That was very close to being two-thirds of the total membership of the upper house. He had picked Chin's name at random from the rest; simply because his appointment with Himandi had been only three weeks before, according to the secret file on Chin. This was time enough for whatever he had consulted about to show some results; and also time enough to raise a further question about the relationship between Chin and Himandi.
The meeting had been briefly labeled "a discussion of investments" and this enigmatic subject had also caught at Bleys' interest.
He had been sitting there sometime longer than half an hour, perhaps as much as forty-five minutes, when a speaker on his table came to life.
"Bleys Ahrens?" said the voice from the table speaker. "There's a call for you. You can take it at your table if you like, if you'll just punch the outside phone stud. Bleys Ahrens, have you received this message?"
"I hear you," said Bleys. He pressed the outside phone stud and spoke into the voice grille of the table.
"This is Bleys Ahrens. Did you want to reach me?"
"Bleys Ahrens," came back a female voice, "Director Chin will see you right away. Are you in the building?"
"Yes, down in the restaurant," said Bleys.
"If you'll come up right away then," said the voice at the other end.
"I'll be there immediately," Bleys said.
Director Albert Chin was indeed close. He turned out to be only several floors up and a short walk down a corridor. Three secretaries, two women and a man, were in his outer office. It was one of the women, in something more like a dark green robe than a dress, but which however fitted her dark hair and aquiline face, who let him into the inner office.
"Bleys Ahrens!" the Director said, rising from behind his desk. He was a tall man, almost as tall as Bleys, and had been good-looking in his own way at one time. But a certain amount of extra weight had softened the line of his jaw and produced a slight potbelly. He was possibly in his mid-forties.
"Yes indeed, Director," said Bleys, coming up to the desk. They clasped hands and the Director immediately sat down, motioning Bleys to an armchair float opposite.
"I understand you're something of a traveling inspector for your organization," said Albert Chin. "Himandi mentioned you'd probably only want a word or two with me."
"That's right," said Bleys. "Himandi's Vice-Chairman of the branch of the organization here, as you know. I'm Senior Vice-Chairman for all our organization. I wanted to talk to one of his clients, simply to round out the picture before I leave."
"You're leaving so soon then?" asked Chin.
"Yes, at the end of the week," said Bleys. "I go next to Ste. Marie."
"I see," said Chin. "Now, what can I tell you?"
"First I wanted your confirmation that you're one of the personal clients of Himandi," Bleys said.
"Yes," said Chin. He smiled a little, "as a matter of fact I wouldn't feel satisfied, dealing with anyone but the top member of your organization. You understand. After all, R.H.I.P. Rank Has Its Privileges, Bleys Ahrens. As you undoubtedly know." Bleys nodded.
"I take it you're quite happy with him, then?" said Bleys.
"Absolutely. In fact," said Chin, "Himandi's become something of an old friend. I'd be tempted to stick with him, even if for some reason he ceased to be the ranking member of your organization, here."
"I'm glad to hear that," said Bleys. "That's the sort of thing I'll be reporting on to our Chairman when I get back to our headquarters. Let's see now, you see Himandi fairly frequently then?"
"Oh, I wouldn't say frequently," answered Chin. "Several times a year."
"And I think the last time the two of you talked was the twenty-fourth of last month?"
"Was it? I don't always remember these things offhand," said Chin, "I could have one of the secretaries look it up—oh yes, I'remember—it was just when we were passing Bill K410 of this season."
"And you haven't seen him since?"
"Since?" There was surprise and a little touch of defensive-ness in Chin's voice. But then he smiled and his voice was easy again. "No. No, I'm sure about that."
Bleys stood up. Behind the desk Chin rose also.
"Well, I'm happy to have had a chance to talk to you on such short notice," said Bleys. "It was very good of you to make time for me."
"Not at all, not at all," said Chin. "Your organization— well, that is, Himandi, at least—certainly fills a useful purpose as far as I'm concerned."
