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the
Hever, who has honored me with his acquaintance, knows. His integrity warrants
a correct decision. I
expect and deserve no more than this. Ramus Ymph, so saying, threw back his
head and stood waiting.
In a thin clear voice Nai the Hever said:  I can only hope, at best, to
approach Ramus Ymph s exalted version of myself. He himself is of course a
gentleman of remarkable attributes: and we cannot afford to waste his talents.
I have deliberated long and painfully, and I now feel that we should urge
Ramus Ymph into a new and special category, that of extraordinary counsel,
where he can operate with flexible scope.
If I urged Ramus Ymph into the Servantry I would limit his efficacy, and I
will not do so. He can function far more usefully as our advisor, our eyes and
ears. Speaking for the Servantry, I offer him our great gratitude for deigning
to appear before us.
Ramus Ymph s jaw slackened. He stood a long instant after Nai had finished
speaking, then he made a formal gesture, turned on his heel and departed the
rostrum with a sweep and swing of his black cutaway cape. The Nunciant came
forth to utter a valediction; from the balcony the Unctator called down a
blessing.
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Mieltrude and Sune sat stunned and limp. Sune turned a lambent glance toward
Jubal.  What could he have said?
Mieltrude suggested tersely:  Why don t you ask him?
Sune hesitated, then turned to Jubal:  Well then, what did you tell Nai the
Hever?
 I explained my opinion of Ramus Ymph; he saw fit to take my advice. Jubal
bowed politely.  My excuses; I will now depart.
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The girls glumly watched him leave the booth. Nai the Hever presently joined
them. Looking around the box, he asked,  Where is the Glint?
 He departed. Has he not done enough harm? If nothing else, he has spoiled our
fête.
 He left no word, no message? Why did you not keep him here? But no matter. I
will find him tomorrow.
A warning now, to both of you! He fixed each in turn with a glittering
silver-gray glance.  Discuss these matters with no one, specifically those of
your friends who are directly concerned in the day s events.
Sune s mouth drooped; she seemed subdued and crestfallen. Mieltrude gave a
glacial shrug and looked away.  I am bewildered by what I have seen and heard.
I seldom discuss what I do not understand.
 In that case, said Nai the Hever,  I will not trouble to elucidate.
* Honorifics are impossible to translate succinctly. The text provides what
are at best more or less awkward approximations.
* See Glossary #4.
* This rite and its implications originally differentiated the Twelve Regular
ships from the Irregular
Thirteenth. The Unspeakable Fourteenth the so-called Irredemptibles differed
even more fundamentally. The descendants of the Fourteenth, mingled through
some freakish process withhomo mora , comprise the Waels of Wellas.
* Dath: a tall hat, in the shape of a truncated cone, from six inches to as
much as twenty-four inches in height. The article, when worn by women, is
often enlivened by flowers nested in the crown, or a spray of dyed eph-plumes,
or a flurry of ribbons. The male dath is ordinarily unadorned, except,
occasionally, for a trifle of silver culbrass.
* The Marine Equalizer is that functionary who monitors National activity and
in case of transgression commands the punitive measures.
* Strochane: a mythical being with supernormal powers, whose commands no
mortal men can disobey.
Chapter 4
Jubal Droad fled the Parloury as if it were a pest-house. He crossed the
square, jaw set, eyes glaring, and plunged into a district of twisting lanes,
shadowed under overhanging roofs and balconies. Half-Skay, at the zenith,
loomed through the crevice of sky. Jubal walked with long lunging strides,
blind, deaf, heedless of direction. Other folk moved aside and looked back
over their shoulders as he passed. A jog in the street took him abruptly into
a small tree-bordered square. He stopped short, then went to a bench and
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seated himself& Nai the Hever was a man devious, obscure, repellent as a
Marcative imp. If Jubal s disclosures had caused him discomfiture, so much the
better! Unfortunately, there might have been no great discomfiture. Nai the
Hever s manner had been ambiguous. The two girls? Jubal produced a sharp
whistling suspiration through his teeth. Pale gold silk and brown curls! Both
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beautiful beyond reason!
Mieltrude distant and chilly, Sune: soft, slight, subtle, warm. Odd that both,
with apparently equal fervor, favored the advancement of Ramus Ymph. He could
hardly be lover to both of them, or so it would seem.
Perhaps they practiced one of those faddish erotic novelties which, so rumor
had it, were endemic to
Wysrod. Jubal considered Ramus Ymph. The score was not yet settled. Far from
it! Jubal s grin became wolfish. A decent mid-caste matron on the bench
opposite rose quickly to her feet and walked away.
Jubal scowled after her. Were Glints considered inhuman here in
Wysrod?& Wysrod, bah! Jubal growled in disgust.
Wysrod: where he had come with such naïve hopes to shape his future! He
brought out Vaidro s letter.
Nai the Hever had not even read it. Jubal threw the letter to the ground. Then
hastily, so that he should not be apprehended for littering, he retrieved it
and thrust it in his pocket. So much for his fine dreams. What now? The Bureau
of Public Employment? Back to Glentlin and Ballas Cove? Jubal stirred
restlessly on the bench. Life suddenly seemed stale and flat. He looked around
the square, feeling strange as a wild beast among these sedate shops, each
jealously guarding a small monopoly. He morosely studied the narrow [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]