Songmaster (32 page)

“It’s very important,” said the minister with the Latin portfolio. “There has been bloodshed. Thirty people killed, that we know of, and ten of those in open combat.”

Ansset nodded.

“There’s another complication, sir. While the Uruguayans and Paraguayans are willing to speak Imperial in this meeting, the Brazilians insist on speaking Portuguese.”

“Which is absurd,” the chief of staff said, “because the
Portuguese
don’t even speak it anymore.”

Ansset had never understood the purpose of multiple languages. He thought of it as an aberration of history, which had luckily been set to rights years before. And here, on the capital of the empire, was a rather large nation that clung to an anachronism to the point of antagonizing those who had power over them.

“Do we have an interpreter?”

The chief of staff nodded. “But he’s one of them. No one here speaks Portuguese.”

Ansset looked over at Kyaren, who smiled. She sat beside him, but deferentially pulled back from the table, appearing to be a secretary but actually ready to slip him a note. She had been studying this problem for weeks for the outgoing manager—she already had in mind several compromise solutions to the border war, depending on how cooperative they were. Since the Brazilians were currently in control of the land, their cooperation was the key to any solution. But the Brazilians were famous for being uncooperative.

“Bring them in,” Ansset said.

Two envoys entered from each nation. Protocol in this case demanded that they enter in order of age of the envoys, so that no nation would seem to get precedence. Ansset noticed, however, that each team included one who was very, very old. Odd, the things nations were willing to invest their pride in.

The chief of staff explained carefully the rules of the discussion. No interruptions would be tolerated. Any envoy who interrupted any other envoy would be summarily dismissed and no replacement would be allowed. They would ask Ansset for permission to speak, and would listen politely to all other speakers. Ansset was surprised that such instructions were necessary. In the imperial court it was all taken for granted.

Then everyone waited while the Brazilian interpreter translated the instructions into Portuguese. Ansset watched carefully. It was as he had suspected. The Brazilian envoys did not pay much attention to the translation—they had understood the Imperial perfectly well.

It was the sound of the language that fascinated Ansset. He had never before thought of shaping his mouth in just that way, using his nose to such good effect. It enticed him. As the interpreter spoke, Ansset formed the sounds in his mouth, felt them in his head. More than the individual sounds, he also sensed cadence, feeling, mood. The language was expressive, and without understanding the intensions of the language, he knew he could use it well enough to accomplish his purpose.

As soon as the interpreter was finished, the envoys all lifted their hands slightly off the table, palms facing Ansset—asking for permission to speak. Ansset impulsively turned to the Brazilian ambassador and began to sing. Not the music he had performed so often before. This was speech considered as song, and Portuguese language used for the sheer sound and power of it. If there were any recognizable words in it, it was an accident. But Ansset spoke on and on, delighted that he had not lost the power of imitation, working carefully to make this simple song touch the Brazilians as he wanted to touch them.

The Brazilians, one ancient man who did not seem altogether alert and a younger man with a look of resolute determination, were startled to hear their own language, then puzzled to try to decipher it. Even to them, it sounded like perfect Portuguese. But it was doubletalk, and the younger one looked angry for a moment, thinking he was being mocked.

By then, however, Ansset’s tone had got through to them; they felt that despite the nonsense of his words, he was speaking affection and understanding to them. This is a beautiful language, he seemed to be saying, and I understand your pride in it. What would have been mockery by anyone else was high praise when spoken by Ansset, and when he at last fell silent, looking intently at them, the Brazilians both arose from the table, walked around it, and approached Ansset.

The guards in the room, at least as puzzled by what had happened as anyone else, fingered their weapons. They relaxed, however, when Calip raised his hand, motioned them to relax. The old Brazilian first, and then the young one, embraced Ansset. It was an incongruous sight, the old man clinging to the beautiful boy, and then the tall younger man bending to touch his rough cheek to Ansset’s smooth one.

While they were in the embrace, Ansset murmured, in Imperial, “I beg you to speak Imperial so that the others can understand us.”

And the man smiled, stepped back from Ansset, and said, “The manager Ansset is too kind. No other governor has troubled to understand us or our love of our country. He has asked me to speak Imperial, and for his gracious sake I will.”

Kya-Kya, no less surprised than anyone else, could not help but notice the look of consternation on the interpreter’s face. She was sure the Brazilians had planned a strategy of using the interpreter as a means of pacing the meeting, controlling it to their own purposes, since whenever anyone spoke, the interpreter would cause a maddening delay. Now that was discarded, and the pretense that Brazilian envoys spoke no Imperial would have to be abandoned for good.

The meeting proceeded, and gradually the envoys laid out their cases. In the troubled Paraná region, the original inhabitants had spoken Spanish, and now, millennia later, they still did. However, in the last four hundred years, Brazilians had asserted hegemony over the region—successfully, since before Mikal made Earth his capital there was little planetary government, and there were few restraints on national governments. Now the veneer of Portuguese was wearing thin, as the Spanish-speaking majority began to resent the greater and greater pressure on them to give up their language. Complicating matters further, the people in the north spoke the Paraguayan version of Spanish, which was unintelligible to the Uruguayans. There had been a lot of talk about self-determination for years, matched by official Brazilian statements about One Nation, Indivisible. The talk had finally turned into bloodshed, and the Uruguayans and Paraguayans were demanding that the Brazilians hand over the territory. Unfortunately, the territory was a hydroelectric paradise, and the Brazilians did not want to turn over fifty percent of their nonsolar energy to other nations.

