Because of their high intelligence, their superbly catlike agility, their hair-trigger speed of reaction and their enormous physical strength, DesPlainians were always in demand as fighters, bodyguards and spies. They had been the best secret service agents of, in turn, the Central Intelligence of Earth, the Galactic Intelligence Agency and the Service of the Empire. And of all DesPlainians throughout the years, the d’Alembertshad been by far the best. The fact that the Circus of the Galaxy was SOTE’s right arm did not leak from Earth because only the monarch, the Head and a very few of their most highly trusted intimates ever knew it. Nor did it leak from the Circus. Circus people have never spoken to rubes, and the inflexible Code d’Alembert was that d’Alemberts spoke only to d’Alemberts and to the Head.
(unpublished data)
Again it was late at night. Again the d’Alemberts’ Service Special slanted downward through the air toward the roof of the Hall of State of Sector Four. This time, however, the little speedster was not riding a beam and there was no spot of light upon the building’s roof. Except for the light of the almost full moon, everything was dark and still.
Yvette was doing the driving this time. She was now the Yvette of old, shorn of all disguise and artificiality, and wearing what she considered one of her most presentable pants suit ensembles. Jules, again short- haired and smooth-shaven, looked much like his usual self; only the crutch resting beside him gave any indication that he had been affected by this case.
Coming down with scarcely even a bump, Yvette landed their vehicle near the kiosk of the ultra-private elevator tube. She opened her door and leaped lightly out, then turned to help her brother clamber stiffly and awkwardly out of his side of the car. Duchess Helena came running up to them through the darkness in an extremely un-ducal fashion.
‘Oh Yvette, I’m so proud of you. You were absolutely marvelous!’ She put both arms around Yvette’s neck and kissed her three times on the lips. ‘I’m so glad Father let me be the one to come out and meet you. I’ve been telling him all along that we ought to have more female agents; now maybe he’ll listen to me.’
Then she turned to Jules, who was standing beside her and smiling in the darkness. Very carefully, so as not to upset his balance, she slipped her arms lightly about his waist and gave him an affectionate hug. ‘And you, Jules! I just can’t begin to tell you ... but surely you can hug a girl tighter than this, can’t you? Even with a bum leg?’
Jules, returning her kisses enthusiastically, tightened his arms a little, but not much. Then, lifting her by the armpits, he held her effortlessly out at arms’ length with her toes twenty-five centimeters above the ground. ‘Sure I can,’ he said with solemn voice but sparkling eyes; ‘but the trouble is, I never hugged an Earther before and I’m afraid of breaking you in two. It wouldn’t be quite de rigeur, would it, to break a duchess’s back and half her ribs?’
‘Oh, there’s no danger of that. I’m ever so much stronger than ...’ She broke off and her eyes widened in surprise as her hands, already on his arms, tried with all their strength to drive their fingertips into his flesh.
‘Oh, I see,’ she said quietly. ‘I never quite realized how densely packed you were.’
Jules lowered her gently to the roof and she led the way into the elevator tube. She did not tell them why the Head had summoned them here tonight, nor did they ask. She was looking a little thoughtful, and as the three of them started to descend she said timidly, ‘Jules, I have something to confess. I was all set to fall in love with you and try to arrange to have you fall in love with me. I know I’m reason ably attractive, and ... well, anyway, when I couldn’t even make a dent in those muscles of yours ... arms as big and hard as those of a heroic-size bronze ... well ...’ Her voice died away.
Jules smiled at her to ease her embarrassment. ‘You couldn’t possibly; there’s just too much difference.
Three gravities is a hell of a lot, and we people of DesPlaines just don’t usually marry people who are used to less. I could literally kill you by accident with an overly passionate embrace.’
‘And besides,’ Yvette added with light sarcasm, ‘he’s already spoke for. Vonnie’d tear you apart if you made any inroads on her claim.’
‘But love comes in all sizes, shapes and colors,’ Jules went on. ‘We’d be honored to have yours in a less than physical way.’
‘Oh you do, both of you.’ Helena’s eyes were slightly moist. ‘Love, friendship, admiration, esteem .. ‘ She broke off as the elevator door opened.
Stepping aside, she motioned for them to precede her. They took one step each into the Head’s private office and stopped dead in their tracks, their eyes and mouths becoming O’s of astonishment. For sitting directly before them was the tall, distinguished, gray -haired man who could be none other than Emperor Stanley Ten himself! Beside him, looking equally regal, was the Empress Irene, a statuesque brunette. Over to the side, mixing drinks at the Head’s own private bar, was the lithe but prematurely stern faced
Crown Princess Edna. The Head sat casually in a chair across the room, relinquishing control of his desk momentarily to the Emperor.
