The Brave Free Men (27 page)
"All very well," said Mialambre with a scowl, "but why should Finnerack be used rather than, say, Gastel Etzwane, who has always wielded more real influence?"
"At one time Finnerack looked to be a man of irresistible power," said Ifness. "He controlled the Intelligence Agency and also commanded the Brave Free Men. His star was on the rise, and so he certified his doom."
"This is the case," admitted Mialambre. "In fact, I can fix upon the precise time of his alteration. He disappeared for three days. . . ." His voice dwindled; his eyes shifted toward Etzwane.
A heavy silence came over the chamber.
Etzwane brought his clenched fists slowly down on the table. "So it must be. The asutra have altered me as well."
"Interesting!" remarked Ifness. "You are conscious of strange voices, agonizing pangs, a constant sense of discontent and unease? These were the symptoms which eventually drove Sajarano to suicide."
"I know none of these. Nevertheless I was drugged precisely as was Finnerack. The same Parthans were on hand. I am doomed, but I die with my goals achieved. Let us go to the laboratory and have an end to the business."
Ifness made a reassuring sign. "Conditions are not so bad as you fear. I suspected that such an effort might be made upon you, and was on hand to thwart the attempt. In fact, I occupied a suite in the Hrindiana precisely beside your own. The attempt failed; the Parthans died; the asutra went to Earth in a jar and you awoke three days later tired and bewildered, but none the worse for all that."
Etzwane sank back into his seat.
Ifness continued, "In Shant the asutra have suffered a small but significant defeat. Their experiments have gained them precisely that attention they sought to avoid, thanks to the alertness of the Historical Institute. What have we learned? That the asutra either expect or prepare for antagonistic relations with the human race. Perhaps a collision between a pair of expanding world-systems is at last imminent. . . . Here comes the Chancellor, no doubt to announce that your glider is ready. As for me, I have eaten salt fish once too often, and if you permit, I will accompany you to Shant. . . ."
[1]
Ael'skian:
More exactly, the symbology of color and color-combinations; in Shant an intensely meaningful aspect of life, adding another dimension to perception.
[2]
Avistioi (literally
Nice Discriminators):
the constabulary of the
Garwiy Aesthetic Corporation, and the single sophisticated po
lice force of Shant
[3]
Vitran:
a process of visual representation unique to Garwiy. The artist and his apprentice use minute rods of colored glass a quarter of an inch long, one twentieth of an inch in diameter. The rods are cemented lengthwise against a back-plate of frosted glass. The finished work, illuminated from behind, becomes a landscape, portrait, or pattern, vital beyond all other representational processes, combining radiance, chromatic range, flexibility, refinement, detail, and scope. Inordinate effort and time is required to produce even a small work, with approximately sixty thousand individual rods comprising each square foot of finished surface.
[4]
Literally "Chromatic Envelope," to signify an inclusive range
of every kind of news.
[5]
The exact quality of blue or green measured the quoted person's prestige: Reputation, vanity, ridicule, popularity, pom
posity: all were implicit in the depths, variations, and overtones of the colors employed—a symbology of great subtlety!
[6]
Fowls and Fruits: the rival factions
of
Conduce,
representing the
poultry industry and the -fruit
growers.
[7]
The five prime strings of the khitan are named for the fingers of the right hand; the four second strings have names of unknown significance: Ja, Ka, Si, La.
[8]
Chumpa:
amphibious creatures of the Salt Bog, cousin to
the
ahulph, hut larger, hairless, and somewhat more sluggish of habit. The chumpa, combining the subtlety and malice of the ahulph with a hysterical obstinacy, were proof against domestication.
[9]
The language of Shant discriminates between various types of
sunsets. Hence:
feovhre—a
calm, cloudless violet sunset.
arusch'thain—a
violet sunset with horizontal apple-green
clouds.
gorusjurhe—a.
flaring, flamboyant sunset encompassing the
entire sky.
shergorszhe—as
above; additionally with cumulus clouds in
the east, illuminated and looking toward the west
heizhen—
a
.
situation where the sky is heavily overcast except for a ribbon of clarity at the western horizon, through which the sun sets.
[10]
Aelsheur:
literally air-color.
[11]
Hurusthra:
roughly, musical
panoramas
and
insights.
[12]
In Shant no color.could be used arbitrarily. A green gate bulb implied festivity, and in conjunction with purple or dark scarlet lusters gave hospitable welcome to all comers. Grayed golds told of mourning; violet indicated formality and receptivencss only to intimate intrusion; blue, or blue with violet, signified withdrawal and privacy. The word
kial'etse,
the mingling of violet and blue, might be used as an epithet, for
example,
Is Xhiallinen kial'etse:
the snobbish and hyper aest
h
etic Xliiallinens. White glow attended ritual occasions
.
[13]
Eirmelrath:
a malicious ghost of Canton Green Stone.
[14]
Thracide:
a sour, intense carmine.
