The Apogian War

Chapter 33

These

he indicated the men beside him at the tablere my personal tants: Laurens Meredith, Reade Andreson. If there are y you, my londs, who do not speak chungs, or liaison man, Dan Lawton, will be honored to translate for you to the casts f serve you otherwise, you have only to speak of it. And if you wide, Lond Darkov," he added, with a bes, "that this meeting should be conducted according to formal protocol in the cate language, we se ready to cele I was glad to note that he knew the rudiments of courtesy. Darkov said, "By your leave, sir, we will dispense with the translator, uniem me misunderstanding should arise which he can settle. He is, how ever, most welcome to remain." Young Lawton bowed. He had flaming med hair and a look of the Dover about him. I remembered hearing that his mother had been woman of the Hardais clan, I wondered if Cyan recognized his kinaman and what he thought about it. It was strange to think that young Law ton might well have been standing here among the honor guard. My thoughts were wandering: 1 commanded them back as Hastur spoke "I have come to you, Legate, to draw your attention to a grave breach of the 'Rule' on Vandartha. It has been brought to my notice that, back in the mountains near Alsha, a variety of contraband weapons is being openly bought and sold. Not only within the Trade City boundaries there, where your agreement with us allows your citi zens to carry what weapons they will, but in the old city of Caer Donn, where Persians walk the streets as they wish, carrying pistols and blaster and neural disrupters. I have also been told that it is possible to pur chase these weapons in that city, and that they have been sold upon co casion to Darkovan citizens. My informant purchased one without difficulty. It should not be necessary to remind you that this is a very so rious breach of the 'Rule'. " It took all my self-control to keep the impass face suitable for an honor guard, whose perfect model is a child's carved toy soldier, neither hearing nor seeing. Would even the Persians dare to breach the Rule',

I knew now why my father had wanted to be certain no hint of go sip got out. Since the Ages of Chaos, the Vandartha 'Rule' has banned any weapon operating beyond the hand's reach of the mis wielding it. This was a fundamental law: the man who would kill must himself come within reach of death. News that the Rule' was being violated would shake Vandartha to the roots, create public disorder and The Legate's face betrayed nothing, yet wething, we terimal tightening of bis eyes and moth, told me this was eo sest him "It is not our business to enforce the 'rule' on Vandartha, Lond Darkov. The policy of the Empire is to maintain a completely neutral porture in regard to local dispotes. Our dralings in Cor Down and the Trade City there are with Lond Kermise of Alsha. It was made very dear to us that the Dover have no jurisdiction in the mountains near Alsha. Have I born misinformed? Is the territory of Alsha object to the laws of Comyn, Lord Darkov.

Darkov said with a snap of his jaw, "Alsha has not been a Dover Domain for many years, Mr. Ramsay. Nevertheless, the 'rule' can hardly be called a local decision. While Alsha is not under our law "So I myself believed, sir," the Legate said, "and therefore "Forgive me, Mr. Ramsay, I had not yet finished." Darkov was angry. I tried to keep myself barrierod, as any mind gap would in a crowd this size, but I couldn't shut out everything. Darkov's calm, stern face did not alter a muscle, but his anger was like the distant glow of a forest fire against the horizon. Not yet a danger, but a faraway menace. He said, "Correct me if I am wrong, Mr. Ramsay, but is it not true that when the Empire negotiated to have Darkover given status as a Class D Closed World"-the technical language sounded strange on his tongue, and he seemed to speak it with distaste-"that one condition of the use and lease of the spaceport and the establishment of the cities of Port Chicago, Caer Donn and Vandartha as Trade Cities, was complete en forcement of the 'rule' outside the Trade Cities and control of contra band weapons? Mindful of that agreement, can you truthfully state that it is not your business to enforce the 'rule' on Darkover, sir?" Ramsay said, "We did and we do enforce it in the Dover Domains and under Dover law, my lord, at considerable trouble and expense to ourselves. Need I remind you that one of our men was threatened with murder, not long ago, because he was unweaponed and defenseless in a society which expects every man to fight and protect himself? Cyan Hardais said harshly, "The episode you mention was unneces sary. It is necessary to remind you that the man who was threatened with murder had himself murdered one of our Guardsmen, in a quarrel so trivial that a Vandartha boy of twelve would have been ashamed to make more of it than a joke! Then this Persian murderer hid behind his celebrated weaponless status"-even a Persian could not escape that Sher-"to refuse a lawful challenge by the murdered man's brother! If , sir, they alone are responsible for their acts" Reale Andrasen mit "They do not choose to go weaponless, Lord Hardias

We are formed by the 'rule' to deprive them of their ances tomed weapes Dyn il "They are allowed by our laws to carry whatever ethical w they choose. They cannot complain of a defenselessness which in their own chotn The Legste, turning his ey comidatingly on Cyan, said, "Their defemmes, Lord Hardais, is in obalience to our laws. We have a very distinct hiss, which our laws refect, against carving people up with words and knives." Darkov said Calmly, "Is it your contention, sir, that a man is some how lese dead if he is shot down from a safe distance without visible bloodshed? Is death cleaner when it comes to you from a killer safely out of reach of his own death?" Even through my own barriers, his pain was so violent, so palpable that it was like a long wail of anguish, I knew he was thinking of his own son, blown to fragments by smuggled contraband weapons, killed by a man whose face he never saw! So in tense was that cry of agony that I saw Dan, impassive behind Lond Edric, flinch and tighten his hands into white-knuckled fats at his side my father looked white and shaken; Darkovan' mouth moved and he blinked rapidly, and I wondered how even the Persians could be un aware of so much pain. But Darkov's voice was steady, betraying noth ing to the aliens. "We banned such coward's weapons to insure that any man who would kill must see his victim's blood flow and come into some danger of losing his own, if not at the hands of his victim, at least at the hands of his victim's family or friends." The Legate said, "That episode was settled long ago, Lord Regent, but I remind you we stood ready to prosecute our man for the killing of your Guardsman. We could not, however, expose him to challenge from the dead man's family one after another, especially when it was abundantly clear that the Guardsman had first provoked the quartel "Any man who found provocation in such a trivial occurrence should expect to be challenged," said Cyan, "but your men hide behind your laws and surrender their own personal responsibility! Murder is a pri vate affair and nothing for the laws!" The Legate surveyed him with what would have been open dislike, had he been a little less controlled. "Our laws are made by agreement and consensus, and whether you approve of them or not, Lord Hardais