And when the envoys had finished presenting their case, Ansset asked them to prepare in writing a one-page summary of what they think a just solution would be that would meet the needs of all the parties to the dispute. Then he dismissed them until after he had a chance to read their proposals.

In private, the minister with the Latin portfolio was effusive. “How did you do it? What did you say to them?”

Ansset only smiled and said nothing, turning his attention to Kya-Kya, who had scribbled furiously throughout the meeting. “The disagreement really isn’t insoluble. They don’t want opposite things,” she said. “The Brazilians want to save face, to maintain their borders. They’re very tight on this. And they need the energy. But the others are simply asking for preservation of culture. They want the Spanish-speaking citizens to be allowed to dominate in their own country. They don’t need and can’t really use the hydroelectric energy in the area.” The Latin minister nodded, agreeing with her. They began drawing up the proposed compromise even before the envoys’ proposals began arriving.

It was evening before the envoys were called back. Kyaren was delighted with the way Ansset looked—as fresh and cheerful as he had in the morning. As if no work had gone on at all, as though the solution to their problems seemed easy. Ansset read his compromise to them, providing them with copies when he was through.

“Let us study this,” said the younger envoy from Paraguay.

“I doubt that there’s a need,” said Ansset, following Kyaren’s advice. “This is very little different from your own proposal. Indeed, we were quite pleased with the fairness with which you approached the problem.” Ansset began parrying the various objections skillfully. Kyaren and the Latin minister had already gone over with him very carefully which items could be altered and how far. Ansset’s voice was reasonableness itself, gentle and friendly and warm, speaking love and appreciation to the envoys. Thank you for being willing to give a little on this point, in the interest of peace. And on this point, you can see why I cannot give in, because it would be intolerable to the others, and justly so. But we can give
here
, would that help? Ah, I thought it would.

Each envoy was completely convinced that Ansset was their advocate in the discussion, and when it was finished, late at night, the clerks prepared a fair copy of the new agreement and all the envoys and Ansset signed it.

And then, with peace looking quite possible, Ansset carefully looked around the table. He still did not seem tired; Control, Kyaren thought. “My friends,” Ansset said, “I have come to respect you very much today. You have acted quickly and fairly and wisely. Now, I know that some of your governments will look at these compromises and want to change them. I don’t want you to have to quarrel with your own governments. And I certainly don’t want to see you or other envoys back again with the same dispute. So you may tell your governments as apologetically as you like that if they do not accept this compromise exactly as it is written here, within five days, I will rewrite the agreement to exclude that government entirely from the solution, and if after that there is any further resistance, I will remove the government from power. I mean to have this reasonable document treated as law. Do you understand?”

They understood.

“But there is no reason to tell them how intransigent I intend to be unless they bring up objections. I trust to your discretion and good judgment, which I have learned to respect today better than I respect my own. And now let’s go to bed; I’m sure you’re all as tired as I am.”

When Ansset arose to leave, the envoys spontaneously applauded him.

The evening was not over yet, however. Ansset, Kyaren, and the Latin minister went from the meetingroom to a small chamber where the outgoing manager waited for them. He had been watching everything by vids all day. And now he was supposed to criticize Ansset’s actions and statements, helping him to learn from his mistakes.

“But you made no mistakes,” the manager said, with a smile that did not, to Kyaren’s eyes, look sincere. “And so I can leave with an easy heart.”

And he left.

“He can talk about an easy heart all he likes,” Ansset said to Kyaren when the man was gone. “But he didn’t like me.”

She laughed. “Can you tell Ansset why?” she asked the Latin minister.

The minister did not laugh. “I don’t wish to sound disrespectful of the former manager, Ansset, but no one has ever been able to deal reasonably with the Brazilians. This is the first time I’ve ever seen a conference end without the manager having to threaten to send in troops against them.”

Ansset smiled. “They’re proud people,” he said. “I liked them.”

Then the minister left, and Ansset sat down. The weariness finally showed in his face, and he was trembling. “This is the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life,” he said softly.

“It should get easier,” Kyaren answered, still surprised to see him showing weakness.

“Look,” Ansset said. “I’m shaking. I never shake.”

Because you used to sing, Kyaren did not say. They were both well aware of the reason why Ansset could not maintain perfect Control anymore. She helped him up from the bench where he sat.

“Are you going to bed now?” Kyaren asked.

Ansset shook his head. “I doubt it. I couldn’t sleep. Or if I forced myself to, I’d pay for it tomorrow. Break a window and chew the glass, or something.” Ansset was obviously ashamed of his new weakness.

“Will you come with me, then?” Kyaren asked. “I haven’t had supper, and we could eat together and relax a little. If you don’t mind.”

Ansset did not mind.