath Eileann.”
“The lawsuit could then be transferred, so I assume.”
“Quite correct.”
“And a lien could be laid so as to hold the ship here at Rath Eileann?”
“I have made inquiries, in terms of hypothetical cases. I find that the suit may not be filed either at the City Podium nor the Land Court, but only at the Court of Interworld Equity, which sits three times a year at the Estremont under a Circuit Propounder. I have taken counsel with a specialist in interworld equity. He feels that Cooney’s Bank’s case might well be prosecuted if the Ettilia Gargantyr arrives at Rath Eileann; its physical presence would provide in rem jurisdiction. He is certain, however, that no magistrate would issue a mandamus requiring the presence of the ship’s owner on grounds so trivial.”
“That, however, is the essence of the matter! Lens Larque must come to Aloysius.”
“I am advised that this cannot be enforced upon him,” said.
Addels complacently. “I suggest that we now turn our attention to other matters.”
“Who is the Propounder sitting at the court?”
“We can’t be sure. There are five such magistrates, and they travel a circuit around the Vegan system.”
“The court is not now in session?”
“It has just completed its calendar.”
“And presumably won’t sit again for months.”
“Exactly, In any case, the Propounder would almost certainly throw out any motion requiring the presence of the Gargantyr’s owner.”
Gersen nodded pensively. “That is inconvenient.” After a moment Addels inquired. “Well then—what of Cooney’s Bank? Shall I make acquisition?”
Ethuen gave him a look of unspeakable dislike; Mano made a muttering sound in his throat.
“Well, then,” said Navarth cheerfully. “What now?”
“We will pick up our friends,” said Gersen. “No doubt they are wondering what is to become of them.”
“Then what?” growled Ethuen. “How are we to find our way back to Sogdian? We have no spaceship.”
Gersen laughed. “Were you deceived? This is Sogdian. That is the sun Miel. How could you not notice?”
“Why should I3 A lunatic pilot careened through the cluster for hours.”
“A subterfuge. Zog was no lunatic. But he was careless, he performed no acclimati7ation routine; when he flung open the port there was no difference in pressure or composition. The light was the same intensity; the gravity was the same, the sky was the same color, the clouds were of the same shape, the flora of the same type.”
“I noticed nothing,” said Navarth. “But I am no space traveler. I feel no shame. If I ever return to Earth, I shall never depart again.”
“First: a stop at the city of Kouhila. The folk wilt be pleased to learn that they need pay no further taxes.”
At Afar, Gersen found the Distis Pharaon as he had left it. Mano, Wible and da Nossa had spaceboats of their own; the other guests were conveyed back to the Oikumene by the ship which Viole Falushe had ordered for their use. Navarth and the three Drusillas came aboard the Pharaon. Gersen flew them to New Wexford and put them aboard the packet for Earth. “I will send you money,” he told Navarth. “It will be for the girls. You must make sure that they are raised properly.”
“I have done my best with Zan Zu,” said Navarth gruffly. “She is raised. What is amiss with her? The others will need more care.”
“Exactly. And when I am next on Earth I will see you.”
“Good. We will sit on the deck of my houseboat and drink my fine wine.” Navarth turned away. Gersen took a deep breath, went to say good-bye to Drusilla Wayles. She came close to him, took his hands. “Why can’t I come with you? Wherever you go.”
“I can’t explain to you. But—no. Not now. I tried it once, to no avail.”
“I would be different.”
“I know you are. But there might be worse problems. I might not be able to part with you.”
“Will I ever see you again?”
“I don’t think so.”
Drusilla turned away “Good-bye,” she said listlessly.
Gersen took a step after her, halted, then swung around and went his way.
Gersen chartered a freight earner and took it to the Palace of Love. The gardens seemed wild and less well tended An indefinable gloom had come over the airy structures Retz greeted him with cautious cordiality. “I have been doing your bidding. Slowly, easily, not to disturb or alarm.”
He took Gersen on a tour of the special environments, he described the weird and intricate thought-patterns Viole Falushe had imposed upon his young victims. One by one the victims were emerging into the upper air; some astonished; some delighted, some dazzled and frightened, and whimpering to return.
The villages in the garden had changed. Many of the Fortunate Folk had departed; others had returned from the backlands with their children. In time the Palace of Love would become a remote farm community.
