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“What do you need?”
Waden laughed. “Nothing, of course. But possibly what I’ve always needed, a little less solitude. Already you relieve my mind. I’ve shaken the world, Artist, and you’ve not even felt the tremors; what marvelous concentration you have.”
“Have you taken sides?”
“Ah. To the point and dead on. Negotiations: Freedom will always be commercially poor so long as it relies on piratical commerce. And I am too great for this world.”
“What have you done?”
“What would you do, as Waden Jenks?”
“Build this world. You’re about to swallow too much, First Citizen. Digest what you have already; what more do you need, what—?” He lifted a hand toward the roof and the unseen stars. “What is that? Distances that will add to the vacancy you already govern. Hesse is still uncolonized. Half this world is vacant. What need of more so soon? Your ambition is for size.And you will swallow until you burst.”
Waden Jenks tended to laugh at his advice, to take it in humor. There was no humor in Waden now.
“I will jar your Reality, Artist. Come with me. Come. Let me show you figures.”
Herrin sucked in his breath, vexed and bothered and inwardly disturbed already; arguments with Waden were not, at this stage, productive of anything good. “My Reality is what I’m doing out there, First Citizen. Don’t interfere with my work. I have no time to be bothered with trivialities.”
Waden’s eyes grew darker, amazed, and then he burst out laughing. “With trivialities! O my Dionysus, I love you. There’s all a universe out there. There’s scale against which all your ambition is nothing; there are places you’ll never reach, peoples who’ll never hear of you and never care, and you’re nothing. But you shut that out, no different from the citizen who sweeps the streets, who has all the Reality he can handle.”
“No. You’ll give it all to me. That’s what you’re for. You asked me what Iwould do. I’d build up this world and attract the commerce you say we have to have. You’re looking for a quick means, because Waden Jenks has no duration, only breadth. You’ll devour everything you can, First Citizen, and those same people beyond your reach will always gall you; but not me. Because someday ... at some time however far away ... someone who’s known mywork will get out there, and carry my reputation there, and in time, in time, First Citizen—when we’re both gone—I’ll get there. My way.”
“Will you?” Waden’s grin looked frozen for the moment, and Herrin, wine-warmed, felt a little impulse of caution. “A little time givingorders has improved your confidence, hasn’t it? I neglect to mention your program would simply build an economy the pirates would delight to plunder. We have onecommodity now which we have to sell: the pirates themselves, which will buy us what will save us great expense. But I did invite comment. Plan as you choose. You’ve taught me something?”
“What, l?”
“That duration itself is worth the risk; and that’s my choice as well, Artist. By what I do ... neither Freedom nor other worlds will go unshaken.
“Whom have you dealt with?”
“The trade ... we can’t get from merchants. But there’s more than one way to get it, isn’t there? The military wants a base in this sector; wants to build a station, to do for us what would take us generations. So I give them our cooperation. And Camden McWilliams ceases to a
“You’ve cut us off from the only commerce we get,” Herrin exclaimed. “They’ll desert you, this foreign military. They’ll leave you once they’ve got what they want. They’ll changethings here, impose their own reality, never mind yours.
Waden shook his head.
“You’re confident,” Herrin said. “Do you really think you can handle them? It’s wide, Waden.”
“Does it daunt you?You talk about posterities. Does that length of time daunt you? And does it occur to you that what I do ca
“It occurs to me,” he admitted.
“You never fail me,” Waden said. “Whenever I’m in the least perplexed, you’re the best reflection of my thoughts. My unfailing mirror. Arguing with you is like arguing with myself.”
“You no longer have to flatter, First Citizen. Do you merely flex your unpracticed talents?”
“Oh, excellent. Still barbed. What of that masterwork of yours? Shall I come to see it?”
“Not yet. When it’s done.”
“What, afraid of my reaction?”
“When it’s done.”
“When will that be?”
Herrin shrugged. “Possibly a week.”
“So soon?”
“Before deadline. I have had outstanding cooperation.”
“I’ve heard you plan a tribute to the workers.”
“Out of my account.”
“No, no, the State will fund it.”
“ Willyou? That’s quite generous.”
“A gesture seems in order. An inspiration to the city. I’m really impressed, Herrin, truly I am. I have administrators accustomed to such tasks of coordinating workers and supply who find less success. You have a certain talent there too, by no means minor.”
“I should not care to exercise it. My sculpture is the important thing. I credit my choice of supervisors.”
“One lost. Most unfortunate.”
Herrin fidgeted and recrossed his ankles, feet extended before him. The reference was in total bad taste.
“An invisible.”
“One supposes,” Herrin said. “I’m sure I don’t know.”
“You’re a disturbance,” Waden said.
“Do I disturb you?”
Waden tossed off the rest of his drink, set the glass down, still smiling. “I shall expect to see this wonder of yours next week. Dare I?”
“Barring rain. I don’t fancy working in the wet.”
“Ah, you’re admirably restrained. You’re dying for me to see it, and probably a little apprehensive.”
“Not in the least apprehensive.”
“But anxious.”
“I should imagine the same of you.”
“True,” Waden said. “True. I’ll leave you to your rest. I see you were on the verge.” He tapped the decanter with his fingernail. “You ought not to indulge so much. I hate to see a great mind corrupted.”
“Only on occasions. I’ve reformed since my Student days.”
“Have you?” Waden rose, and Herrin did. Waden brushed his clothes into order. “A pleasant rest to you.”
“Thank you.”
Waden started out. Stopped, halfway to the door, looked back. “Keye’s well. Thought I’d tell you.”
“My regards to her.”
Waden registered mild surprise. “Bastard! Did you know?”
“She is with you, then.”
“Ah, she visits. Says you’ve gone strange.”
Herrin shrugged. “A matter of indifference to me.”
“Do you know, I think she prefers you.”
“Again a matter of indifference. Beware of Keye.”
“Do you think so?”
“Creative ethics, Waden. She’ll create yours for you; doubtless she’s doing so at the moment. But that’s your problem.”
“Ah, you are offended.”
“I’m not offended.” He folded his arms to take the weight off his shoulders. His eyes were growing heavy from the drink. “I’m far too weary to cope with Keye, and she’ll drift back again. Or back and forth. I’m quite surprised you two haven’t reached an arrangement long before this. Evidently she feels herself in one of her stronger periods; she avoided you once; now she avoids me. I’ve always thought you underestimated her.” A thought came to him and he penetrated his lethargy with a more direct look. “Ah! you’ve talked to Keye about this—plan, this ambition of yours. And lo, Keye is withyou.”
“Worth considering.”
“Indeed it is.”
Waden gnawed his lip, laughed softly. Nodded. “Warning taken, Herrin. Warning assuredly taken.”
He left. Herrin walked to the bed and sat down, utterly weary, disturbed in his concentration. He had not asked for disturbances. What had been contentment deserted him.
He tried to put it all from his mind, revise the time, wipe it all out and start over. He failed. He was muddled, vaguely and irrationally, knowing Keye was notsitting in her apartment over the Square waiting for his attention. He was hurt. Of course she would not wait. Of course there was no reason that she should. He would have had no objection had she taken a horde of others to her bed. She had done so, in fact, while taking him on convenient days.