Crown of Slaves

A last, quick, hissed few words: 'Sorry. You'll have to find out the rest from him, I guess.'

* * *

A moment later, Cathy was making the introductions. And Web Du Havel began getting his answers.

He was delighted, of course. Except that, within a few minutes, he was back to silently cursing his ridiculous costume.

There was no way to roll up the sleeves!

Chapter 5

'Been wantin' t' meet you for years,' the captain stated, speaking in a drawl which Du Havel immediately recognized. Not specifically, of course-the galaxy had easily ten times as many dialects and verbal mannerisms as it did languages and inhabited worlds. But he knew the phenomenon for what it was, since it, too, was as ancient as privilege. Members of an elite group-'elite,' at least, in their own minds-almost invariably developed a distinctive style of speech to separate themselves from the common herd.

Oversteegen, smiling thinly, gave the crowd his own quick overview. 'Only reason I agreed t' come t' this Walpurgis Night of prattlin' political heathens.'

He bestowed the smile on Cathy, widening it a bit. 'Present company excepted, of course. I've long had a grudgin' admiration for the Countess here-former Countess, I suppose I should say. Ever since the speech she gave at the House of Lords which got her pitched out on her ear. I was there in person, as it happens, observin' as a member of the family since my mother was indisposed. And I'll tell you right now that I would have voted for her expulsion from the Lords myself, had I been old enough at the time, on the simple grounds that she had, in point of fact, violated long established protocol. Even though, mind you, I agreed with perhaps ninety percent of what she'd said. Still, rules are rules.'

Cathy smiled back. 'Rules were meant to be broken.'

'Don't disagree,' Oversteegen replied immediately. 'Indeed they are. Providin', however, that the one breakin' the rules is willin' t' pay the price for it, and the price gets charged in full.'

He gave Cathy a deep nod, almost a bow. 'Which you were, Lady Catherine. I saluted you for it then-at the family dinner table that night, in fact. My mother was infinitely more indisposed thereafter; tottered back t' her sick bed cursin' me for an ingrate. My father was none too pleased, either. I salute you for it, again.'

Turning back to Du Havel: 'Otherwise, breakin' rules becomes the province of brats instead of heroes. Fastest way I can think of t' turn serious political affairs int' a playpen. A civilized society needs a conscience, and conscience can't be developed without martyrs-real ones-against which a nation can measure its crimes and sins.'

Du Havel's interest perked up sharply. He understood the logic of Oversteegen's argument, naturally. It would have been surprising if he hadn't, since it was a paraphrase-not a bad one either, given the compression involved-of the basic argument Du Havel had advanced in one of his books.

Oversteegen immediately confirmed his guess. 'I should tell you that I consider The Political Value of Sacrifice one of the finest statements of conservative principle in the modern universe. Havin' said that, I also feel obliged t' inform you that I consider the arguments you advanced in Scales of Justice: Feathers Against Stones t' be-at best!-a sad lapse int' liberal maudlinism. Principles are principles, Doctor Du Havel. You, of all people, should know that. So it was sad t' see you maunderin' from one compromise t' another, tradin' away clarity for the sake of immediate benefit. Sad, sad. Practically gave social engineerin' your blessin', you did.'

Hallelujah! Du Havel began plucking at his sleeves, in a vain attempt to find the buttons so he could roll them up.

'Social engineering, is it? Ha! Explain to me, Captain Oversteegen, why it is that so-called 'conversatives'- nothing of the sort, mind you; just dinosaurs with pretensions-only object to social engineering when it threatens to hang over into their own-invariably lush and well-kept-front gardens? Yet never have the slightest objection to social engineering when it created those palatial grounds in the first place?'

Oversteegen drew himself up a bit, looming even taller than ever. Cheerfully-except for the problem with the sleeves; dammit, where were the buttons?-Du Havel plunged on.

'Consider your own aristocratic system here on Manticore, if you would. Blatant social engineering, Captain. As crude as it gets. A pack of rich people, creating a constitution deliberately designed-with greed aforethought, if not malice-to keep themselves and their descendants in a blessed state of privilege. Or are you going to try to argue that the principles of aristocracy arose from the native soil of what was then an alien planet? Like weeds, as it were-which, by the way, is a pretty apt analogy for any variety of caste system. Weeds, preening like roses.'

Oversteegen grinned, acknowledging the hit. A splendid intellectual warrior, Du Havel noted gleefully, not fazed in the least by a mere dash of blood. He was practically clawing at the sleeves, now.

'You'll get no argument from me on that issue, Doctor. Indeed true. Can't even argue that my ancestors were better murderers and robbers and rapists than anyone else, I'm afraid, the way a proper Norman baron could. Just bigger moneybags and an earlier arrival date, that's all. Lamentable, isn't it, the lengths to which modern nobility is driven by the advance of social conscience? Still, I'll argue in favor of an aristocracy.'

A high-pitched, derisive snort issued from his long and bony nose. 'Not because I believe for an instant that Conservative Association babble about good breedin', much less their downright superstitions on the subject of so-called good birth. No, the issue isn't the worth of the individuals in any given aristocracy. It's simply the social advantage which havin' any aristocracy gives a nation. Pick 'em by lottery, for all I care. But just the fact it exists gives the nation manifold benefits.'

Cathy interrupted. 'Web, those sleeves can't be rolled up. The style doesn't allow for it.'

He glared at her. 'Is that so? Hmph. Watch this.'

Du Havel had been bred a J-line by Manpower. That was-supposedly; as usual, their claims fell wide of reality-a breed designed for technical work. Thus, an emphasis on mental capability, at least of a low and mechanical variety. But also, since J-lines were designed basically for engineering work, a breed which was physically quite sturdy. Web wasn't particularly tall, and his long years of sedentary intellectual activity had put thirty kilos of fat on his frame. But the frame beneath was still square and solid.

So were the muscles which went with it.

Riiip. Riiip.

'Ah. That's better. Let me begin, Captain, by pointing out that you're paraphrasing-not badly at all, either- Jutta's argument in her Barriers Needed for Progress. Good for you. An excellent book, overall, even if I think Angelina's too prone to rigidity. But let me go on to point out that those barriers-I prefer to think of them as 'limits' or 'frames'-are themselves the product of social engineering. Goes all the way back to the original program which Jutta praises so highly-yet she never mentions was itself a deliberate project to engineer the society its founders wanted. I refer, of course, to the Constitution of the ancient United States. The thing was practically an architect's dream. A carefully balanced allotment of powers; limitations on democracy which were absurd on the face of it-just to give one example, why in God's name should the members of small provinces be given the same power as those in larger and more important ones? and if so, why only in one house instead of all?-you name it, and if it was possible to engineer, they did it. Tried, I should say, since naturally half of their schemes came unraveled within a few generations. Their sanction of slavery, for instance.'

By now, naturally, a large crowd had gathered around. Naturally, also, it contained the inevitable know-it-all- who-didn't.

'That's not possible,' the man proclaimed firmly, frowning. 'I know my ancient history, and the United States- you are referring to the American one, yes?-arose long before genetic slavery.' He half- sneered. 'Long before they even knew anything about DNA, for that matter. Bunch of primitives.'