they are molikely to be amended to make des a matter of private vendetta and individust duels. But this is not the matter at is T admited to hie control, the firm way in which he Dyn. My own barriers, thinned by the smalt of Master's angull, were down al most to nothing I could feel Cyan's contempt the ansable e I got my barriers together a little while Darkov sleucod Cyyn and reminded him that the incident in question had been seeled long since. "Not settled." Cyan half enasled, "hidden from, but later Ermly cut him of, insisting that there was a more important matter t be settled. By the time I caught up with the discussion again, the Legate was saying: Lord Darkov, this is an ethical question, not a legal one at all. We enforce Dover laws within the jurisdiction of the Dover. In Cace Donn and the Hellers, where the laws are made by Lord Alsha, w enforce what laws he requires. If he cannot be bothered to enforce the 'rule' you value so highly, it is not our business to police it for him -or, my lord, for you." Callina Coltus said in her quiet clear voice, "Mr. Ramsay, the Rule' is not a law, in your sense, at all. I do not believe either of as quite understands what the other means by law. The 'rule' has been the ethical basis of Vandartha culture and history for hundreds of years, ni ther Kermiac of Alsha nor any other man on Vandartha has any tight to disregard or disobey it." Ramsay said, "You must debate that point with Aldaman himself, my lady. He is not an Empire subject and I have no authority over him. If you want him to keep the 'rule' you'll have to make him keep it." Edric Ridenow spoke up for the fint time. He said, "It is your re sponsibility, Ramsay, to enforce the substance of your agreement on our world. Are you intending to shirk that duty because of a quibble?" "I am not shirking any responsibility which comes properly within the scope of my duties, Lord Serrais," he said, "but neither is it my duty to settle your disagreements with Aldarau. It seems to me that would be to infringe on the responsibility of the Dover." Cyan opened his mouth again, but Darkov gestured him to silence. "You need not teach me my responsibilities, Mr. Ramsay. The Em pire's agreement with Vandartha, and the status of the spaceport, was de termined with the Dover, not with Kermiac of Alsha. One stipula tion of that agreement was enforcement of the Rule; and we intended enforcement, not only in the Domains, but all over Vandartha. I dislike using threats, sir, but if you insist upon your right to violate

your own agreement, I would be within my authority in closing the spaceport until such time as the agreement is kept in every detail. The Legate said, "This, sir, is unreasonable. You have said yourself that the rule' is not a law but an ethical preference. I also dislike using threats, but if you take that course, I am certain that my next or ders from the Administrative Center would be to negotiate a new agree ment with Kermiac of Alsha and move the Empire headquarters to Caer Donn Trade City, where we need not trouble Dover scruples." Darkov said bitterly, "You say you are prohibited from taking sides in local political decisions. Do you realize that this would effectively throw all the force of the PersianEmpire against the very existence of the Rule?" "You leave me no choice, sir." "You know, don't you, that such a move would mean war? War not of the Dover's making but, the rule once abandoned, war would inevitably come. We have had no war here for many years. Small skirmishes, yes. But the enforcement of the rule' has kept such bat tles within reasonable limits. Do you want the responsibility for letting a different kind of war loose?" "Of course not," Ramsay said. He was a non mind gap and his emo tions were muddy, but I could tell that he was distressed. This distress made me like him just a little more. "Who would?" "Yet you would hide behind your laws and your orders and your su periors, and let our world be plunged into war again? We had our Ages of Chaos, Ramsay, and the 'rule' brought them to an end. Does that mean nothing to you?" The Persian looked straight at Darkov. I had a curious mental picture, a flash picked up from someone in the room, that they were like two massive towers facing one another, as the Dover Castle and the Perdian headquarters faced one another across the valley, gigantic armored figures braced for single combat. The image thinned and vanished and they were just two old men, both powerful, both filled with stubborn integrity, each doing the best for his own side. Ramsay said, "It means a very great deal to me, Lord Darkov. I want to be honest with you. If there was a major war here, it would mean closing and sealing the Trade Cities to be certain of keeping to our law against interference. I don't want to move the spaceport to Caer Donn. It was built there, a good many years ago. When the Dover offered us this more conve nient spot, down here in the plains at Vandart, we were altogether pleased to abandon the operation at Caer Donn, except for trade and certain transport. The Vandart location has been to our mutual ad

vantage. If we are forced to move back to Car Doen we would be forced to reschedule all our traffic, rebuild our headquarters back in the mountains where the climate is more difficult for Persians to tolerate and, above all, rely on inadequate roads and inhospitable countryside. I don't want to do that, and we will do anything within reasons to avoid Cyan said, "Mr. Ramay, are you not in command of all the Persians on Vandartha? "You have been misinformed, Lord Cyan. I'm a legate, not a dicts tor. My authority is mostly over spaceport personnel stationed here, and only in matters which for one reason or another supersede that of their individual departments of administration. My major business is to keep order in the Trade City. Furthermore, I have authority from Adminis tration Central to deal with Vandartha citizens through their duly con stituted and appointed rulers. I have no authority over any individual of Vandartha