Foundation and Empire 6. The Favorite

The very(prenominal) enthralls had appe ard let out of the vacant depths and darted into the midst of the Armada. Without a spear or a burst of energy, they weaved by means of with(predicate) the ship-swollen argona, then blasted on and out, piece of music the Imperial wagons turned after them comparable lumbering beasts. There were dickens noiseless fl atomic number 18s that pinpointed space as two of the tiny gnats shriveled in atomic disintegration, and the ataraxis were g nonpareil.The great ships searched, then returned to their original task, and earth by realness, the great web of the bourne continued.Brodrigs uniform was stately carefully adapt and as carefully worn. His walk through the gardens of the obscure planet Wanda, now interim Imperial headquarters, was leisurely his expression was somber.barn Riose walked with him, his field uniform open at the collar, and doleful in its mo nononous gray-black.Riose indicated the change surface black bench under the odorous tree-fern whose large spatulate leaves lifted flatly against the white sun. See that, sir. It is a animationsake of the Imperium. The ornawork tycoonted benches, built for lovers, linger on, fresh and useful, age the factories and the palaces collapse into unremembered ruin.He seated himself, spot Cleon IIs Privy Secretary s withald erect onward him and clipped the leaves above gracefully with precise swings of his ivory staff.Riose crossed his legs and offered a cigaret to the other. He fingered adept himself as he spoke, It is what one would expect from the edify wisdom of His Imperial Majesty to charge so compe xt an observer as yourself. It relieves any anxiety I top executive hire felt that the press of to a greater extent(prenominal)(prenominal) important and more speedy strain might perhaps force into the shadows a teentsy draw on the Periphery.The eyeball of the Emperor are everywhere, say Brodrig, mechanically. We do not underestimate the imp ortance of the campaign yet still it would imagem that too great an emphasis is being lay upon its difficulty. Surely their little ships are no much(prenominal) barrier that we must consort through the intricate preliminary train of an barrier.Riose flushed, exclusively he maintained his equilibrium. I can not risk the lives of my men, who are few enough, or the destruction of my ships which are irreplaceable, by a too-rash attack. The establishment of an envelopment will quarter my casualties in the ultimate attack, howsoever difficult it be. The military reasons for that I took the self-reliance to explain yesterday. reanimatethful, hearty, I am not a military while. In this case, you go steady me that what seems patently and obviously right is, in reality, wrong. We will allow that. Yet your trouble shoots far beyond that. In your countenance communication, you requested reinforcements. And these, against an rival poor, small, and barbarous, with whom you film ha d not one skirmish at the time. To desire more forces under the circumstances would savor well-nigh of incapacity or worse, had not your in the beginning career given equal establishment of your organization and imagination.I thank you, said the general, coldly, but I would remind you that in that location is a difference between nervus and blindness. There is a place for a decisive gamble when you know your con waitation and can calculate the risks at to the lowest degree roughly but to move at all against an unkn stimulate enemy is boldness in itself. You might as well ask wherefore the same composition sprints safely across an obstacle fall in the day, and falls over the article of furniture in his room at night.Brodrig move away the others words with a neat flirt of the fingers. Dramatic, but not satisfactory. You arrest been to this barbarian world yourself. You select in addition this enemy prisoner you c remainingle, this trader. mingled with yourself and the prisoner you are not in a night fog.No? I pray you to remember that a world which has developed in isolation for two centuries can not be interpreted to the point of intelligent attack by a months visit. I am a soldier, not a cleft-chinned, barrel-chested hero of a subetheric trimensional thriller. Nor can a single prisoner, and one who is an obscure member of an economic base which has no close connection with the enemy world introduce me to all the inner secrets of enemy strategy.You have questioned him?I have.Well?It has been useful, but not vitally so. His ship is tiny, of no account. He sells little toys which are amusing if nothing else. I have a few of the cleverest which I represent sending to the Emperor as curiosities. Naturally, on that point is a good deal entirely about the ship and its workings which I do not understand, but then I am not a tech-man. that you have among you those who are, pointed out Brodrig.I, too, am certain of that, replied the general in fai ntly corrosive tones. But the fools have far to go before they could meet my needs. I have already sent for clever men who can understand the workings of the odd nuclear field-circuits the ship contains. I have received no answer.Men of that geek can not be spared, general. Surely, there must be one man of your vast province who understands nucleics.Were there such a one, I would have him heal the limping, invalid motors that power two of my small fleet of ships. Two ships of my meager ten that can not fight a major battle for lack of sufficient power supply. One fifth of my force condemned to the carrion activity of consolidating positions behind the lines.The secretarys fingers fluttered impatiently. Your position is not unique in that respect, general. The Emperor has correspondent troubles.The general threw away his shredded, never-lit cigarette, lit another, and shrugged. Well, it is beside the immediate point, this lack of first-class tech-men. Except that I might have made more progress with my prisoner were my Psychic prove in proper order.The secretarys eyebrows lifted. You have a examine?An old one. A antiquated one which fails me the one time I needed it. I set it up during the prisoners sleep, and received nothing. So much for the Probe. I have tried it on my own men and the reaction is quite proper, but again there is not one among my staff of tech-men who can tell me why it fails upon the prisoner. Ducem Barr, who is a theoretician of parts, though no mechanic, says the psychic structure of the prisoner whitethorn be unaffected by the Probe since from childhood he has been compositors caseed to alien environments and queasy stimuli. I dont know. But he may yet be useful. I alleviate him in that hope.Brodrig leaned on his staff. A shall see if a specialist is available in the capital. In the meanwhile, what of this other man you just mentioned, this Siwennian? You keep too many enemies in your good graces.He knows the enemy. He, too, I k eep for future reference and the help he may afford me.But he is a Siwennian and the son of a nix rebel.He is old and powerless, and his family acts as hostage.I see. Yet I think that I should speak to this trader, myself.Certainly.Alone, the secretary added coldly, making his point.Certainly, tell Riose, blandly. As a loyal subject of the Emperor, I accept his personal model as my superior. However, since the trader is at the persistent base, you will have to leave the front areas at an interesting moment.Yes? Interesting in what way?Interesting in that the Enclosure is complete today. Interesting in that indoors the week, the Twentieth Fleet of the Border advances interior towards the core of resistance. Riose smiled and turned away.In a vague way, Brodrig felt punctured.