Scratch that, as of this morning.
“The Kadagidi,” he said. Murini’s clan. Tatiseigi’s next‑door neighbors. “This bodyguard of Lord Aseida’s. Haikuti. Is he the force we’re imminently worried about?”
“Yes,” Banichi said, from across the room. “He is a significant problem.”
Algini said, just a flick of the eyes toward Banichi, “Very significant. –Lord Tatiseigi, Bren‑ji, has been a somewhat special case in the matter of out‑clan assignments. He supports the rule. Officially. But he is very inclined to prefer Atageini Guild be assigned here to him–and he has occasionally, on personal privilege, put pressure on the Office of Assignments. Assignments never complained, you may be sure. Shishoji inserted a few Atageini with kinship to the Kadagidi–and beyond that, assigned some Atageini personnel who, frankly speaking, were not the caliber that a man in Tatiseigi’s position should have gotten. Conversely, where there has been extraordinary promise in an Atageini candidate who might have come in and identified these people, that person has been shifted to other service, and made unavailable to Tatiseigi’s house.”
And in just such a way, one at a time . . . or in this case in twos and fours . . . the balance of power throughout the aishidi’tat had been shifted–for forty‑two years. Forty‑two years of lethal man’chi being slipped into key positions. It wouldn’t even take special training or instructions, nothing that could be traced directly to some individual. A time bomb with a purely instinct‑driven trigger, right out of the machimi plays. Instincts that would, at some key instant, jump the wrong way. Silent. Nearly untraceable. Shadow Guild, indeed.
Algini continued: “Tatiseigi’s clan has bled talent into the system and consistently gotten back less. Rusani and his team, the senior bodyguards–are not much younger than Tatiseigi. They are too old to keep up with training in the way of younger men; and ironically, when we approached them, with Lord Tatiseigi’s permission, they were convinced the general quality of Guild training has sadly declined over the years. We cannot at this point tell them the truth of the situation, but we told them the aiji‑dowager herself would send them help. Tabini himself told Lord Tatiseigi that he must accept, for the safety of the aiji‑dowager and the heir. That is the situation. We have a few remaining of the old staff. And now we have to ask if we have somehow missed one. If we have, that individual may be desperate to try to get word to his control. And we are equally determined he should not get that word out, either who is here, or how we are configured. Alternatively, we may have a source of information we can lay hands on.”
“If he uses communications equipment, we will be on him in an instant,” Tano said. “Otherwise, he will have to make a run for it. And getting across the grounds and through the hedges is no small difficulty. He is trapped. Whoever he is.”
“Kadagidi would be the logical direction,” Bren murmured.
“We are watching all directions,” Jago said, “by every means.”
They would find this–hopefully last–infiltrator, he had every confidence. With luck, they’d take him alive and have a chance to extract information. And then, or at least very soon thereafter, they were going to try to fix what was broken.
Forty‑two years of problems in the Guild.
That dated from before his predecessor, Wilson, had been paidhi‑aiji. It dated from the time of Tabini’s grandfather.
From before there was anyone living on the space station. From before there had been significant human technology in atevi hands, and from before there was any real flow of communication between Mospheira and the mainland. An old movement, an old resistance to human influence . . . had shifted course radically–with this wild notion of moving into the space station.
Not technophobes, however. The old man sitting in that office had declined computers, which would have opened up his records, a locator bracelet, which would have told other Guild where he was.
But he was seeking control of the highest powered technology available.
While Murini had put himself forward as opposing human influence, opposing the changes in atevi society, opposing the factories and the space program, to get Conservative Party support–until his assassination and intimidation tactics had crossed a line and people realized this was not the government they wanted.
Not a repudiation of the space program and human influence. A takeover . . . using that technology.
And the one way, the one way they could have inserted their people into the station was to get Geigi off it. Off it and, preferably, out of the picture completely.
No wonder the Shadow Guild had been setting up a trap for Lord Geigi, hoping he’d find reason to visit his estate at Kajiminda. They’d hijacked Machigi’s original plot to get his hands on Geigi’s estate. They’d taken over the operation and come scarily close to succeeding in delivering a major blow to Tabini’s year‑old second administration.
Until they’d crossed the aiji‑dowager.
Geigi had come down from the heavens, however–
And then of all things the Shadow Guild had taken to the field and decided to throw mortars at Najida.
“A question,” he said. “Nadiin‑ji. Why did the Shadow Guild take it to the field? Why did they blow the cover off?”
“That,” Algini said, “is an interesting question. And a sad situation. The ones most exposed fled south and to the coast when Murini fell. They began recruitment of Marid Guild, whose man’chi was to the region, with a lie: they told these people that the out‑clan rule was going to be imposed by northern Guild, who would isolate them and impose northern lords over the Marid. The lie was too potent. The Marid recruits slipped control, they took to the field, and they were not coordinated. The action now has evolved to words and reasoned argument, where possible–and the skirmishes that do take place now are with those we have no reluctance to take down. Cenedi has had experience in the East. He asked Machigi for names from the Taisigin Marid, called respected persons out of retirement, and set them in positions in the Marid where their influence can be useful. The opposition is feeling more threatened by these influential seniors than by weapons, and local Guild is becoming aware that Murini’s people are, principally, outsiders to the Marid. The remnant of our enemy is resorting once again to Murini’s tactics of intimidation and threats, and they continue to spread the rumors, primarily in the more rural areas, that the out‑clan rule is coming and the aiji means to take over the Marid–which is still a rallying cry for the misled. It is a district by district struggle, in a region where the Messengers’ Guild does not operate, where there is no television, and radio is often short range and delivering disinformation. We have taken to distributing radios, and broadcasting our own message.”
Communication. A world perspective. Messengers’ Guild. Scholars’ Guild. Get those throughout the Marid and misinformation and truth could at least fight on a level field.
“Ironically, in the past, Assignments has not had the ability to deal with the Marid as well as it has in the north, but that situation is changing. The local Guild has taken a beating they are being told was the fault of their leaders. Machigi–is regarded with great suspicion in the northern Marid.”