Stanley Ten stood up and raised a hand in greeting. ‘No need to kneel,’ he began- but of course, with their speed of reaction Yvette was already on her knees and Jules, gimpy leg and all, was on one. Their heads were bowed meekly, staring at the carpet.
The Emperor rose from the desk, walked around it and raised the two agents to their feet, kissing Yvette’s hand and shaking Jules’. ‘Formality has its place,’ he said, ‘but not privately among friends. During this visit and hereafter in private, I’d like the two of you to call me Bill.’
‘Oh, we couldn’t, Your ... Sire ... not possibly,’ Yvette stammered.
‘Not even if I ordered you to?’
‘It would take some getting used to,’ Jules said. ‘Could we just call you “sir” for now?’
Stanley Ten smiled - and in that smiling shed a heavy load. ‘I suppose I understand. Many of the younger generation are not so well bred. “Sir” will do nicely for now, though I hope in time you will grow to feel more relaxed with me. I take pleasure in presenting you both to my wife, Irene, and to our daughter, Edna.’
Introductions made, Edna Stanley went around the room with her tray, serving Jules last. As she handed him his glass of lemonade her dark gray eyes, usually distant, were soft and warm. ‘It’s a damned, dirty shame,’ she said with feeling, ‘that we can’t give you two the two who saved our lives - at least a Grand Imperial Court channeled to every planet in space. And to cap it off, we have to give that stuffed cod Armstrong all the credit. The fathead couldn’t smell a conspiracy if it were on his upper lip. But I suppose he’ll end up getting the medal you two deserve.’
‘Well ...’ Jules began, but the Princess rushed on.
‘Oh, I know that’s the way it has to be, Jules, and I know why. And I know exactly how you feel about it. The Service of the Empire; the fine tradition of the finest group of men and women who ever lived. But knowing all that doesn’t make it taste any better or go down any easier. All we can do is thank you for saving all three of our lives - and even that we have to do under cover, or we’ll cost you yours.’
Overcome with her enthusiasm, she threw her arms around Jules’ neck and kissed him warmly. And, while he could not quite bring himself to the point of kissing the Crown Princess of the Empire as though she were an ordinary woman, his response was certainly adequate.
Edna Stanley was not the crying type, but her eyes were brimming as she drew her head back, looked straight into Jules’ eyes and went on, ‘But we three will remember it as long as we live. And the two of you will have a very special place in my heart, always.’
Then, without giving Jules a chance to say anything - which was just as well, since he could not possible have uttered a word - she wriggled free and embraced Yvette. ‘What do you expect as a reward, dear? Anything within our power is yours. And don’t start calling me by any fancy titles; I’m a couple of years younger than you are, and it’d sound silly. Just call me Edna and let it stand at that.’
‘I’d love to, Edna, it warms me clear through. To be completely honest, all either of us really expected was a pat on the psyche from the Head over there and then another tough job.’
From his comfortable chair at one side of the room, the Head. gave a low chuckle. ‘You’ll get both, my dear, I can assure you. I have no intention of letting any more cases go as long as this one did before putting the two of you to use. The whole matter might have been handled much more simply - and with fewer repercussions - if I’d called you in several years ago.’ Then, turning to the Emperor, ‘You see what I mean, Bill?’
‘Very much so. They’re d’Alemberts. Metal of proof, wrought and tempered.’ He turned to Jules and Yvette, and added, ‘You young people don’t realize that your lives are more important to the Empire than mine is.’
‘I not only don’t realize it, sir,’ Jules said doggedly, ‘but I don’t see how it can possibly be true. You are the third and greatest of the Great Stanleys; Eve and I are only two d’Alemberts out of over a thousand.’
‘Correction, please. As of now you are- and probably will be for the next decade or so until your replacements mature - the two most capable human beings alive.’ The Emperor replenished his drink and brought Yvette a small pitcher of fresh orange juice, while Edna waited on the others. ‘And anything the two of you can’t do personally, you have the multiple talents of your family to draw on. But let’s examine this “Great Stanley” business a little, since you brought it up; it’ll be a good way to get better acquainted. I’ve studied my family’s history quite thoroughly - enough to have developed what is, to me at least, a new theory. Has it ever occurred to you to wonder why the three so-called Great Stanleys happened to be the three who reigned the longest? Empress Stanley Three, thirty-seven years; Emperor Stanley Six, thirty-six years; and 1, who have more than either, and will probably - thanks to your efforts, I’m happy to point out- reign three more before reaching the age of seventy and abdicating in favor of Edna. Have you wondered why that should be?’
‘N o-o-o, sir. I can’t say that I have.’
