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from listening to the Neshgai.
He would have to find out for himself how happy the slaves were. Not that he had any plans for rousing
them to a revolt or joining any underground that might exist. He did not believe in slavery, but he was also
not going to upset a status quo without good reason. His primary aim, now that he had found human
beings, was to fight The Tree.
There was also the problem of finding a suitable permanent mate, one who could bear his children and
be an enjoyable companion. The genetic constitution of the humans was somewhat different from his, but
he hoped that it was not so different that they were a separate species. Even if he did have children by
one of them, he would not know whether or not his offspring were mules until they grew up.
In the middle of the morning, he was summoned to Shegnif s office. The Grand Vizier did not waste any
time on greetings.
"The two Dhulhulikh have escaped. Like birds, they have flown the coop!"
"They must have decided that you would accept my story," Ulysses said. "They knew that the truth
would out."
He did not really believe this, but he thought that he would impress Shegnif with it.
"The officer in charge of them opened the door to enter their room, and they flew through the doorway
before he could try to grab them. They are much quicker than we. They flew on down the hall, which
was wide enough for their wings. They were lucky that the hall was empty, and they went on through a
window, which, unfortunately, was not barred. And now I must explain to theshauzgrooz the
implications of this escape."
Theshauzgrooz meant the ruler, king, sultan or chief potentate. Literally, it meantThe Longest Nose.
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The present shauzgrooz was Zhigbruwzh IV, and he was two years short of being an adult. Shegnif was,
in effect, the ruler, though he could be ousted any time Zhigbruwzh wished to get rid of him. The juvenile
was, however, very fond of Shegnif. And he had another reason for not wishing to force the Grand Vizier
out. According to
Thebi, there had been palace revolutions where the viziers had killed off the ruling family and initiated
their own dynasty. Not many of these occurred, since the Neshgai seemed to be more stable and less
aggressive than humans. But enough had happened for any ruler to think twice before dismissing his
vizier. Especially since Shegnif s nephew was general of the army and also owned many farms, slaves
and a number of merchant ships.
"The implications of this escape," Ulysses said, "are that the Dhulhulikh know what I want to do. And
they will take it for granted that you will accept my ideas. Which means that they will be attacking before
we can put these plans into effect. They will attack whether or not you initiate my proposals, since they
will have to assume you are doing so. And the only way to combat this inevitable attack is to accept my
ideas."
"Don't be so sure," the Neshgai said. "You may think you've got my nose caught in a crack, but I might
decide otherwise. We are an ancient people and the only people with an advanced science and
technology. We don't have to rely on a short-nosed stuntling to defeat our enemies."
Ulysses did not interrupt. Shegnif was upset, and also probably scared, by the escape of the two
bat-people and its consequences. He knew very well that he needed what Ulysses could give him, but he
had to talk big to bolster his own courage and to heal the wound given to the image of the Neshgai as
all-powerful. He could talk and brag all he wanted, and then he and Ulysses could discuss what they
would do. This was what happened after fifteen minutes when Shegnif finally ran out of breath and
images.
There was a long silence. Then Shegnif smiled, lifting up his trunk so Ulysses could get the full benefit of
the smile, and he said, "However, it won't hurt to talk about what you could contribute. After all, there is
such a thing as being realistic. And you do come from a people far more ancient than the Neshgai, though
I wouldn't want you to be saying so to our slaves. Or to any Neshgai, for that matter."
It became evident that Shegnif had been reluctant to make gunpowder because he did not want the
humans, slaves or freemen, to know about it.
This meant that the slaves were not happy and had, perhaps, revolted in the past. On the other hand, it
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could be that they were content enough, but Shegnif knew enough about human nature to know that they
would try to get the upper hand if the means were available. It did not matter that they might have few
grounds for reasonable complaints.
Ulysses discussed his ideas for the control of the gunpowder. Shegnif approved of secret factories,
where only Neshgai would manufacture the powder. Ulysses went along with this because it was vitally
necessary to get the powder as soon as possible. Also, the so-called secret would not be kept. The
Neshgai powder-makers were bound to do some talking, which the sensitive ears of the slaves would
pick up. Or, if this did not happen, Ulysses could spread the word easily. All the humans had to know
was that charcoal, sulphur and potassium or sodium nitrate was mixed in certain proportions. And once [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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