proceed: we are investigating. We will find out where the leak is here and clean up the mess. In the meantime we
will go ahead with the business for which we scheduled the Circus of Earth. There’s trouble: centering, probably,
on Durward. I’ll give you all forty-odd reels of the record on it, but there are many things that are not on record and
never will be, which is why I had to discuss it with you in person. You’ll also have to talk to some outsiders to get
the full picture. You may want to conduct preliminary investigation on Earth and/or elsewhere before you go
anywhere near Durward.”
The Head got up. These were his most valuable agents, and the fact that he had brought them here was a measure of
the importance he attached to the situation. He had fully expected that there would be trouble waiting for them be-
tween the Circus and his office . . . and he had been equally confident that the d’Alemberts would be able to handle
it.
What he was less sure of was that they-even they would be able to handle the trouble that lay ahead.
He said abruptly, “Let’s fill in some background. For example, consider the question of loyalty. The Service is loyal
to the Crown as the symbol of Empire; to the wearer of the Crown, whoever or whatever he or she may be, as the
focal point of the Empire. You agree?”
“Of course, sir,” Jules said, and both girls nodded. “Very well. In early 2378, when Crown Prince Ansel was
planning the murder of every other member of the Royal Family, if we could have caught him at it in time we could
have burned him down” Crown Prince though he was.,”
“Why, I . . . suppose that . , . yes, sir”” Jules said, and Yvette added thoughtfully.
“I never thought of it before in just that way, sir. But that’s the way it would have to be.”
“Nevertheless, after those eleven murders were accomplished facts Ansel, as the sole surviving member of the
House of Stanley, became Emperor Stanley Nine. Was there then any question of gunning him? No. We instantly
became as loyal to him as we had been to his father Stanley Eight and now are to his son Stanley Ten.”
“Of course, sir. But what. . . .”
“Now comes some off-the-record material. Have you ever heard of Banion the Bastard?”
Jules thought for a moment. “I don’t think so, sir,” he said.
Yvette shook her head, but this time Helena nodded and said, “Oh-oh-a light beginneth to dawn.”
“I didn’t think you two had,” the Head went on. “Not too many people now alive ever have.”
IV
Even before Arnold invented the subether drive and made galactic exploration possible, all Earth except the
USNA was under Communism and North America was being infiltrated and undermined. The real explosion of
mankind into space, however, did not begin until 2013, when Copeland discovered the uranium-rich planet
Urania Four; thus assuring all mankind of cheap and virtually unlimited power. In 2016 the American
anti-Communists, disgusted and alarmed by the success of the “do-nothings” and “do-gooder” in blocking all
effective action, left Earth en masse for Newhope, whereupon Communism took control of all Earth without
firing a shot or launching a missile. (Mees, History of Civilization; Vol. 21, p. 1281).
Banion the Bastard
Marshalling his thoughts, the Head drank of his whiskey sour slowly, then went on, “Stanley Nine’s weakness was
women; particularly young ones. Although he married late in 2378, by the end of that year the Empress was merely
a part of the furniture and the then Duke of Durward-one Henry, a bachelor of thirty-saw his big chance. He
combed his planet to find one highly special woman. She bad to be young, a virgin, spectacularly, beautiful, and
highly intelligent. Also, as unscrupulous, as vicious, and as hard as he himself was. Also unknown on Earth or at
Court. He found her. . . .”
The Head paused to finish his drink and build another one.
“The Beast of Durward,” Helena said. “Surely you’ve heard of her.”
Neither Jules nor Yvette had, and the Head went on, “A small-time ruthlessly ambitious actress. The Duke arranged
and financed for her a tremendous and tremendously expensive splash at Grand Imperial Court, right here on Earth.
Stanley Nine fell hard. He didn’t stand a chance and, with the Duke’s full backing, she kept him on the hook much
longer than any other woman was ever able to.
“When she was about seven months pregnant the Duke married her; with Nine’s full approval. Thus her son Baniop
was born in wedlock as the first child of and the heir of the Duke and Duchess of Durward. That, however, wasn’t
enough for the schemers. Stanley Nine, still blindly infatuated with the extremely talented Beast, issued a Patent of
Royalty, admitting paternity and bestowing upon the infant the unique title of ‘The Prince of Durward.’ This patent
also authorized a coat of arms as follows:
” `Purpure, quarterly three dragons rampant or” in chief sinister a bend sinister or, in dexter. . . .”‘
“Wait up, father!” Helena broke in. “You’re not getting through to me at all, and I don’t believe that’s our guests’
language, either.”
The Head laughed. “Gold dragons, rearing on purple enamel. The bar sinister, which may not be a mark of illegi-
timacy, in this case definitely was. It goes on that way for a couple of hundred words, only a few of which are perti-
nent. `Bordure gules, charged thirteen bezants sable.’ Poor heraldry-color on color and an unlucky number of spots
on a background of blood-but that and the fact that the Patent was dated Friday the Thirteenth of June, 2380, are
perfectly in keeping with the Duke’s vicious sense of humor.
“A couple of months later-long overdue-Nine finally got tired of the Beast and came to with a thud. He who had
wiped out all the rest of the Royal Family had himself set up a pretender with a completely valid claim. He ordered
the Service to kill the Duke and Banion and destroy the Patent; but he was ‘way too late. The Beast had seen it
coming and they got away clean. With the Patent.
“The Patent, of course, was most important. It was handwritten and signed in carbon ink by Emperor Stanley Nine
himself, on Imperial parchment, with the signature driven into the parchment by the Great Seal of the Empire of
Earth. The Patent was revoked, of course, and erased from all record, and the people were proscribed; but that
wasn’t enough. That Patent had to be found and destroyed; but it wasn’t. Banion the Bastard bad to be found and
killed; but be wasn’t.
“In 2381 there was a fairly serious uprising; which, it was deduced later, was engineered by the Beast on her own.
At least, there was clear evidence that she tried to knife the Duke in bed and he cut her throat with her own blade.
“The search for that Patent and the Bastard and his blood has been going on ever since 2380; twenty years before I
was born. As I said, the record of it covers more than forty reels. Results were neglible-except for finding” at a
cost of eighty-nine lives, three very good forgeries until two years ago” when several leads pointed back to
Durward again. We sent agents, who found nothing. Three months ago all those agents stopped reporting. I sent in
four of our best-with orders, of course, to avoid all previous contacts-and have not heard from any of them. Hence
the Circus; the heaviest artillery the Service has. The threat to Stanley Ten and The Family is grave indeed. Just how
grave I myself did not fully realize until the event of last night.
“Duke Henry was born in 2350, ninety-seven years ago; so he is probably dead. So it may or may not be his chil-
dren and/or grandchildren who are carrying on. The Bastard, though” at 67, may still be a potent force; and he
undoubtedly has children and grandchildren whom we don’t know anything about, either.
“Your job is composed of two equally important parts. One, to find the genuine Patent and to bring it in so we can
check its authenticity and so Stanley Ten can destroy it with his own hands. Two, to kill Banion the Bastard and all
of his blood. Goodbye and good luck.”
Back at the Circus, well after daybreak. Jules and Yvette reported to their father, the Managing Director. Then they
drove out to the edge of the field, snugged their “car” down into its berth in their ultra-fast two-man subspacer, and
Jules said:
“I knew the Head would have to be a Big Wheel, but not that big. If his daughter’s a Grand Lady he’s got to be a
Grand Duke, no less. I think maybe I’ve seen his picture somewhere or seen him in a parade or something on tridi….