As he stepped up to the table where Phaethon stood, Phaethon noticed more detail. A light odor of tobacco touched the tweed fabric of his cape. One of the threads on his coat buttons did not match the thread of the rest. The stubble on the left of his jaw was slightly rougher than on the right, as if he had shaved with a razor that morning, perhaps favoring the cheek that faced his window.
The amount of detail was remarkable. Phaethon saw the Hortators on their benches to either side whispering and staring, trying to guess who or what was represented by this enormously expensive and detailed self- image.
The gray-eyed man doffed his deerstalker cap and greeting the College with a curt nod. He spoke with a dry and slightly nasal accent: 'Members of the College, greetings. My name
is Harrier Sophotech.'
Of course. No human-run self-image could be so thorough
in its detail.
Harrier continued: 'You may not have heard of me. I was created fifteen minutes ago, your time, to investigate some certain irregularities surrounding Phaethon's decision to open his memory casket. I should mention that this decision of Phaethon's was entirely unexpected, even by the Orient Sophotech Overmind-group, who was running a predictive model of Phaethon's behavior at the time.'
Another rustle of wonder went through the chamber. Even Nebuchednezzar seemed surprised. The Orient Overmind was one of the Ennead, the nine community superintellects that the Sophotechs cooperated and melded themselves to create. Why would a mind placed so high in the Earthmind hierarchy be concerned?
Harrier said: 'Only a tremendous shock, or some perceived threat to his life or the lives of his loved ones, could, in our opinion, have urged Phaethon to act so far out of character. We suspect foul play.'
Again, there was a murmur and stir in the chamber, this one louder than the first. Emphyrio spoke, and the book in his lap amplified his voice: 'You refer to true crime, violence urged by passion, not merely to fraud or juvenile pranksman-ship?'
Harrier said, 'Evidence is scant, but the hints are shocking, sir. We suspect attempted murder, corruption, and mind rape.'
Audible gasps of astonishment and fear came from several points in the chamber. Helion was scrutinizing Phaethon as if he had never seen him before.
Neo-Orpheus asked: 'When you say 'we,' do you mean you are part of the Constabulary?'
Harrier smiled slightly to himself. 'No, sir. Sophotechs prefer not to join the police, military, or governmental functions. However, I have been working closely with the Commissioner of Constables on this case, purely in an advisory capacity. Think of me as a consulting detective.'
Tsychandri-Manyu Tawne of Tawne House spoke: 'With respect, my dear sir, this is all very interesting, but... what has this to do with us?'
Harrier raised an eyebrow and stared at Tsychandri-Manyu
with steel-gray eyes. 'You Hortators are so famous for your public spirit, I was sure you would be eager to cooperate in
this matter.'
Helion touched Agamemnon XIV, Archon of Minos House, on the shoulder. Agamemnon stood. 'Dignitaries and notables of the College! We have not yet asked Phaethon why he opened the forbidden casket. Our determination can neither be informed nor fair without this datum.'
Tsychandri-Manyu made a noise of disgust. 'Come, now! This is irrelevance!' But he looked to his left and his right as he spoke, and saw the faces around him. Something in the mood of the chamber was changing. Tsychandri-Manyu had the instincts of a politician; he knew when not to go against the mood of the group. He sat down.
Agamemnon spoke, pretending to answer Tsychandri-Manyu, but actually addressing the chamber, 'Is it? Is it irrelevant? I think the question is central. Did some crime or violent event compel Phaethon's action? Consider: If you were an amnesiac, and had suffered the only murder attempt in many centuries, surely you would conclude that the crime was motivated by something, or explained by something, in your forgotten past. Who among us, if horror and emergency loomed, would not avail ourselves of every memory, every piece of information, we might suspect would be useful to avert disaster? Come, notables of the College! If Phaethon opened that box to learn the secret of some attack?some real attack?then both prudence and duty required him to open it! We cannot, we can never, punish a man for doing what duty requires; that would make a mockery of this whole College. Do not forget what a tenuous hold on power we Hortators have! One wrong decision, one notorious act of folly, and the public respect which forms the foundation of everything we are, will erode to nothing! Have we not more than endangered the public faith in us once already in this matter?'
Agamemnon continued: 'The members of my constituency?we all know what sticklers for points of law and tradition the Silver-Grays are?would not support a boycott to punish Phaethon for doing what any reasonable man in Ms
circumstances would have been forced to do! Do you realize we are talking about the possibility that someone has attempted a murder in our society? A murder! A deliberate attempt of one intelligent being to end the self- awareness of another! Gentlemen, if this suspicion turns out to be correct, then all other matters pale in comparison. I should like to call for a vote on the matter: if Phaethon was actually attacked, isn't his reaction justifiable?'
But Gannis (who was perhaps less alert a politician than Tsychandri-Manyu) leaned forward, squinting and peering across the chamber. 'Is that Helion I see speaking? It looks like Agamemnon, but it sounds like someone else. We all hold Helion in the greatest respect, at the moment, and we hope, in the coming months, to honor him further. It would be a shame if the purity of his motives came into question!'
Helion did not rise from his seat, but spoke in ringing tones: 'I make my fellow Peer the offer that, should he care to question my motives, I will be happy to put a copy of my mind on the public channels for anyone to inspect, provided his mind, and his motives are posted likewise. Then we can all decide who has the purer motive.'
A murmur of laughter came from the benches. Gannis subsided, a look of discomfort and worry on his face, muttering, 'Eh... no, of course, I was merely speaking theoretically ...'
