The Reformer

'My lord honors me beyond my worth,' he said smoothly. I may not be a rhetorician, but I've been listening to Adrian all my life. 'If my lord will open his mind to me, I will assuredly do my poor best to aid him.'

Redvers nodded. 'As you may know,' he began, 'I was recently cheated-foully cheated-of my legitimate election as Speaker of the Popular Assembly. By corruption! Unprecedented, extra-constitutional corruption! Interference from the Council!'

Esmond darted a quick look at Audsley. Audsley's mentor Marcomann had been the one who ended the last round of civil wars, and he'd restored the powers of the Council and restricted those of the Popular Assemblies. . Audsley smiled and nodded.

'To cleanse the State, a fire is needed. Drastic measures! Only thus can justice, peace and good order be restored!'

Grave nods, glittering eyes.

'My lord, may the gods themselves aid your enterprise.' Esmond shot to his feet, then went to one knee, drawing and offering his sword. 'I see that a new age is about to dawn for the Confederacy!'

'Well, well, that's very handsome of you, Esmondi,' Redvers said. 'Each one of us has a part to play, you see. Councillor Audsley is collecting a sufficient force among Marcomann's veterans-many of them living in poverty, despite their many services to the State.'

Having blown their loot and land grants on whores, dice and wine, Esmond thought. They'd come back from the Western provinces staggering under the gold. . or rather the innumerable slaves they'd taken had staggered. Marcomann had used them to climb to the highest office. Usually the Confederacy had two Speakers, one for the Popular Assembly and one for the Council; Marcomann had been Sole Speaker from the day his troops marched in and the proscriptions began to the utterly unexpected day of his retirement. He'd died in bed, too, which was a strong argument for the belief that the gods did intervene in human affairs.

'These other gentlemen will rise in arms on the appointed day. Some will seize the public buildings; others will start fires and riots to distract the City Companies. And you, my dear Esmondi. .' Redvers smiled. 'It struck me just now. . there are so many foreigners in Vanbert these days. Emeralds especially; why, there are twenty or thirty Emeralds in my household, aren't there? And you're what passes for a great and famous man among them, aren't you?'

'I have some small influence, yes, my lord,' Esmond said. A Five Year victor did have a fair number who knew his name. That wasn't exactly what Redvers was looking for, but Esmond had no intention of lessening his value. He'd already heard far too much to live if they suspected for an instant he wasn't with them or wasn't useful.

'And you'll be rewarded for it,' Redvers nodded. 'Why, even Confederate citizenship. . perhaps the narrow stripe and a modest estate in the provinces.' He beamed, the furrows beside his fleshy beak nose deepening. 'All you must do is call on the Emeralds and whatnot to rise and kill the leading corruptionists on the appointed day. Won't that cause confusion!'

'My lord, it's brilliant,' Esmond said, his voice hushed and sincere. 'But please. . pardon my ignorance. . what will Councillor Ion Jeschonyk be doing? I've never seen the Speaker of the Council abroad in the streets without two dozen of his retainers, many of them army veterans or games fighters. And if any of the magistrates should escape and reach loyal garrisons. . loyal to them, I mean. .'

'Clever, these Emeralds,' one of the men drawled.

'Well, my boy, all these things have been considered,' Redvers said indulgently. 'Indeed, mine is the hand- along with a few of my friends here-who will strike down the tyrant Jeschonyk. We'll call on him at home, you see, in the third hour of the morning, before his clients arrive to pay their respects. We'll stab him as he comes to greet us, and with him dead nobody will dare lift a hand against so many Fathers of the State. And Justiciar Demansk has twenty thousand men under arms not far from the capital, the levy for the coming Island campaign.'

'Justiciar Demansk is of your party, my lord?' Esmond strove to put worshipful admiration in his tone. Don't overdo it, he warned himself. But then, dealing with these people it was nearly impossible to overdo it. . on the other hand, the gang bosses were less likely to be taken in. If Demansk was with them, they actually had a chance to bring this off.

'Justiciar Demansk. .' Redvers smiled, 'is a man of ambition, shall we say, who has been. . approached. So. What do you say, Esmondi my lad?'

Esmond stood and gave Redvers a salute, fist to chest. 'Command me, lord, and success is ordained as if the gods themselves had spoken.'

* * *

'Are you serious?' Adrian blurted, as his brother finished his tale, running his hands through his long curling hair.

'Deadly. Most probably simply dead,' Esmond said.

Adrian stared at him, appalled. 'Oh, Maiden of the Stars,' he whispered. 'They're all going to die.'

'That doesn't bother me,' Esmond said grimly. 'You're right, incidentally. The only reason they haven't gone up the post-' in fact, most of them were of high enough social standing that they'd be offered the knife '-is that the Council and the Speakers are nearly as much a bunch of amateur buffoons as they are.'

The tall form of his brother sank to a bench. 'How in the name of the gods did we ever end up being subject to these people?'

'They had a better army,' Adrian said absently, the eyes of his mind fixed inward. 'And in those days they didn't fight among themselves as much as we did. You know the saying: two Emeralds-'

'— three factions and a civil war,' Esmond said gloomily. 'And the hell of it is, we're involved in this. . this abortion. I wouldn't give them one chance in twenty. The Confederacy may be ruled from Vanbert, but it isn't a city-state or a monarchy. You can't just seize one man or a couple of buildings and rule, or parade a little bodyguard the way. . what was his name, somebody the Tyrant, the one who came into town with a big girl dressed up as the Goddess, way back?'

'Petor Strattis,' Adrian said. Strattis had been Boss of Solinga for twenty-three years back four centuries ago, and his reforms had laid the basis for the later democracy and the Emerald League. 'Wait-let me think.'

esmond gellert's appraisal is remarkably accurate, Center said, a slight tinge of surprise in the machine voice. stochastic analysis indicates that the probability of a successful coup is in the range of 8 % ±3.

Raj's gray eyes opened inside Adrian's head. Remarkable young man, your brother, he said appraisingly. I'd have been very glad indeed to have him as a junior officer; he's got natural talent, and I think men would follow him. Hmm. . that's something to consider. Center?

correct. we must reevaluate long-term plans. . however, esmond gellert's fundamental belief- structure offers impediments to his usefulness as a tool.

My brother isn't a tool! Adrian thought hotly. He's a human being!

Human beings can be the tools of mankind, Raj thought gently. There's no higher honor. Better to serve mankind than some politician's greed or a myth that turns to ashes full of dead children.

Sorry, Adrian thought. What can we do?

Well, Redvers and his friends have one great merit, Raj mused. Two, actually. First, they're corrupt, amoral, shortsighted and utterly selfish. Responsible nobles wouldn't listen to you if you told them about earth-shaking innovations-they'd look beyond immediate advantage and realize that they could destabilize the system, and those of them who're loyal to anything besides themselves are loyal to the system here. Second, they're desperate. They'll grasp at straws, because it's a tubful of very bloody water for them if they lose.

Adrian raised his head. 'Did they give you any idea of the time of this. . uprising?'

'Not immediately. They want to get Demansk on their side if they possibly can. Beyond that, at least a couple of months-I doubt if they know precisely themselves. Why? Do you think we can make it to the Western Isles before