They clasped hands again and Bleys went out; Chin reseating himself behind Bleys before he had completely left the room and becoming engrossed in some papers on his desk.
Bleys closed the door to Chin's private office behind him and nodded at the secretaries as he left. He went downstairs again and called for an autocar. As he stepped into it, he
phoned Himandi's office. Himandi himself answered the phone.
"I had a very pleasant talk with Director Albert Chin," Bleys said into his phone as the cab was taking him toward Himandi's office. "I'm on my way over to see you now."
"Now? Right now?" said Himandi.
"Yes. Why?" asked Bleys. "Is there any reason I can't talk to you now?"
"No, no, not at all," said Himandi, "in fact why don't I meet you at the door and we'll take your autocar on to someplace where we can have lunch?"
"Excellent," said Bleys, and broke the connection..
They ended up at a two-person table in a small, but very comfortable, restaurant that reminded Bleys of the ones that Dahno had used to take him to on Bleys' visits to Ecumeny. Bleys opened the conversation.
"I don't suppose," he said to Himandi, once their drinks had been placed before them, "you've ever thought of doing a survey to find out how many Others there are on Cassida?"
Himandi looked startled.
"There aren't any Others outside of those in our organization," he said.
"No, no, you've got to think beyond that," said Bleys gently. "Where do you draw your local trainees from?"
"Why, from the local mixed-breeds—" Himandi's eyes had just narrowed. "You mean I should consider anyone who's a genetic mix from Splinter Cultures, from the Dorsai, the Exotics or the Friendlies—as an Other?"
"That's exactly what I mean," said Bleys. "You have to look into the future of the organization. I suggest you do a survey and note any mixed-breeds currently on Cassida who fill the qualifications. In the general sense they're all Others. They just aren't part of the organization yet."
"Yet?" Himandi stared at him.
"Yes," said Bleys, "you've got to see that with an organization like ours, we either go up or go down. Either we gain more and more influence; or we reach a point of stasis, from which the only way is down in importance and influence. That way, eventually we disappear. We have to look beyond our present lifetimes, you and I, Himandi."
"But—" Himandi shrugged, staring. "Why should we look beyond our lifetimes? The upcoming members of the organization can take care of themselves when the time comes. Also, just how far do you expect an organization like we have here on Cassida to grow? How far do you expect all our branches, on all the worlds, to grow?"
"Until they control all the Worlds," said Bleys.
His eyes were fastened on Himandi; but it was not those that were emphasizing what he was saying. It was his deep-toned, trained voice, which had Himandi focused completely now; and within that focus Bleys thought he should now be able to handle the other man.
"Would you want to stop at less?" he asked. "If you look at it closely, we're as different from the ordinary run of mankind as another species of
Homo sapiens.
Potentially—at least. It isn't a question of our being able to gain control eventually, it's an inevitability; unless some of us fall by the wayside and don't keep pushing in that direction. In which case, as I said, we dwindle and disappear."
"But you're talking about thousands of mixed-breeds," said Himandi. "I can't give you the population of Cassida, offhand, but perhaps as much as half of one per
cent of it, maybe even a bit more, could be Others under that definition."
"Are
Others," Bleys corrected. "Stop and think, Himandi. We've gone from where we had no influence to where we are now. Here on Cassida you and your classmates have gone from a handful of unknown men and women to a position of relative influence and authority."
He paused.
' "Otherwise, would you have taken it so easily, having to pay for the repair of a wall in a hotel room? If you can come from zero to this point, why not continue?"
He paused again. He had Himandi's whole attention now. For the other man the dining room around him had ceased to exist.
"Think of it for a moment, Himandi. The possibility wasn't mentioned in the early days to trainees; or even to organization heads like yourself on other planets, once you were set up and thriving. But the time's come now to recognize a goal. We're inevitably going to end up leading the rest of the human race, as an elite. We've been bound from the start to rise to the top, as cream rises in milk. And now it's time for at least our senior members to see and understand this. You can see and understand it, now that I've mentioned it, can't you?" He stopped and waited.
