by David Brin
Cooper finished polishing a fine crystal snifter and placed it and a silver tray on the desk by Gustaf’s arm.
“Maybe they think they know you better than you know them… or perhaps even yourself,” he said.
Gustaf swiveled around to stare at Cooper. The tall, sallow old man lifted a decanter of brandy from the cabinet against the wall. “What do you mean?”
“Well,” Cooper looked through the ancient crystal decanter at the fine old cognac. “When the five years are up, what proof will you have, that this was all just part of an experiment?”
Gustaf laughed.
“You mean I might be stuck as king? And never get my honorary vocation? They wouldn’t…!” he began. Then, seeing the expression on Cooper’s face, he frowned, and whispered.
“You wouldn’t!”
Cooper smiled.
“No, of course not… Your Majesty.”
Cooper poured, with quiet precision, exactly the right amount of brandy into the glass at Gustaf’s side. He bowed. But as he turned to go he noticed that the first worry line had begun to buckle in the young man’s brow.
AUTHOR’S NOTES
Have you ever known someone who seemed to be a mixture of both fine and despicable traits? Did you wish there was a way at the same time to reward the good qualities and punish the bad?
In George Gustaf we have a man of great talents, a natural leader who knows how to bring out the best in people. Unfortunately, he is also a selfish person. His contempt for his contemporaries—for their “archaic” wish for a king to love—is the flaw spoiling an otherwise worthy picture.
His objective is to pull off a coup and win a fourth profession, whatever the cost. Ah, but what if he never gets away with his experiment? What if he finds that he has been outmaneuvered, trapped as king?
Then the side we admire is rewarded, and the side that merits punishment gets what it deserves also, in spades.
As I said, I wrote this one just for fun. So much for destiny.
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Document ID: eefcb795-2e2b-48d1-bc18-26a3d34eb5e9
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Document creation date: 12.04.2011
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