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somewhat scorched across noses and cheeks by the sun. All this past month
there had been a steady stream of agitators, swelling the original numbers
which Todd was sure Barustable had grided in.
He really hadn't thought they'd have much effect on dedicated
Rraladoonans but Tom Prafuli had proved him wrong. Unfortunately
Rraladoon had never seen the need for any exclusion policy for
"undesirable' visitors, much less professional agitators. Whoever had the
money - or the interest - to come to Rraladoon was made welcome.
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Right now, with so many arriving for New Home Week and the Snake Hunt, and
every Rraladoonan involved in those affairs, there wasn't someone to screen
the spurious from the serious. Wryly Todd thought that those who took in
paying guests for the New Home Week festival would be making good money.
He vowed that, once New Home Week and the Snake Hunt Festival, which was its
finale, were over, he'd start weeding out the agitators on the grounds they
were disturbing the peace. Which they were.
As he watched, in full view of the crowd, some of these new "activists'
unfurled banners and stapled them to poles of green rla wood. Todd squinted
to read the badly printed messages snapping in the light breeze: Gringg Go
Home, Two's Company - Three's a Crowd!, Doona for
Doonans.
That last slogan was obviously contrived by Earthdwellers, since they didn't
even use the Current name for the planet. He hoped that not everyone in that
large mob were agitators. Todd recognized many neighbours and people he knew
from all six Villages. No one seemed to protest the waving banners and that
saddened him.
Once the banners were erected, the group hoisted the poles and began to march
in a large oval, obstructing the pedestrian walkways to the building. Todd
forced himself to watch several circuits, listened to them chanting their
slogans, then turned back to his desk.
His mail was full of messages of complaint: the Gringg were an unwelcome and
threatening presence. He erased most of them as soon as he saw their content,
stunned by the depth of ill-feeling. A half-dozen suggested that he step down
from office immediately and allow a
"responsible, right-thinking Terran' to take over before disaster struck.
Where had his wits been all these weeks? He'd been so convinced that the best
possible outcome for all Hayuman- and
Hrruban-kind was to form a partnership with the new species that he'd ardently
pursued that goal.
Had he been so wrong to inflict his world-view on the rest of his people? Was
his idea of galactic unity so unwelcome to the majority?
Hrriss slipped into the office. "Arre you ready to go yet, Zodd?
My father would like to take a few moments to talk with you beforr ze
conference begins. What is ze mazzer?" Todd looked up at him, his blue eyes
wide with confusion and hurt like a lost child.
"The first real test of my government, and I don't know if I've failed my
responsibilities or not." He told Hrriss about Prafuli's visit. "I've forced
my judgement on others, without caring what happened to anyone, or what anyone
else thought." He threw up his hands and paced fitfully to the end of the
room, and spun accusingly on his heel.
"You have not failed,' Hrriss assured him. "Hrrestan has had such messages,
too, and he is paying no heed zo zem.
Zere is bound zo be malcontents who will not wait frr all to come out right.
How many of zose messages were signed by Villagers?"
"More than I like to count." Todd felt suddenly unworthy of the office
Hu Shih had ceded to him.
"You always assume zat you are ze one who is wrong, Hrriss said, with a gentle
grin as he opened the door.
"Let me suggest a little experiment. Ask zese folk what zey zink."
Todd's personal staff consisted of two Hrrubans and a Hayuman, whose
work-stations were in the outer office.
They looked up as Todd and Hrriss came out. The office manager, Kathy
Hills, fluttered her long blond lashes at him in a demi-flirt, then stopped
when she noticed his expression. Her large blue eyes filled with concern.
"Todd, what's wrong?" He wasn't very sure how to frame the question.
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Anyway, these people were loyal to him personally. It was those who had no
connection to him that he had to reassure.
"Er, Kath, are you comfortable with the idea of allying with the
Gringg?"
"That's a funny question,' she said, a little puzzled.
"Sure. Why?"
"Well, I . - - Do you have any trouble having them as permanent trading
partners? Neighbours? Friends?" Kathy laughed.
"Well, I can't imagine being closer to anyone than I am to my two best
Hrruban friends. It'll be a shade difficult,' she added with a giggle, "to be
on the same level as a Gringg but every one of them I've met so far has been
polite and curious and really rather interesting.
Need you ask?"
"Well, yes,' Todd said. "It seems I do need to ask. I should have done it
before." Mrrowan, at the desk across the room, exchanged pitying glances with
Kathy and Hrriss, and shook her head.
"Zodd, you can be so blind sometimes. We zrust yrrr judgement.
We zure wouldn't work so hard for you if we didn't!" Barrough, beside her, his
jaw halfway to the floor in amusement, nodded agreement.
"We can't be considered a good cross section in a random poll,' he said.
"But we get out and about when you haven't got us slaving over hot consoles
here. So we do know that the majority will follow you and
Hrrestan.
We elected you to succeed Hu Shih, didn't we? And most of the people I
know,' and he turned to get emphatic nods from the two females, "think you're
handling a difficult situation very well. Any fainthearts don't know how good
they've got it here.
"Thank you,' Todd said, his shoulders relaxing somewhat, though the tight knot
in his gut still remained. "I needed to hear that. I was half-convinced that
I've been ignoring what's been going on right around me. I'm not going to
bull it through without the approval of the people who live here.."
"And you are not, Mrrowan insisted.
"Rraladoon exists as it does because we've always helped each other.
You have had help from many people zese long weeks of zeaching ze Gringg to
speak our language. Zose are not disapproving. It has been a prrject we have
all shared.
And enjoyed.
"Tom Prafuli's grg,) Todd said, still ashamed of that disappointment.
"So?" Barrough demanded with a shrug. "He was never really a
Rraladoonan. He only came here to hunt snake.
We can do without his kind."
"And you're letting that upset you?" Kathy demanded, screwing her face up in
disgust. "You amaze me, Todd!
Let it run off your back, the way you did the other stupidities that have been
perpetrated. You're on the right track.
Don't you doubt it!" Her expression turned fierce.
"I second that!" Barrough and Mrrowan chorused.
"But it is nice of you zo ask,' Mrrowan added, dropping her jaw in a big grin.
"I zold him he was mad,' Hrriss said, his eyes alight.
"No, they're not exactly disinterested parties,' Admiral Sumitral said when
Todd consulted him on the matter, "but loyal enough to you to warn you if the
matter was getting out of hand. So why are you letting one emigration give
you second thoughts?"
"It just made me realize that not everyone agrees with the policy
Hrrestan and I have been following.
I mean, bringing the Gringg along as quickly as we can, Opening our homes, our
businesses, our lives to them, but are we doing the right thing for the
greatest good of the people on the planet we administer?"
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