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Candar picked up a small gold knife. "Go on," he said, "but do not bluff. I do not like bluffs." "There is no question of bluffing," Thane said impatiently. "But there are other matters that must be settled before I will go on." "Just what would you have us settle, spy?" Candar asked sardonically. "First, the matter of my own immunity. I'm being hunted throughout the Galaxy.
Thane said scornfully, "I didn't say that you should assure it. I said I wanted it assured. And it will be. If it isn't, you'll be wiped out, and what's left of the Onzar system will be in slavery." "You may think, Systems Spy, that you know the kind of death you will die if this is a trick," Candar said slowly and coldly. "But you do not.
Like any organism, social or biological, the church must adapt to continue. It must survive. And the present situation is not merely one in which an ancient taboo is violated. It is a crisis of survival for you." "I know," she said thoughtfully, "that Candar has never been friendly to the church. But I do not believe that he has the power to destroy it."
Gold plating on the ceiling. A gold shagell, wings outstretched, at one corner of Candar's enormous desk. And Candar, in a perfectly plain uniform, staring up at him from behind the desk. His own expensive way, Thane considered, for showing his contempt for the gold fetish of the church. Candar looked up at him steadily for a moment without speaking.
As Pyuf twisted the dials he spoke rapidly over his shoulder to Thane. "We're quite isolated here. The house belongs to the old boy you met in the lab. He's been checked for security by Candar so we figured we were safe here. There's a detection screen about a kilometer hour from the house, and we have a force screen we can use as a last resort.
Astrid appeared beside the lieutenant. She talked rapidly in Onzarian. Her manner was imperious, "He's the one. He did it all. He attacked us here, and after he had killed the others he admitted to me that he was a spy for the A. S. He would have killed me, too, if you hadn't come, lieutenant." The lieutenant said harshly, "He won't trouble anyone now. Candar, himself will deal with him."
"The whole priestesshood feels that Candar is their enemy. They feel that Candar's eventual aim is to destroy every organization not under his direct control. Of course, the church also has a long tradition of remaining aloof from the temporal government. And outwardly, Candar has so far usually respected the church." She looked up at Thane. "That's the general picture.
Shorter than the average Onzarian, with shaven head, his uniform was quite plain except for small, double-headed platinum shagells on the collar. And Candar was doing all the talking. When he had started one hour and fifteen minutes ago his voice had been harsh and low.
All nine of the principal ones, crossing the Galaxy between the Allied Systems and the Darzent Empire, pass within a parsec of Onzar. A faster-than-light fleet going either way has to surface at the Onzar Confluence. And Candar, no matter how he sounds to you or me, is no fool. He, you can bet, has taken some long quiet looks at a map like this and he knows his position. So does Darzent.
"We can take care of that. Candar installed a system for use on his own speeches. Each receiver automatically goes on when he is speaking." "That's it, then," Thane said. "Switch all the power from the Tracer to the newscast beam. Put the Priestess on the circuit and I'll try to keep it open." He turned to Selan. "How long will you need?" "Ten minutes will be enough," she said with determination.
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