by Wren, M. K.
My dear Andreas,
I’m transmitting an imagraph with this lettape—one that Adrien and I consider the best of the multitude taken of our daughter since her birth a week ago. So here is Elise, smiling winsomely. I think she’s well named, and as you can see, she even has red hair, a surprise to all of us, and she already shows signs of an inquisitive nature and an extraordinarily strong will. The twins, by the way, have accepted their sister with equanimity and no hint of jealousy. Eric has displayed his usual heedless curiosity and is inclined to find out how this new creature works by prodding and pulling, sometimes none too gently. Rich seems content to observe from a little distance.
But enough of paternal maunderings. The real purpose of this lettape is that on this day, the eve of Concord Day, it seemed appropriate to take time to look back on the first year of Phase I, and particularly appropriate to share my musings with you, Andreas. Our triumphs are yours, really, and perhaps Elor Ussher Peladeen’s.
Yet when I first set my mind to this review, my initial feelings were primarily of frustration. There is so much that hasn’t been accomplished yet and Directorate alignments are not as favorable to our goals as we had hoped. The election of Lord Garwin Wale Corelis to the vacated Selasid chair was the first blow, of course, and James Cameroodo’s first triumph. Cameroodo has, as predicted, come to the fore in Selasis’s absence as the leader of the reactionary faction. He’s a forceful man, and has Hamid entirely under his thumb, as well as Fallor, who can no longer be considered a fence rider. Even Shang tends to lean too often toward Cameroodo. Sandro Omer, perversely, still straddles the fence, despite his marriage ties with DeKoven Woolf and his generally cordial attitude toward me. It is, I’m well aware, to his advantage to hold the tie-making or -breaking vote.
But in today’s Directorate meeting, with my temper growing short while Shang and Fallor wrangled over a point of procedure, I experienced one of those rare moments of insight when one grasps perfectly the proportion of things, and I realized with a certain awe that I was at that moment occupying the chair Grandser always called so damnably uncomfortable. (He was right about that, both figuratively and literally.)
My occupancy of that chair we owe to Grandser, to the Declaration of House Succession he made with his dying breath, and as I look at this imagraph of Elise, I regret bitterly that he can’t see his daughter’s namesake, But he knew about Rich and Eric, thank the God, before he died.
And we owe the swift implementation of the lever he gave us to Father. He recognized the period of shock following Galinin’s and Selasis’s deaths and the revelations of Hawkwood’s death testament as the optimum opportunity, and although he refuses to accept due credit, he was instrumental in engineering my ascendancy to the Chairmanship in that first week. To be honest, I remember very little of those key days. I was too ill to make intelligent decisions, and we must all be grateful to Father for making them for me, and for since being at hand to aid in dealing with subsequent decisions.
At any rate, in reviewing our accomplishments, I must mark my occupation of the Chairmanship on the positive side, but I’m also aware that few concrete reforms can be counted for the year, and it’s ironic that the only unquestionable success in the area of reform is one that affects only the Elite, and that is the Elite Divorce Ruling. That was as much a tribute to my mother as the naming of our first daughter, so I’m pleased with it for that reason. Another Elite reform issue that has a good chance of Directorate approval now is abolishing the mandatory Confleet service period for Elite males.
As for the Bond Treatment Standard (it’s no longer called the G-W-R resolution since Trevor Robek asked to have his name withdrawn from it—another discouraging sign, although he still supports it, however unenthusiastically), it has had one resounding defeat already, and it would be futile to submit it again without major changes in the balance of power on the Directorate.
At least that was the doleful picture until a few days ago, when I had an unexpectedly fruitful private talk with Garwin Corelis—at his request. His election to the Selasid chair may not be as much a blow to us as we thought. He is a conservative, to be sure, but not a reactionary. At any rate, he plans to present an alternative to the Bond Treatment Standard that would not involve penalties of any kind for Houses that fail to meet the standards, but would simply offer tax levy reductions to those that do. The Board of Revenue would be responsible for judging whether a House meets the standards, which will undoubtedly be more acceptable to the Lords than inspection by a Conpol agency.
This is a compromise that falls far short of our hopes. It won’t touch the Bonds in the reactionary Houses where treatment is most inhumane; their Lords will pay higher taxes willingly rather than submit to any Concord agency’s “meddling in internal House affairs.” Yet I regard it as something to be counted among our successes. It is at least a beginning, and from it awareness may grow, and perhaps in the future Lords who do maintain the standards will put some peer pressure on those who do not. Above all, I welcome it because it was proposed by Corelis and offers some hope that he won’t be the totally negative factor we feared.
Corelis may show himself an ally in another matter, and that is the resurrection of the House of Peladeen and recognition of Jael as its First Lord. Jael Kalister—and he bears his mother’s surname well—has been ever at my side this year not only because I need him, but because it gives him opportunities to meet and to some degree deal with the Directors, and we’ve made a point of presenting him always as an aide rather than as a servant or subaltern. He is never addressed as Fer, but as Master Kalister, although the God knows no guild has ever conferred on him any degree ranking. Perhaps it’s indicative of his success in this ambivalent role that no guild—or Lord—has questioned that title.