Himandi sat where he was, not moving, not even picking up his glass. Finally he sighed.
"You're right," he said, "it's been inevitable from the start."
"Exactly," said Bleys. "Now that you use it you've got to begin to operate on it, as a basis, starting with a survey and census of the Others on this world; who don't yet recognize themselves as Others, except for perhaps feeling alone and apart from the general run of humanity. You do follow me?"
Himandi picked up his glass and drank deeply of it.
"Yes. Yes," he said, "I see it now, very clearly."
"It'll mean a change in the organization itself, to handle and employ many more individuals; and to do that there'll have to be changes in the organization structure. I won't give you any suggestions or directions about what you might do here, outside of taking that survey, but you ought to be thinking of how you'd handle an organization of thousands."
"I will," said Himandi, "beginning now."
"Good," said Bleys, "that's why I'm going to see if I can plead your case with Dahno, to let you stay in charge, here."
CHAPTER
26
It took a
moment for the shock of what Bleys had just said to bring Himandi out of the state of light hypnosis into which Bleys had led him; and make him realize what Bleys' words had implied.
"I
—don't understand," he said.
"You're an excellent manager," said Bleys, "and as far as
I
can see you've done many things right here, considering the conditions with which you had to work.
I
thought at first that you might have some personal ambition or interest in corralling all the Directors of the upper house as your personal clients—"
"No, no," began Himandi. "You don't understand how it is—"
Bleys smiled and held up a hand to stop him.
"Then
I
found out today," he went on, "that as the situation exists, the members of that group would almost require to be handled by the head of our organization with his or her personal attention. On the other hand, you've made some classic mistakes. However,
I
'm beginning to think that
I
'll find
these same mistakes made by nearly all the heads of all our out-world suborganizations. It's possible to tell a lot from the files you made accessible to me, cross-connecting information from one file to another and from one situation to another. For one thing, when was the last time you had a meeting with Albert Chin?"
"Why—I don't know offhand," Himandi said. "It'll be in the files—"
"What's in the files is the date of the twenty-fourth of last month. You haven't met with him at least once since then?"
"What gives you the idea I might have?" asked Himandi, "I'm sure—"
"Himandi," interrupted Bleys gently, "remember what I was just talking about? I'll do what I can to persuade Dahno to keep you here in your present position; but beginning right now you'll have to tell me the truth. Also, make available to me the things you've had hidden. Now, again—when was the last time you saw Albert Chin?"
"A week ago, Wednesday," said Himandi, looking down at his plate.
"Exactly," said Bleys. "I'm glad you decided against any more evasions and false answers. Now, that last meeting didn't happen to have to do with some kind of payment to you personally, did it? Let's say, some kind of gift to you personally?"
"It was in the way of a . . . retainer," said Himandi, still looking down at his plate. "I get it quarterly from everyone in the upper house who's a client."
"I thought so," said Bleys. "It brought up the immediate question of whether you were merely trying to line your pockets, or what kind of use you had for this income. However, after studying the available files, I'm sure that you weren't thinking of making yourself rich. What you wanted was to set up a fund that nobody would know about; against any sudden emergency, such as finding yourself cut off permanently from Dahno and with the ultimate control of the organization in your hands only. Am I right?"
Himandi looked at him, lifting his eyes from the plate and the table with a surprised look on his face.
"How did you guess that?" he asked.
"I didn't guess it," said Bleys. "For someone who's able to study and understand the files you let me see, it was obvious your heart and soul were in the organization here. But you were operating it defensively; and that's not the way it'll need to be handled from now on."
He paused to give the other a chance to speak. Himandi said nothing. Bleys went on.
"Since we face a period of expansion, possibly even within the next few years, you're going to have to stop being protective and become aggressive. In short, you're going to have to take more chances and not rely so much on being able to take care of yourself if you're left alone, but on being part of an inevitable movement toward a larger future. I've no direct evidence of any of this—but then I don't need it for Dahno. He'll take my word for it. But I can see clearly enough to recognize some other things. First, I want you to disband whatever kind of armed or strong-arm organization you've set up."