Gersen could not leave Viole Falushe’s books to moulder. He loaded them aboard the freighter and consigned them to the care of Jehan Addels at New Wexford. With a final admonition for Retz, Gersen himself departed, and flew off through the stars of Sirneste Cluster, back toward the Oikumene.
Months later, sitting on the Esplanade at Avente, on Alphanor, Gersen saw a young woman approaching. She wore fashionable garments in the best of taste, she obviously had been raised in an atmosphere of gentility and good manners.
On a sudden impulse Gersen stepped forward. “Please excuse me,” he said, “but you resemble someone I know on Earth. Are your parents Earth-folk?”
The girl listened without embarrassment. She shook her head. “This may seem strange, but I do not know my parents. I may be an orphan, or”—she made a rueful little grimace—”something else. My guardians receive money to provide a home for me. Do you know my parents? Tell me, please!”
Gersen thought, what in the world am I up to? Why disturb the girl with the details of her background, or worse, the nightmare she had so narrowly avoided? For here, certainly, was Viole Falushe’s urgent business on Alphanor.
Gersen pretended doubt. “I’m mistaken—I think. The resemblance must be a coincidence. You could not possibly be the person I thought you to be.”
“I don’t believe you,” said Drusilla I. “You know, but you won’t tell. I wonder why not?”
Gersen grinned. The girl was immensely appealing, with a thousand charms and graces. “Sit here on the bench a moment. I’ll read you a ballad or two from the works of the mad poet Navarth. When he wrote them he might have been thinking of you.”
Drusilla I seated herself. “An unconventional way to start an acquaintance. But I’m an unconventional person .... Well, then, read the poetry.”
The Face
The Demon Princes, Book 4
Jack Vance
Part I: Aloysius.
1
From Popular Handbook to the Planets, 330th edition, 1525:
Aloysius, Vega VI
Planetary constants:
Diameter 7340 miles
Sidereal day 19.836218 hours
Mass 0,86331 standard
Et cetera.
Aloysius, with its sister planets Boniface and Cuthbert, is accounted among the first worlds to be colonized from Earth, and the traveler who enjoys the ambience of antiquity will here find much to please him.
Contrary to popular assumption, the first settlers were not religious zealots but members of the Natural Universe Society, who dealt gingerly with the new environment, and built nothing at discord with the landscape.
The NUS is long gone, but its influence still permeates the system, and almost everywhere will be noted a sedate reverence for native customs and textures.
The axis of Aloysius inclines to an angle of 31.7 degrees from its plane of orbit; there are seasonal fluctuations of notable severity, mollified somewhat by a dense and moist atmosphere. Of the seven continents Marcy’s Land is the largest, with New Wexford its chief city. The least of the continents is Gavin’s Land, on which is situated the city Pontefract.
It may here be noted that each land, during the Sacerdotal Epochs, represented the diocese of a cardinal and bore his name, thus: Cardinal Marcy’s Land, Cardinal Bodant’s Land, Cardinal Dimpey’s Land, and so forth. The appellative has fallen into disuse and is rarely heard.
Through a policy of low taxes and favorable regulations, both Pontefract and New Wexford have long functioned as important financial centers, with influence reaching everywhere across the Oikumene. Many important publishing houses also make their headquarters at these places, including the prestigious Cosmopolis magazine.
Religions, sects, creeds, movements, countermovements, orthodoxies, heresies, inquisitions: this is the stuff of early Vegan history; emphatically so on Aloysius, which derives its name from the patron saint of the Aloysian Order. The Ambrosians, who preceded the Aloysians, founded the city Rath Eileann beside Lake Feamish, at the center of Linliffet’s Land. The conflicts between these nominally devotional brotherhoods make a fascinating chronicle.
Indigenous flora and fauna are not particularly noteworthy. Through intensive effort by the original settlers, terrestrial trees and shrubs are widespread, the conifers especially finding a hospitable environment, and the seas are stocked with selected terrestrial fish.
Jehan Addels, after his meticulous habit, arrived ten minutes early to the place of rendezvous. Before alighting from his car he took pains to scrutinize the surroundings. The scenery was dramatic but apparently devoid of menace; Addels found nothing to excite his misgivings. To the right stood Phruster’s Inn, with timbers blackened by centuries of wind and rain, and the Dunveary Crags beyond, rising crag upon buttress, finally to disappear behind high mist. To the left Phruster’s Prospect confronted three-quarters of a full circle and several thousand square miles of territory, varying with whims of the weather.
