Chapter VI: The World's Bosses

Van Emmon was afterward unable to recall any experience between his entering the sublimial state and becoming tele-conscious. That is, his only recollection was of a definite scene, experienced through the eyes and ears of his agent.

The place was a large high-ceilinged room, its architecture suggesting some public building. In the center, and directly in front of Van Emmon’s agent, stood a large, rectangular table, about which sat a number of men. Van Emmon counted nine of them.

The whole atmosphere was solemn and important. Van Emmon was reminded of old photographs of cabinet meetings in Washington, of strategy boards during the great war. He listened intently for something to be said.

Near the foot of the table--Van Emmon’s agent sat at the head--a tall man with an imposing, square-cut beard rose to his feet. He gazed at each of the other eight in turn, significantly; and when he spoke the geologist was so impressed with the deadly seriousness of the scene that he forgot to be amazed at his ability to understand what was said, forgot to marvel that these men were, undeniably, human beings of exceptional character.

“Gentlemen,” said the man who had risen, “I do not need to remind you of the seriousness of this occasion. I only wish to congratulate you, and myself, on the fact that we now have a chairman to whom we can look with confidence. I say this without meaning any reflection upon his predecessor.”

He sat down, and immediately a white-haired man with a wide, complacent type of face arose and declared: “No reflection is felt, sir. On the contrary, I am exceedingly glad that Mr. Powart is to take my place. I only wish that the commission felt free to discard its rule of choosing by lots; I should like to present Mr. Powart with the chair for as long a period as he would care to fill it.”

He took his seat amid a general murmur of approval, while nine pair of eyes were turned in unison upon the pair Van Emmon was sharing. His agent, then, was chairman of some sort of a council, known as “the commission.”

Powart got to his feet. Even in this simple act his motions were swift and sure; they harmonized perfectly with the way he talked.

“Thanks, both you. To be frank, I am glad, for the sake of the association, that the youngest commissioner has come to its head at this time. If there were a younger than myself, I would say the same.”

He paused and glanced at some memoranda in his hand. Van Emmon was struck, first, by the smooth skin and perfect formation of the hand and wrist; and, second, by the peculiar writing on the papers. He had no idea what it meant, although his agent certainly did. (Afterward the four concluded that, in the case of words written in code or otherwise requiring an effort of the agent’s conscious mind, the people on the earth, being in touch only with the subconscious, were never informed. But they never had any trouble in understanding anything that was said aloud.)

“If there are any special matters which should be handled in general session, now is the time to bring them up,” said Powart, and remained standing.

An undersized man with a remarkably large head of hair spoke up from the righthand side of the table: “I want to suggest that it is high time we sent another expedition to Alma.”

“I agree,” from the man who had been Powart’s predecessor. Apparently these ten men had nearly dispensed with parlimentary rules. “What are the prospects, Powart?”

“First rate. Runled’s old space-boat has been renovated recently, and I understand that enough of the required materials have been mined to insure one round trip.”

“It is very fortunate that we shall be able to visit Alma again, even though we use up our entire supply in the attempt. It seems that we shall soon need, and need badly, certain chemical secrets which they alone possess.”

“When can the boat start?”

“Within a week. I shall keep in touch with the crew by wireless, and advise you of their progress from time to time. Alma is a sort of a hobby with me; I wouldn’t mind taking the trip myself.”

There was a long pause. Powart waited, as though in expectation of further remarks, then gave another glance at his memoranda and began:

“Of course, we are mainly concerned with the demonstration in Calastia. As to its cause, I may mention that Eklan Norbith was in a hospital at the time, having a substitution. Had he been on the spot, the uprising would have been checked before any one heard of it.

“But it now seems that Calastia, during the last few hours, has become a seething hotbed of rebellion. Of course, we have isolated the district, and a search for arms is now in progress.

“The head of the recalcitrants is a man named Ernol. He takes his confinement as a matter of course, and no amount of pressure will induce him to talk. Neither can we get anything from his companions, nor from his son.

“It is up to us to decide what measures to adopt.”

A large, pugnacious-looking man on the left put in the first comment. “Would it not be a saving of time to provoke violence, in one way or another, and thus form a pretext for disposing of the entire lot?”

“I admire your bluntness,” remarked the former chairman across the table, “although I can’t say as much for your philosophy. It is our duty to keep everybody contented; we cannot do any public weeding-out until the others are satisfied that the malcontents are really weeds.”