then?”
His father smiled back at him. “I believe I will just have to trust you not to do that.”
“You would trust me?” Javas asked.
“I always have.”
Javas’ smile took on a new pleasure. “Thank you, Father. I will be waiting for you on Earth’s Moon. And for the lovely Dr. Montgarde, as well.”
Borneer was still livid. “All this uprooting of everything . . . the costs . . . the manpower . . . over an unproven theory!”
“Why is the theory unproven, my friend?” the Emperor asked.
Bomeer’s mouth opened and closed like a fish’s, but no words came out.
“It is unproven,” said the Emperor, “because our scientists have never gone so far before. In fact, the sciences of the Hundred Worlds have not made much progress at all in several generations. Isn’t that true, Bomeer?”
“We . . . Sire, we have reached a natural plateau in our understanding of the physical universe. It has happened before. Our era is one of consolidation and practical application of already-acquired knowledge, not new basic breakthroughs.”
“Well, this project will force some new thinking and new breakthroughs, I warrant. Certainly we will be forced to recruit new scientists and engineers by the shipload. Perhaps that will be impetus enough to start the climb upward again, eh, Bomeer? I never did like plateaus.”
The academician lapsed into silence.
“And I see you, Fain,” the Emperor said, “trying to calculate in your head how much of your Fleet strength is going to be wasted on this old man’s dream.”
“Sire, I had no—”
The Emperor waved him into silence. “No matter. Moving the Capital won’t put much of a strain on the Fleet, will it?”
“No, Sire. But this project to save Earth . . .”
“We will have to construct new ships for that, Fain. And we will have to turn to the frontier worlds for those ships.” He glanced at Adela. “I believe that the frontier worlds will gladly join the effort to save Earth’s Sun. And their treasuries will be enriched by our purchase of thousands of new ships.”
“While the Imperial treasury is depleted.”
“It’s a rich Empire, Fain, it’s time we shared some of our wealth with the frontier worlds. A large shipbuilding program will do more to reconcile them with the Empire than anything else we can imagine.”
“Sire,” said Fain bluntly, “I still think it’s madness.”
“Yes, I know. Perhaps it is. I only hope that I live long enough to find out, one way or the other.”
“Sire,” Adela said breathlessly, “you will be reuniting all the worlds of the Empire into a closely knit human community such as we haven’t seen in centuries!”
“Perhaps. It would be pleasant to believe so. But for the moment, all I have done is to implement a decision to try to save Earth’s Sun. It may succeed; it may fail. But we are sons and daughters of planet Earth, and we will not allow our original homeworld to be destroyed without struggling to our uttermost to save it.”
He looked at their faces again. They were all waiting for him to continue. You grow pompous, old man.
“ Very well. You each have several lifetimes of work to accomplish. Get busy, all of you.”
Bomeer’s and Fain’s images winked off immediately. Javas’ remained.
“Yes, my son? What is it?”
Javas’ ever-present smile was gone. He looked serious, even troubled. “Father . . . I am not going to bring Rihana with me to Earth. She wouldn’t want to come, I know—at least, not until all the comforts of the court were established there for her.”
The Emperor nodded.
“If I’m to be master of my own house,” Javas went on, “it’s time we ended this farce of a marriage.”
“Very well, son. That is your decision to make. But, for what it’s worth, I agree with you.”
“Thank you, Father.” Javas’ image disappeared. For a long moment the Emperor sat gazing thoughtfully at the wall where the holographic images had appeared.
“I believe that I will
His father smiled back at him. “I believe I will just have to trust you not to do that.”
“You would trust me?” Javas asked.
“I always have.”
Javas’ smile took on a new pleasure. “Thank you, Father. I will be waiting for you on Earth’s Moon. And for the lovely Dr. Montgarde, as well.”
Borneer was still livid. “All this uprooting of everything . . . the costs . . . the manpower . . . over an unproven theory!”
“Why is the theory unproven, my friend?” the Emperor asked.
Bomeer’s mouth opened and closed like a fish’s, but no words came out.
“It is unproven,” said the Emperor, “because our scientists have never gone so far before. In fact, the sciences of the Hundred Worlds have not made much progress at all in several generations. Isn’t that true, Bomeer?”
“We . . . Sire, we have reached a natural plateau in our understanding of the physical universe. It has happened before. Our era is one of consolidation and practical application of already-acquired knowledge, not new basic breakthroughs.”
“Well, this project will force some new thinking and new breakthroughs, I warrant. Certainly we will be forced to recruit new scientists and engineers by the shipload. Perhaps that will be impetus enough to start the climb upward again, eh, Bomeer? I never did like plateaus.”
The academician lapsed into silence.
“And I see you, Fain,” the Emperor said, “trying to calculate in your head how much of your Fleet strength is going to be wasted on this old man’s dream.”
“Sire, I had no—”
The Emperor waved him into silence. “No matter. Moving the Capital won’t put much of a strain on the Fleet, will it?”
“No, Sire. But this project to save Earth . . .”
“We will have to construct new ships for that, Fain. And we will have to turn to the frontier worlds for those ships.” He glanced at Adela. “I believe that the frontier worlds will gladly join the effort to save Earth’s Sun. And their treasuries will be enriched by our purchase of thousands of new ships.”
“While the Imperial treasury is depleted.”
“It’s a rich Empire, Fain, it’s time we shared some of our wealth with the frontier worlds. A large shipbuilding program will do more to reconcile them with the Empire than anything else we can imagine.”
“Sire,” said Fain bluntly, “I still think it’s madness.”
“Yes, I know. Perhaps it is. I only hope that I live long enough to find out, one way or the other.”
“Sire,” Adela said breathlessly, “you will be reuniting all the worlds of the Empire into a closely knit human community such as we haven’t seen in centuries!”
“Perhaps. It would be pleasant to believe so. But for the moment, all I have done is to implement a decision to try to save Earth’s Sun. It may succeed; it may fail. But we are sons and daughters of planet Earth, and we will not allow our original homeworld to be destroyed without struggling to our uttermost to save it.”
He looked at their faces again. They were all waiting for him to continue. You grow pompous, old man.
“ Very well. You each have several lifetimes of work to accomplish. Get busy, all of you.”
Bomeer’s and Fain’s images winked off immediately. Javas’ remained.
“Yes, my son? What is it?”
Javas’ ever-present smile was gone. He looked serious, even troubled. “Father . . . I am not going to bring Rihana with me to Earth. She wouldn’t want to come, I know—at least, not until all the comforts of the court were established there for her.”
The Emperor nodded.
“If I’m to be master of my own house,” Javas went on, “it’s time we ended this farce of a marriage.”
“Very well, son. That is your decision to make. But, for what it’s worth, I agree with you.”
“Thank you, Father.” Javas’ image disappeared. For a long moment the Emperor sat gazing thoughtfully at the wall where the holographic images had appeared.
“I believe that I will
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