The Wizard of Anharitte by Colin Kapp Page B

returned. Ren found instead that his computer printout terminal had been busy. In it lay the precious list of slaves carefully culled from reconstructed histories to show those who could most possibly be agents of the Imaiz . He scanned the list anxiously, but the names meant nothing to him. For Catuul Gras, who knew everyone and everything in Anharitte, the situation would be different. Ren stuffed the list into his pocket and hastened to the Lodge of the Society of Pointed Tails.
    As usual, the senior scribe was expecting him. Ren speculated that there must be very few movements of importance of which the Pointed Tails were unaware, such was the superlative nature of their spy web in Anharitte. He laid the list before Catuul, who examined it carefully. For some unstated reason his enthusiasm was not apparent.
    ‘I’ll have our slave masters investigate this without delay—but discreetly. No word of it must get out until we’re sure. If the suspects became suspicious it would be easy for them to desert back to Magda.’
    ‘I’ll leave it to you,’ said Ren. ‘But it’s still action only in a negative sense. It’s a defensive move. What I must have from you is some scheme with a positive effect.’
    ‘And you’ll have it, friend Tito. I promised you a scheme of feud and harassment against Dion-daizan and this has now been prepared. To your outworld eyes it may seem a little superficial—but believe me, in terms of effectiveness in Anharitte its cumulative value is equivalent to a major disaster.’
    ‘I’ll accept that you know what you’re doing. But time’s becoming critical, Catuul. I’m under pressure to destroy the influence of the Imaiz and to do it fast. If your scheme can’t produce results quickly we’ll be forced into taking a more direct line and attacking Dion-daizan himself.’
    ‘What sort of time-scale did you have in mind?’
    ‘I think a couple of weeks only. Hardun is already campaigning with the Free Trade Council for permission to take a tougher line. I think I can stall them for a while, but we mustn’t miss any opportunity to hit Dion hard.’
    .‘You’re worried about something, aren’t you, friend Tito?’ The scribe was suddenly questioning.
    ‘Yes, I am. I’ve come to have a great deal of respect for your culture, Catuul. As a Company man I can’t afford to risk losing access to the spaceport, but outside of that proviso I believe you’ve a right to settle your problems in your own way and without your society’s becoming unduly contaminated by outworld interference. But I’m afraid that if you don’t settle the Imaiz soon, a more ruthless faction among the Free Traders will bring such pressures to bear that Anharitte will never be the same place after.’
    ‘I’m aware of the situation,’ said Catuul gravely. “I’ve seen what the coming of the spaceport has done to us unwittingly. Thus I’ve no doubt of what would be the outcome of more deliberate manipulation. Frankly, that’s why we opted to work with you. You’ve an appreciation of what a separate identity means both to an individual and to a culture. That’s something rare in an outworlder.’
    ‘You can thank the director. I guess I caught my attitude from him.’
    ‘Well, here’s our proposal. Dion-daizan maintains many large estates and farms in Magda province. The value of the produce is a major source of Magda’s income.’
    ‘More than the spaceport revenue?’ Ren was learning something new.
    ‘Certainly much more. But the point I wish to make is that the Imaiz ’s success in his estate policy depends on close coordination of the various estates and markets. If we destroy that coordination, his growing and marketing schemes will fall apart. Prices will rise, setting popular sympathy against him _ and he will soon acquire huge stocks of surplus. He will also find himself with excess manpower and will be forced to start selling slaves on a massive scale. A disaster of such consequence will