Addels alighted from his car, cast a single skeptical glance up the awesome Dunveary slopes, and walked out upon the observation platform. Leaning against the parapet he hunched his shoulders against the wind and waited: a thin man with parchment-colored skin and a high balding forehead.
The time was close upon midmorning; halfway up the sky Vega glowed pale through the mist. A dozen other folk stood along the parapet. Addels subjected each to a careful inspection. Their flounced and tasseled garments in muted reds, browns, and dark green marked them for country folk; residents of the town dressed only in shades of brown, with an occasional black ornament. This group seemed innocent. Addels turned his attention to the panorama: Lake Feamish to the left, Rath Eileann below, vaporous Moy Valley to the right .... He frowned down at his watch. The man whom he awaited had given precise instructions. A lack of punctuality might well indicate crisis. Addels gave a sniff, to express both envy and disdain for a way of life so much more eventful than his own.
The time of the appointment was at hand. Addels noticed a path which, originating at the edge of Rath Eileann far below, slanted back and forth up the hillside, to terminate at a flight of steps cut into the rock nearby. Up this path came a man of average stature, unobtrusively muscular, with rather harsh cheekbones, flat cheeks, thick dark hair cropped short. This was Kirth Gersen, of whom Addels knew little except that by some mysterious means, no doubt illegitimate, Gersen had come into the possession of vast wealth.[14] Addels earned a large salary as Gersen’s legal adviser, to date with his scruples, such as they were, intact. Gersen seemed well acquainted with IPCC[15] procedures, which in times of stress afforded Addels a degree of nervous comfort.
Gersen ran up the steps, paused, saw Addels, and crossed the observation deck. Addels took dispassionate note that after a climb which would have reduced Addels to a state of gasping exhaustion, Gersen was not even breathing deeply.
Addels performed a stately gesture of greeting. “I am pleased to find you in good health.”
“Exactly so,” said Gersen. “Your journey was pleasant?”
“I was distrait; I hardly noticed,” said Addels in a measured and meaningful voice. “But certainly you are enjoying your stay at the Domus?”
Gersen assented “I sit in the lobby for hours absorbing the atmosphere.”
“For this reason you remain here at Rath Eileann?’
“Not altogether. This is what I want to discuss with you, where we won’t be overheard.”
Addels looked right and left “You suspect eavesdroppers at the Domus?”
“Up here the risk is at least minimized I have taken the usual precautions, no doubt you have done the same.”
“[ have taken all the precautions I thought necessary,” said Addels.
“In that case, we are almost certainly secure.”
Addels’ only response was a frosty chuckle. For a moment the two men stood leaning on the parapet, overlooking the gray city, the lake, and the misty valley beyond.
Gersen spoke “The local spaceport is at Slayhack, north of the lake. A week from today the Ettiha Gatgamyi will arrive. The registered owner is the Celerus Transport Company based at Vire on Sadal Suud Four. This ship was at one time the Fanutis,[16] registered to Service Spaceways, also at Vire. The registrations are both nominal. The ship then was the property of Lens Larque, and so presumably is now.
Addels pursed his lips in distaste “In our conversation you mentioned his name Somewhat to my distress, I must admit. He is a notorious criminal.”
“Quite so.”
“And you intend to conduct business with him? Inadvisable. He is not to be trusted.”
“Our business runs along different lines. As soon as the Ettilia Gargantyr arrives, I want a lien, or some other such instrument, placed against ship and cargo, so that the ship is impounded without any possibility of departure. I want title to the ship attached, so that the actual owner—not his agent or his legal representative—must come here to protect his interests.”
Addels frowned “You want to bring Lens Larque here to Rath Eileann? An extravagant hope.”
“It is worth a trial. He will naturally use another identity.”
“Lens Larque standing before a court of law? Absurd.”
“Quite so. Lens Larque enjoys absurdities. He is also avaricious. If the action appears legitimate, he won’t want to lose his ship by default.”
Addels gave a grunt of grudging acquiescence “I can tell you this, at least. The most convincing disguise for legitimacy is legitimacy itself There should be no trouble discovering a basis for action Spaceships trail a rash of small complaints in their wake. The difficulty is one of jurisdiction Has this ship touched Rath Eileann before?”
“Not to my knowledge Ordinarily it works the Argo Fringe.”
Addels said in a formal voice, “I will give the matter my best attention.”