‘It’s a highly pertinent fact. You know, I’m sure, that only one of my predecessors ever managed to die a “natural” death.’
‘Yes, sir.’ Yvette spoke up. ‘Empress Stanley Three.’ Stanley Ten nodded. ‘And even that was not until after she’d abdicated in favor of her son. My father died in a space accident that all the experts assure me was just that - an accident. The other seven were all assassinated usually by their own sons or daughters or brothers or sisters.’
‘Yes, sir,’ Jules said. ‘We know that, too.’
‘Their problem was a relative one, literally. As for myself, I had only one relative in my own generation: my half-brother, Banion, whom you eliminated as a threat in so noble a fashion. The rest of my predecessors’ problem was that they had too many children, too young. To alleviate that, Irene and I decided to have only one child; and even then we waited to have Edna until I was almost forty-five. My advisors had fits about that, claiming that I was jeopardizing the Succession; I suppose if I had died prematurely they might have been right, but as it is I think I’ve actually strengthened it. As soon as Edna’s able to carry the load herself, we’ll hand it over to her on a silver platter and step out, so that she won’t need t o kill us.’
‘Dad!’ the Crown Princess exclaimed. ‘You know very well I’d never even think of such a thing.’
‘William!’ the Empress protested. ‘What a nasty thing to say!’
‘I’m sure you haven’t thought of it,’ the Emperor said gently to his daughter. ‘Bu t that’s only because you haven’t had to; I always made it clear to you from the first that you would have the title when you were ready for it. If I’d hoarded it to myself, you might have turned out a little greedier. Like begets like. Also the fact that you had no scheming siblings to guard yourself against helped you develop decently, just like it helped me.
‘At any rate, Irene, you helped me plan it, and on the whole I’d say it worked out beautifully. I’m sure everyone here has heard the old wheeze that “power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely”?’
They all had.
‘My theory is that only the first part is really true. For, as a matter of fact, no human being ever had absolute power until King Stanley the Sixth crowned himself Emperor Stanley One and took it. He had the whole Galaxy. Every other despot in history was always reaching for more; so the truth of that old saying was never put to the test.
‘Indeed, there is much in pre-Empire history that argues against its truth. The worst gangsters and the most rapacious capitalists Earth ever knew, when they got old enough and powerful enough and rich enough, frequently turned from greed and exploitation to something that was for the good of all mankind. And the entire history of the House of Stanley bears this out.’
A short silence fell upon the room; then the Empress said thoughtfully, ‘Well, it’s something to think about, at least ... and it does seem to make sense ... but my dear, what has all that got to do with the present case?’
‘Everything,’ said Stanley Ten, deadly serious now. ‘It shows why these two d’Alemberts in particular highly trained, uniquely gifted, innately and completely loyal to the Empire - are much more important to the realm than I am. Not that they are indispensable; no one is. But they are at present irreplaceable and I am not. Any Stanley who is able to live long enough becomes a Great Stanley by sheer force of circumstance - and Edna will be one from the day she’s crowned.’
The Emperor turned to face Jules and Yvette. ‘Nevertheless, my young friends, my life is extremely important to me. It is also important to Irene and Edna, as are their lives to me. The three of us are important to a few really close friends, such as Zander there and your father, the Duke; but you’d be surprised and dismayed to learn just how scarce such friends are. The life of any individual Emperor or Empress, however, is of very little importance to the Empire itself, of which its rulers are merely the symbols. It’s one of the most comical paradoxes of power that the more you have, the more constrained you are and the less you can do. Sometimes, in my more whimsical moments, I think that the Empire could go on quite nicely without any ruler at all; but then my vanity intervenes and tells me how indispensable I am.
‘I do know, however, that the Empire endures only be: cause people such as yourselves are loyal to it. Without that loyalty, the Empire is just an abstract concept that would crumble and fall in an instant. Instead of prosperity and peace there would be widespread and terribly destructive wars of planetary conquest. Without a strong symbol of unity, our present civilization would degenerate into barbarism and savagery.
‘We Stanleys do what we can, but in the final analysis the Empire rests squarely upon the arch of the various services - and your Service of the Empire is the very keystone of that arch.
‘As Edna said, it’s a great shame that we three can give you only our thanks. It isn’t, however, just the thanks of three people, but rather that of an entire Empire.’ He took the d’Alemberts’ right hands, one in each of his own, and shook them vigorously. Jules and Yvette were speechless, each with tears in their eyes.
‘I’d like to propose a salute to the two best of us in the entire room,’ the Emperor concluded. He raised his glass in the direction of the two magnificent agents. ‘Here’s to tomorrow, fellows and friends. May we all live to see it!’