d’Alembert 7 – Planet of Treachery – E E. Doc Smith

today’s events should go well.

“As Grand Duke of Sector Four I’ll have to be in the audience and Helena, as my

daughter and heir, will be with me. Have to keep up appearances, after all, though I’d be

much more useful back here. Ima Takanabe will be running the checkpoint; I’ll take you

over and introduce you. She can give you your assignments for the day.”

He led them over to a woman directing much of the backstage traffic, in her forties and

about the same height as the d’Alemberts themselves. She was the picture of efficiency.

“Colonel Takanabe, these are agents Wombat and Hedgehog. Use them wherever you

need two exceptionally talented people.” Then, with only a slight nod, he was off again to

round up his daughter and take their seats in the audience.

Colonel Takanabe was impressed. Like everyone else in the Service, she knew the

codename Wombat as one of the top people in the organization-and while she had never

heard of Hedgehog, she knew that any partner of Wombat’s had to be among the best.

She needed but an instant’s thought to decide where to station the two newcomers to

best effect.

Jules and Yvonne ended up behind the scenes, one on either side of the enormous

platform that served as both altar and dais for the Coronation ceremony. Their job looked

easy, but it was deceptive. They were to be constantly scanning the audience for the

slightest sign of trouble-and if anything untoward occurred, it was their task to remedy it

without disrupting the ceremony if at all possible. The job required absolute concentration

throughout the many hours of the ceremony, and could not be taken lightly. It was also a

job that, if performed correctly, would receive no notice at all except in Takanabe’s

efficiency report.

The rites had actually been going on for many hours before the d’Alemberts had arrived

at the hall. Emperor Stanley Ten had gone on Galaxy-wide live broadcast the night

before to announce his official abdication, to become effective upon the crowning of his

daughter. He then made the pro forma call for the nobles of the Empire to gather

together to proclaim Edna as Empress Stanley Eleven, supreme ruler of the Empire of

Earth.

There followed, on that same broadcast, a rare televised meeting of the Chamber of

Thirty-Six wherein the grand dukes of all thirty-six sectors of space unanimously issued a

proclamation requesting Crown Princess Edna to assume the Throne. The scene then

shifted to the College of Dukes, where the planetary rulers met in council. Not all the

1,368 dukes in the Empire were present, of course; only twice in history had every duke

been in attendance simultaneously at the College, and both occasions occurred early in

the Empire’s history, when there were far fewer dukes. Nevertheless, the College

managed a splendid turnout, and their pomp rivaled that of the grand dukes as they

issued an identical proclamation.

The scene then shifted back to the Imperial Palace, where Edna Stanley acknowledged

the proclamations and agreed to become the new Empress. She then made a speech to

the people of the Empire, while her father stood proudly behind her-one of the few times

in the last five decades that he had ever stood in the background. Edna gave a glowing

tribute to the peace and prosperity during her father’s reign; she called him “the greatest

of the Great Stanleys” and pointed out that during his reign the Empire expanded by

nearly twenty-three percent.

Moving from the past to the future, Edna spoke in general terms of the goals she wanted

to accomplish for the Empire. Her speech was simple and distinct, delivered without a

trace of nervousness or self-consciousness. All her life Edna had trained to become

empress; she now looked and acted the part to perfection. Those who heard her speak

that evening-and the vast majority of people within the Empire did, no matter what time it

was on their respective worlds-could have no doubts at all about her capacity to

administer the largest empire man had ever created.

At no time did Edna allow her audience the slightest inkling that the Empire was under

the threat of imminent attack from a navy that could very well rival her own. Only the

positive was mentioned that night, and only smiles could be seen on official faces.

When the broadcast ended, the public observance of the rites went into abeyance-but

the traditions went on nonetheless. It was traditional for the Empress-designate and her

husband to spend the night awake, fasting and meditating. In part this was a practical

measure, since few incoming rulers were able to get much sleep the night before the

Coronation anyway, and were glad of the chance to rehearse their part in the next day’s

festivities. In Edna’s case, part of the time was spent in consultation with her top military

advisors, going over plans to thwart the impending attack by C’s forces; the rest of her

energy was indeed devoted to meditation, under the guidance of her husband Liu, a fully

trained mystic from the planet Anares. The two of them spent many hours that night

kneeling face to face on the floor in a dimly lit room, surrounded by servants and

courtiers. The royal couple held hands, but did not speak a word; in the months since

their marriage, they had reached a development in their relationship where words were

unnecessary.

Shortly before dawn the meditations were broken along with the fast. The couple was led

to a banquet table where a sumptuous feast had been laid out for them. Custom

required, however, that they only taste from each of the plates; they had to take in some

nourishment to face the long day ahead, but at the same time they knew that too heavy a

meal might tend to make them feel logy or sick. Their selections and portions were

carefully chosen by the Imperial physician ahead of time for best effect.

Edna and her husband were then separated for the ritual bathing and dressing. Each was

anointed with scented oils and perfumes, then dressed ceremoniously by teams of

attendants. The official coronation robes worn by the Empress-designate and her consort

were centuries old, dating back to the very beginnings of the Empire. Edna wore a

sideless surcoat of cloth-of-gold, heavy with jewels, over a white satin dress with a

three-meter train; around her shoulders was a scarlet mantle edged with ermine. Her

hair, undecorated, hung straight down her back to her waist.

Liu was in a scarlet houppelande open down the front to show a robe of gleaming white.

He wore no jewels, and the fur trim on his houppelande was plain white mink. At his waist

was a gold chain belt and a sword of gold set with jewels-the consort’s sword,

deliberately blunt. Like his wife’s, his head was bare.

Once dressed, the royal couple were brought down to the entrance of the Imperial

Palace in Los Angeles, where the carriage was waiting to take them to Bloodstar Hall.

This was an actual horse-drawn coach, gilded wood with enormous gems set in it, pulled

by a team of six snow-white horses. It took close to four hours to travel from palace to

hall in this primitive conveyance, and the route along the way was jammed with loving,

screaming subjects all craning to get even a glimpse of their new monarch. Edna waved

to the crowds until she thought her arm was going to fall out of its socket, and she and

Liu tossed out handfuls of tiny coins that had been minted especially for this occasion.

Lord Bloodstar was waiting for them on the front steps of the hall when the carriage

pulled up. He carried with him the ceremonial sword of state, and he ordered her to halt

while they went through a traditional challenge and response, at the end of which he

acknowledged her as the rightful ruler of the Empire. Then, carrying the sword before

him, he led her up the stairs and inside the front door where he announced the arrival of

the Empress-designate to the assembled lords and ladies of the Empire.

At this point, Edna accepted the sword from Lord Bloodstar and began her long, slow

march down the aisle while the nobles in attendance rose to their feet and watched her in

silence. All across the Galaxy, trillions of people were glued to their trivision sets,

watching the incredible spectacle at home, at their jobs, or wherever they happened to

be. Behind Edna as she walked came her retinue of ladies-in-waiting, carrying her train;

then her husband and his retinue; and finally Lord Bloodstar bringing up the rear.

Normally the Archbishop of Earth would have been waiting alone on the platform ahead

of her-but that was because the preceding emperor seldom had the chance to attend the

coronation of his successor. Today, William Stanley stood there beside the Archbishop.

He was clad in a white silk shroud, a garment symbolizing his ceremonial “death,” which

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