We hope to bring the reestablishment of Peladeen before the Directorate within the next year, and I think if we can make sure of Omer’s vote, we’ll have a majority because Corelis hinted—obliquely, of course—that he might not oppose it. This is another surprise from Corelis, but indicates no sympathy for me, or the Phoenix, or certainly for Jael, but rather a personal loathing for Lazar Hamid. Apparently, Corelis feels Lazar could use more competition in Centauri.
If we succeed in making Jael Lord of Peladeen, we can count that as another victory, but as the old saying goes, victory has its price, and Jael will pay dearly for this one. The future Lord of Peladeen can’t marry as he wishes; he must remain free to make a suitable House alliance. That means he can’t marry Val Severin. Jael and Val are entirely aware of this, and both are so poignantly stoic. Since Val is Adrien’s personal secretary, I see a great deal of her, and have spoken to her about it. (Jael refuses to discuss it, turning my inquiries with a laugh and the assurance that he knows the tax on the gim.) Val told me once, “I’ll always love him, and he’ll love me, and perhaps we’ll be clandestine lovers—he wouldn’t be the first Lord to have a secret mistress—but I’ll never bear his children. Still, what we have is enough. It’s a gift, and we accept it gratefully.”
It is a gift, but I’m sorry they must accept so small a portion of its potentials.
But to continue my accounting. One thing can be considered a total success, but since it’s a Phoenix program, that’s to be expected, and that is the “Acolytes Corps,” as Erica calls it, and its success is due to a great extent to her training program. We have thirty graduates of the program in the field now, and where I’ve been able to make follow-up visits I’ve been eminently satisfied with the Shepherds’s response to the Brother’s acolytes, and they deserve a great deal of the credit for the thirty percent decrease in Bond uprisings this year. The fact that the Bonds now identify the Brother with the Chairman—and thus the Concord—has also been a stabilizing factor, but wouldn’t be nearly as effective without the constant reinforcement of the Lamb’s dictums provided by the acolytes. Erica tells me another class of thirty will be ready to go on line within a mont
h, and I have no doubt the incidence of uprisings will show another marked decline by this time next year.
Another success is the establishement of ConTrans—the agency that will control the MT when it’s ready for general use. The Lords who were at first so skeptical of the MT have begun to show lively interest now that working models are available, and it’s becoming an index of status to have MTs in one’s Estate. Still, it will be another ten to twelve years before the ConTrans system is fully operational, and meanwhile we must keep the Selasid InterPlan System limping along, which is rather difficult when the family is so prone to constant quarreling. Karlis, to our relief, seems content to remain in his exile on Rarotong since the Board of Succession deposed him as First Lord, and has avoided contact with anyone, especially his uncle Godfry, the House’s new First Lord. Karlis leads an almost monkish existence, and recent information suggests that he’s turning to religion for comfort and is becoming exceedingly fanatic about it.
Perhaps that will satisfy James Cameroodo. A vindictive man, and I’ll never forget the icy obduracy in his eyes when he proposed a Directorate decree of execution for Karlis. Cameroodo regarded Orin’s death as a divine punishment and obviously felt Karlis deserved the same. I’m relieved that the only Director who agreed with him was Lazar Hamid. The rest of us even at that time, two weeks after Galinin’s death, felt for Karlis more pity than outrage. The same pity we in the Phoenix felt for the man who called himself Predis Ussber. He was mad, and didn’t deserve to die so terribly.
I’d be very interested, Andreas, in your musings on what has happened in the Phoenix during this first year of Phase I, and I hope it has met your expectations. Certainly the Phoenix has met mine, especially in the way it has assumed the role of secret partner to the Concord. I was disturbed, however, when Ben ’taped me yesterday to tell me that the Council is reconsidering the moratorium on new members. I feel very strongly that it should be maintained for at least another two years. It’s too early for us to open our doors to any but special cases; too many people seeking membership now are only caught up in the enthusiasm of the moment prevalent among radical liberals, and now that membership is no longer punishable by death, we must be careful to avoid lowering our standards of admission. Becoming a part of the Phoenix must always be a lifetime commitment, and we must continue to choose our members as if we were still outlaws.
But forgive me that little sermon. I realize you don’t need it. However, I’m concerned that Commander Gavin and Haycor of Communications, as well as M’Kim and Marien Dyce—I’m especially uneasy about Marien—do need it. If you think it would serve any purpose for me to deliver the sermon to the Council personally, I will, but I won’t impose myself on them unless you feel it necessary.