“An important point to remember. Lens Larque is not an amiable man, for all his tricks and fancies. My name—I hardly need emphasize this—must not be used. You yourself would be wise to act discreetly.”
Addels ran nervous fingers through his sparse blond hair “I don’t care to confront him at all, discreetly or otherwise.”
“Nevertheless,” said Gersen, “the ship must be immobilized here at Rath Eileann Use a writ of attachment, or replevin or some such document. The real owner must definitely appear, or else lose title by default”
Addels said peevishly, “If the ownership is corporate, or vested in a limited society, no such result is possible. The action is not all that easy.”
Gersen gave a grim laugh “If it were easy, I’d do it myself.”
“I quite understand,” said Addels in a morose voice “Let me think the matter over for a day or two.”
Three days later, in Gersen’s chambers at Domus St Revelras, a musical tone signaled an incoming call Gersen touched the “Monitor” button; a cascade of exploding asterisks certified that the line was free of interference. A few seconds later Addels’ fine-boned face appeared on the screen.
“I have made guarded inquiries,” spoke Addels in his most didactic voice. “I have obtained definite judicial opinion to the effect that an action of the sort you envisage is valid only if a local citizen has suffered substantial damage, that debt or damage having optimally occurred locally and at a recent time As of now we satisfy none of the requirements Therefore we could not obtain a valid writ.”
Gersen nodded. “I expected as much.” He waited patiently while Addels pulled at his bony chin and selected words.
“In connection with the Ettilia Gargantyr itself, I have searched records for liens, debts, and other actions under litigation. As ships of space pass from port to port, they often incur small debts or inflict minor damages, which usually no one troubles to pursue. The Ettilia Gargantyr is no exception. Two years ago an incident occurred at Thrump on David Alexander’s Planet. The captain provided a banquet for a group of local freight agents, employing ship’s stewards and other personnel to prepare and serve the meal. Instead of the Gargantyr’s mess hall, he chose to use a chamber at the spaceport. The Thrump Victuallers Guild asserted that such a process contravened local ordinance. They registered a claim for lost wages and punitive damages. The ship departed before a summons could be served, so the action remains in abeyance, pending the ship’s return, which is unlikely.”
Addels paused to reflect. Gersen waited patiently. Addels made delicate adjustment of his thoughts and spoke on: “The Victualler Guild meanwhile negotiated a loan with a certain Cooney’s Bank, chartered at Thrump on the same David Alexander’s Planet. Along with other assets they pledged the cause of action against the Ettilia Gargantyr. A month or so ago the Guild defaulted on the debt, and the suit has now been transferred to the interest of Cooney’s Bank.” Addels’ voice took on a speculative tone. “It has often occurred to me that your affairs might most flexibly be handled through a bank. Cooney’s Bank, while essentially sound, suffers from a tired old management. The stock sells at a reasonable price and you could easily buy control. Branches might then be established wherever it became expedient to do so: for instance at Rath Eileann.”
“The lawsuit could then be transferred, so I assume.”
“Quite correct.”
“And a lien could be laid so as to hold the ship here at Rath Eileann?”
“I have made inquiries, in terms of hypothetical cases. I find that the suit may not be filed either at the City Podium nor the Land Court, but only at the Court of Interworld Equity, which sits three times a year at the Estremont under a Circuit Propounder. I have taken counsel with a specialist in interworld equity. He feels that Cooney’s Bank’s case might well be prosecuted if the Ettilia Gargantyr arrives at Rath Eileann; its physical presence would provide in rem jurisdiction. He is certain, however, that no magistrate would issue a mandamus requiring the presence of the ship’s owner on grounds so trivial.”
“That, however, is the essence of the matter! Lens Larque must come to Aloysius.”
“I am advised that this cannot be enforced upon him,” said.
Addels complacently. “I suggest that we now turn our attention to other matters.”
“Who is the Propounder sitting at the court?”
“We can’t be sure. There are five such magistrates, and they travel a circuit around the Vegan system.”
“The court is not now in session?”
“It has just completed its calendar.”
“And presumably won’t sit again for months.”
“Exactly, In any case, the Propounder would almost certainly throw out any motion requiring the presence of the Gargantyr’s owner.”
Gersen nodded pensively. “That is inconvenient.” After a moment Addels inquired. “Well then—what of Cooney’s Bank? Shall I make acquisition?”