Himandi's eyes widened.
"You're a clairvoyant!" he said. "How did you tell that from the files I showed you?" Bleys smiled.
"It was a guess," he answered, "but a solid one."
"I . . . didn't set it up," Himandi said. "I just have an agreement with one of the local military leaders to have the use of certain specially trained troops, if I should need them."
"I'd like you to sever that connection," said Bleys. "Anything like that is like a loaded gun around the house. Someone who otherwise might not shoot anyone else in an argument, just might if the weapon was handy. Now, and finally—will you show me your actual, top-secret files?"
"Yes," said Himandi. "Any time you want."
Bleys pushed his chair float back from the table.
"Right now," he said.
Half an hour later, in Himandi's office, he was deep into a brief, but very revealing, set of records. The information these contained would have been enough to make Dahno react, if Bleys had even needed to show his half-brother.
"Actually," said Bleys, closing off the final secret files and handing the key to them back to Himandi, who had sat in the file room with him, waiting while he went through them, , "what I've seen now confirms a belief that you're far and away the best person to run the organization on Cassida. I want you to send me word when you've put the existence of these tapes on open record, and made them available to anyone like myself who's qualified to see them. Also, I want to hear you've ended your agreement with the military; just as I'd like to hear you've started the survey and the census. As you let me know these things are done, I'll present them to Dahno in the best possible light."
"Do you think
—?" Himandi did not finish. "As
I said—I think I can persuade him to keep you," said Bleys, "yes.
"Now," he went on, "I'll spend the rest of the days I have here before leaving, by getting to know as much of certain areas of government and business as I can. The last world I stopped at, I met the rest of the members of the original class of trainees who were sent out there at a dinner the night before Heft. I'd like to do that again."
"It's an excellent idea," said Himandi, "excellent. But you won't fall out of touch with me the rest of the time you're here, will you?"
"No," said Bleys, "nothing could please me more than seeing you make a start on those things I asked you to do, so I could tell Dahno that they were already underway at the time I left."
In the next few days before his ship took him off to Ste. Marie, he spent his time as he had on Freiland, taking the pulse of the business climate of the planet and the structure and operation of the government. These were things he would need to know in the future and were not connected with the purpose of his present trip—which in itself was not exactly what he had given Dahno to understand it to be.
Far from his making this trip to acquaint himself with the organizations, he had made it to begin his contacts with those same organizations and if possible to point them in the right direction. On both Freiland and Cassida he had been able to do just that.
Such good fortune could not go on without some kind of an interruption. Ste. Marie was a small but relatively rich world under the same sun of Procyon A as Kultis, Mara and the mining world of Coby. Coby had no organization and Kultis and Mara of course were the Exotic worlds where an organization would have been useless.
The organization on Ste. Marie was correspondingly small and slightly more relaxed. Nonetheless, because it had been involved in a great deal of use of off-world mercenary military, the planet had a fair number of cross-breeds that could be brought into the organization. As a mainly pastoral planet, it would be useful but not remarkable.
However, it was on Ste. Marie that the organization was run by a lady named Kim Wallech. Like the organizations on Freiland and Cassida, she had some very private files that she was not eager to make available to Bleys.
At the same time she had a disconcerting tendency to agree with everything he suggested and predicted for the future, and yet balked at opening up the private areas of her command.
She was obviously the kind of person who fights to the last ditch and then disconcertingly finds one ditch more behind that one she has been finally forced to abandon.
However, at last she gave in; and agreed to modify the organization, eliminating those things that Bleys suggested should be eliminated or changed. Bleys' private opinion of her, as a matter of fact, was that of the three leaders of suborgani-zations he had spoken to so far, she was probably the most capable and steadfast.
His next stop was at Ceta, a large planet which had a surface gravity no greater than that of Old Earth. Old Earth's gravity had always been one of the measures by which other worlds had been chosen for settlement.
The last two stops were on New Earth and finally Harmony;