Adrien asked me to extend you her invitation to visit us again. As you said, the Galinin Estate is a most gracious and comfortable place, but your fears that you might get too used to comfort are unfounded; you’d only get bored with it. I second the invitation, and for palpably selfish reasons. I have so little time and my visits to Fina have been necessarily limited. Beyond that, I no longer feel at home there as I once did—again, the tax on the gim—but I miss it, and to be able to talk to you, to spend long night hours at it as Rich and I used to do, brings me home again, home to all that is important in my life, to my very humanity. Don’t deny me that.
Andreas, on the eve of this day of celebration, accept my gratitude for giving the Concord—and me—hope; the hope that one day human beings might achieve their birthright of choice. Like Elor Peladeen, I live and, if need be, shall die in that hope.
Alexand, the Lord Woolf Galinin
Concordia, Terra, 13 Octov 3259
Historical Chronology
2030–2060 Decades of Disaster
2030–2040 The Great Drought
2035–2055 The Pandemic
2044 The Nuclear Wars
2060–2585 The Second Dark Age
2560 The Revelations, Bishop Colona (2522–2615)
2585 Founding of the Holy Confederation of Conta Austrail, Lord Even Pilgram (2523–2585)
2761 Invention of the Darwin cell
2875 The Articles of Union, Lord Patric Eyre Ballarat (2839–2920)
2876–2903 The Wars of Confederation
2903 Founding of the PanTerran Confederation
3000 First Post-Disasters Lunar landing
3018 First permanent colony established on Luna: the city of Tycho
3033 First unmanned research stations on Venus
3035 First permanent colony on Mars: Toramil
3051 First permanent colony on Mercury: Solaria
3052 MAM-An drive developed by Fredric Cadmon based on theories published the same year in Ela Tolstyne’s Treatise on Matter/Anti-Matter Interactions
3055 Nulgrav developed by Domic Peresky
3060 The Drakonian Theory published by Orabu Drakon, the first Lord Drakonis (3025–3098)
3078 First SynchShift ship, the Double Star
3078–3104 PanTerran extrasolar exploration phase: eighteen expeditions to Alpha Centauri A, B, and Proxima, Barnard’s star, Lalande, Sirius A, Epsilon Eridani, 61 Cygni A, Procyon A, and Kapteyn’s star
3079 First permanent colony on Ganymede: New Tycho
3080 First permanent colony on Callisto: Callipolis
3083 First permanent colony on Titan: Titania
3084 First permanent colony in the Centauri System: Leda on Pollux Second permanent colony in the Centauri System: Helen on Castor
3085 First Permanent colony on Perseus, the Centauri System: Danae
First permanent colony on Triton: Armentia
3087 First permanent colony on Pan, Centauri System: Thymbris
First permanent colony on Dionysus, Centauri system: Semele
3088 First permanent colony on Pluto: New Paykeen
3104–3120 The Mankeen Revolt, led by Lord Lionar Mankeen (3065–3120)
3105 Founding of the Concord of the Loyal Houses
3135 Founding of the Peladeen Republic in the Centauri System
3170 First extraterrestrial colony reestablished after the Mankeen Revolt: Tycho on Luna
3172 First Concord trade exchanges with the Peladeen Republic
3200 Founding of the Society of the Phoenix
Last extraterrestrial colony reestablished: New Paykeen on Pluto
3208–3210 War of the Twin Planets
3218–3241 Concord extrasolar exploration Phase: ten expeditions to Sirius A, Procyon A, Kruger 60 A and B, Van Maanen’s star, and Altair
3241 Disappearance of the ship Felicity on the Altair expedition
3246 Galinin-Ivanoi assassinations
3258 Centauran Revolt
Census of the Concord, 3250 A.D.
Allieged to the Houses: Fesh 651,571,000
Bonds 1,780,503,000
Total 2,432,074,000
Allieged to Concord: Fesh 420,722,000
Bonds 1,020,170,000
Total 1,440,892,000
Allieged to Church: Fesh 232,803,000
Bonds 350,810,000
Total
583,613,000
Total Number of Elite 98,382
Total Number (estimated) “Outsiders” 45,000,000
Total population 4,501,677,382
The Houses of the Directorate of the Concord, 3244 A.D.
DARO GALININ: Lord Mathis, Chairman of the Directorate
Franchises:
Solar System Power Systems
Home Estate:
Concordia, Terra
Crest:
Lion
Colors:
Purple and gold
Stone:
Topaz
DEKOVEN WOOLF: Lord Phillip
Franchises:
Commutronics
Home Estate:
Concordia, Terra
Crest:
Black Eagle
Colors:
Scarlet and black
Stone:
Ruby
LAO SHANG: Lord Sato
Franchises:
Basic metals: aluminum and some iron
and steel alloys
Home Estate:
Paykeen, Terra
Crest:
Dragon
Colors:
Red and green
Stone:
Alexandrite
NEETH CAMEROODO: Lord James
Franchises:
Basic metals: iron and steel
Home Estate:
Toramil, Mars