“It’s Galileo, with Arthur and a few of the others,” Fellburg said. Zambendorf
stopped speaking and moved forward to see, while behind him West stood and
crossed the room.
Thirg had become accustomed to the sight of Lumians without their outer casings
by now. How they stayed together at all and kept their shape was mystery enough,
never mind how they managed to move around. Apparently they contained a second,
“internal casing” of some kind, though how a casing could be inside that which
it encased, Thirg had no idea. Perhaps it was like the strengthening bars that
builders and other artisans fashioned into their organic creations.
Dark-Headed-One was looking into the magic eye, with the Wearer and
Smooth-Faced-One visible a short distance behind. After a short exchange of
greetings, Thirg began the tedious process of communicating the questions and
concerns that the latest meeting with the Merchant-Lumians had prompted.
Zambendorf’s mood became somber while he listened to Abaquaan’s commentary as
the message slowly emerged. “They did as we told them and didn’t make any
concessions,” Abaquaan announced. “It’s looking very much the way we
figured—Giraud and his people are trying to talk them into getting lots of
organized production going down there for Earth’s benefit. They’re trying to set
up a colony, Karl. GSEC and the government must be in on it too. Galileo says
Arthur’s asking for a confirmation that he’s doing the right thing and that
we’ll make sure everything turns out okay.”
“They’re saying they still think we’re straight, but I guess they need
reassuring,” Fellburg said.
Zambendorf stared at the outlandish metal faces peering back at him from inside
an ice vault thousands of miles away. Was it just his imagination, or could he
read the trust and the pleading not to be let down that was written across those
strange, immobile countenances? For some reason his determination not to let
them down was stronger than had ever been evoked by people. He sensed too that
the others in the team felt the same way. Though none of them had mentioned it
directly because there was no need to, they all sensed it. Whatever it was that
had brought such an odd assortment of individuals together had responded as a
common chord in all of them.
“All I can say for now is to tell them to have faith and believe in us,”
Zambendorf said. “The time is not ripe yet for us to do anything.” Exactly what
he could do, he had no idea; for once in his life he was at a loss to come up
with anything more constructive.
Fellburg talked to the terminal and juggled with the screen for a while.
“Galileo thinks you sound too much like a priest,” Abaquaan told Zambendorf.
Zambendorf smiled faintly. If the Taloids could crack jokes, they’d be okay.
“Tell them they are not second-class citizens, Joe,” he said. “They should be
proud of what they are, believe in themselves, and trade with Terrans only as
equal partners.”
“Galileo’s asking who’s kidding who,” Fellburg said, looking at the screen.
“They want to know how they’re supposed to come across as the equals of guys who
can work miracles.”
“We are not gods. They must have confidence that they can learn,” Zambendorf
told him.
“We can teach them to work miracles too?” Fellburg interpreted as the screen
delivered the reply.
“There isn’t any such thing as a miracle,” Zambendorf said. “When you know how
to work a miracle, it ceases to be one. Miracles exist only in the minds of
those who believe in them.”
“Galileo wants to know how the hell you know.”
“Oh,” Zambendorf said. “You can assure him that I’m an expert on miracles.”
24
THE POLICY DIRECTIVE FROM EARTH STATED IN EFFECT THAT the Genoese were asking
for a welfare aid program to be initiated and sustained from a distance of
nearly a billion miles away, which would bankrupt the Western world even if it
were acceptable on principle. The suggestion was completely impractical as well
as being unthinkable ideologically. Giraud and Lang returned to their
negotiations and spent several more long, arduous sessions explaining to Arthur
and his colleagues that the Taloids would have to start thinking from the outset