or sly, words, laughter, whistling, song, sorrow, an accordion or a
fiddle somewhere, pungencies of roast corn and nuts for sale to keep the
passerby warm, oddments in display windows, city men, landmen,
offworlders, vagabonds, students, soldiers, children, grannies, the
unforgettably gorgeous woman whom you know you will never glimpse again
… A few walkers stepped aside, a few standers poised in doorways or
leaned on upper-story sills, warily staring. Now and then a groundcar
detoured. A civilian policeman in brown uniform and high-crowned hat
joined Ywodh; they talked; he consulted his superiors via minicom,
stayed till an aircar had made inspection from above, and departed.
“This is downright creepy,” Flandry murmured to Kossara. “Has everybody
evacuated, or what?”
She passed the question on. Untrained humans could not have conveyed
information accurately in that wise; but soon she told Flandry from
Ywodh: “Early this morning–the organizers must have worked the whole
night–an ispravka started against Imperial personnel. That’s when
ordinary citizens take direct action. Not a riot or lynching. The people
move under discipline, often in their regular Voyska units; remember,
every able-bodied adult is a reservist. Such affairs seldom get out of
control, and may have no violence at all. Offenders may simply be
expelled from an area. Or they may be held prisoner while spokesmen of
the people demand the authorities take steps to punish them. A few
ispravkai have brought down governments. In this case, what’s happened
is that Terrans and others who serve the Imperium were rounded up into
certain buildings: hostages for the Gospodar’s release and the good
behavior of their Navy ships. The Zamok denounced the action as illegal
and bound to increase tension, demanded the crowds disperse, and sent
police. The people stand fast around those buildings. The police haven’t
charged them; no shots have yet been fired on either side.”
“I’ve heard of worse customs,” Flandry said.