'They have taken the city?' he asked.
'I do not think so,' I said.
'But the refugees,' he said, 'so many of them.'
'They have been turned out of the city to make its defense more practical,' I said.
'The main forces of Cos,' he said, 'are said to be advancing on Ar's Station.' 'I doubt that,' I said.
'That would make sense,' he said. 'The Cosians want the river, and the control of its basin. That is what the trouble is all about. That is why their major move will be there. Too, it is probably no more than a raid.'
'Ar is in danger,' I said.
'They would never dare to meet us in pitched battle,' he said.
'Ar is in great danger,' I said.
'Ar is invincible,' he said.
'The main forces of Cos are as close as Torcadino,' I said.
'Rumors are rampant,' he said. 'One does not know what to think.'
'I trust the regent, your high councils, your military leaders, the general staff, and such, are well informed.'
'Doubtless,' he said.
'Where is Marlenus?' I asked.
'In the Voltai,' said the fellow. 'On a punitive expedition against Treve.' That, too, had been my information.
'He has been absent for months, has he not?' I asked. 'Yes,' he said.
'Does this not seem strange to you?' I asked.
'He does as he chooses,' said the man. 'He is Ubar.'
'Is the city content that he should be absent in what may be perilous times?' I asked.
'If there were any true danger,' said the man, 'he would swiftly return. He has not returned. Thus there is no true danger.'
'You do not think there is any real danger?' I asked.
'No,' said the man. 'Any one of our lads could bet a dozen Cosians.' 'It seems to me Marlenus should return,' I said.
The man shrugged.
'Perhaps they have lost contact with him, in the reaches of the Voltai.' 'Perhaps,' said the man. 'But the city does not need him.'
'The Ubar is no popular?' I asked.
'He has held power in Ar for a long time,' said the man. 'Perhaps it is time for a change.'
'Do many think so?' I asked.
'Such voices are heard here and there,' he said, 'in the taverns, the markets, the baths. Gnieus Lelius is an excellent regent. Marlenus is too bellicose. The city is sound. We are not threatened. He squabble with Cos is peripheral to our interests.'
'Is Gnieus Lelius interested in being Ubar?' I asked.
'No,' said the fellow. 'He is far too modest, too humble and unpretentious for that sort of thing. The folds of the purple cloak, the weight of the Ubar's medallion, are of no interest to him. He cares only for excellent governance, and the peace and prosperity of the city.'
'But you are sure he is interested in the welfare of Ar?' I asked.
'Of course,' said the fellow. That answer was reassuring to me. This Gnieus Lelius, if truly interested in the welfare of Ar, must act. If he had flaws as a regent presumably they might be due to his lack of information, or perhaps to a certain unwarranted optimism, or untutored innocence or naivety. Such things are not uncommon among idealists, so tender and thoughtful, so loving and trusting, prisoners of verbalisms, dazzled by inventions and dreams, projecting their own benevolence unto the larl and the forests, skeptical of reality, construing the world in the metaphor of the flower. What consolation is it for others if they should eventually discover they live in a world of facts, if disillusioned they should eventually recognize their errors, living to see the harvests of their foolishness, living to see their civilization split asunder, to see their world fall bleeding under the knives of power and reality.
'What of Seremides, the high general?' I asked. 'Might he not ascend the throne?'
'Unthinkable,' said the man. 'He is as loyal as the stones of the Central Cylinder itself.'
'I see,' I said. My question had not been prompted, of course, merely by the obvious consideration that the Ubar's cloak might seem an attractive prize to a strong, ambitious man, but by the sober understanding that Ar was in a situation of crisis, whether she knew it or not. In such times, of course, in the light of the failures and ineffectuality of an inept civilian administration, it is not unknown for military men, seeing what must be done, simply responding to the imperatives of survival, to take power and attempt to instill the will, the discipline and order without which catastrophe cannot be diverted.
'But surely it is not anticipated that the governance of Ar will long remain under a regency.' I said.
'Marlenus is expected back soon,' said the man.
'Suppose, however,' I suggested, 'he does not soon return?'
'Then there is another possibility,' he said, 'an interesting one.' 'What is that?' I asked.
'A Ubara,' he said.
'A Ubara?' I asked.
'She who was, until forsworn, the daughter of Marlenus,' he said.
'Oh?' I asked. 'Talena,' he said. 'Have you heard of her?'
'Yes,' I said.
'Marlenus was dissatisfied with her,' said the fellow. 'It had to do with some business in the Northern forests. He swore her from him, making her no longer his daughter. For years she has lived in obscurity, sequestered in the Central Cylinder. Now, with the absence of Marlenus, and the generosity of Gnieus Lelius, she is carried once again, in the streets of Ar.'
'I gather that would not be in accord with the will of Marlenus,' I said. 'Marlenus is not here,' he said.
'Why would one think of her in the terms of a Ubara? I asked. 'Sworn from Marlenus, she is no longer his daughter.'
'I am not a scribe of the law,' he said. 'I do not know.'
'I do not think she has a Home Stone,' I said.
'Gnieus Lelius permitted her to kiss the Home Stone,' he said. 'It was done in a public ceremony. She is once again a citizeness of Ar.'
'Gnieus Lelius seems a generous, noble fellow,' I said.
'He is a patron of the arts,' said the fellow. 'He has founded parks and museums. He has won the support of the elite in this fashion. I myself favor him for he has remitted certain classes of debts. This has considerably eased my financial burdens. The lower castes are fond of him for he frequently, at his own expense, distributes free bread and paga, and sponsors games and races. He has also declared new holidays. He has made life better and easier in Ar. He is much supported by the people.
'You are certain that he is concerned for the welfare of Ar?' I asked. 'Of course,' he said.
'Is he difficult to see?' I asked.
'One does not simply walk up to the Central Cylinder and knock on the door,' he said.
'I suppose not,' I said.
'But Gnieus Lelius makes a point of being available to the people,' he said. 'That is one reason he is so much loved.'
'Commoners, then, can look upon the regent?' I asked, 'other than from afar, as in state processions or at official games?'
'Of course,' said the man.
I was pleased to hear that. I had urgent letters for Gnieus Lelius and Seremides. I must somehow manage to deliver them. I had feared it might be difficult. I did not wish to deliver these missives into the hands of a subordinate. Who could one trust? Too, I surely had no wish to attempt to cut my way through the corridors of the Central Cylinder to effect a private audience with these fellows.
'Can they actually speak with him?' I asked.
