Chapter 4

Dalish ud Klavan was almost a twin for the pictured typical Dovenilid in Marlowe’s library. Since the pictures were usually idealized, it followed that Klavan was an above-average specimen of his people. He stood a full eight feet from fetters to crest, and had not yet begun to thicken his shoes in compensation for the stoop that marked advancing middle age for his race.

Marlowe, looking at him, smiled inwardly. No Dovenilid could be so obviously superior and still only a lowly student. Well, considering Harrison’s qualifications, it might still not be tit for tat.

Mead began to get to his feet, and Marlowe hastily planted a foot atop his nearest shoe. The assistant winced and twitched his lips, but at least he stayed down.

“Dalish ud Klavan,” the Dovenilid pronounced, in good English.

“David Marlowe, Secretary for External Affairs, Solar Union,” Marlowe replied.

Ud Klavan looked expectantly at Mead.

“Christopher Mead, Assistant Undersecretary for External Affairs,” the assistant said, orientating himself.

“If you would do us the honor of permitting us to stand--” Marlowe asked politely.

[Illustration]

“On the contrary, Marlowe. If you would do me the honor of permitting me to sit, I should consider it a privilege.”

“Please do so. Mr. Mead, if you would bring our visitor a chair--”

They lost themselves in formalities for a few minutes, Marlowe being urbanely correct, Mead following after as best he could through the maze of Dovenilid morés. Finally they were able to get down to the business at hand, ud Klavan sitting with considerable comfort in the carefully designed chair which could be snapped into almost any shape, Marlowe bulking behind his desk, Mead sitting somewhat nervously beside him.

“Now, as I understand it, ud Klavan,” Marlowe began, “you’d like to learn something of our policies and methods.”

“That is correct, Marlowe and Mead.” The Dovenilid extracted a block of opaque material from the flat wallet at his side and steadied it on his knee. “I have your permission to take notes?”

“Please do. Now, as it happens, Mr. Mead and I are currently considering a case which perfectly illustrates our policies.”

Ud Klavan immediately traced a series of ideographs on the note block, and Marlowe wondered if he was actually going to take their conversation down verbatim. He shrugged mentally. He’d have to ask him, at some later date, whether he’d missed anything. Undoubtedly, there’d be a spare recording of the tape he himself was making.

“To begin: As you know, our government is founded upon principles of extreme personal freedom. There are no arbitrary laws governing expression, worship, the possession of personal weapons, or the rights of personal property. The state is construed to be a mechanism of public service, operated by the Body Politic, and the actual regulation and regimentation of society is accomplished by natural socio-economic laws which, of course, are both universal and unavoidable.

“We pride ourselves on the high status of the individual in comparison to the barely-tolerable existence of the state. We do, naturally, have ordinances and injunctions governing crimes, but even these are usually superseded by civil action at the personal level.”

Marlowe leaned forward a trifle. “Forgetting exact principles for a moment, ud Klavan, you realize that the actuality will sometimes stray from the ideal. Our citizens, for example, do not habitually carry weapons except under extraordinary conditions. But that is a civil taboo, rather than a fixed amendation of our constitution. I have no doubt that some future generation, morés having shifted, will, for example, revive the code duello.”

Ud Klavan nodded. “Quite understood, thank you, Marlowe.”

“Good. Now, to proceed:

“Under conditions such as those, the state and its agencies cannot lay down a fixed policy of any sort, and expect it to be in the least permanent. The people will not tolerate such regulation, and with each new shift in social morés--and the institution of any policy is itself sufficient to produce such a shift within a short time--successive policies are repudiated by the Body Politic, and new ones must be instituted.”