With a touch on one of the control studs set into the arm of his powerchair, he headed for his bedroom.
I cannot be rejuvenated. It is wrong even to desire it. But the Sun? Would it be wrong to try? Is it proper for puny men to tamper with the destinies of the stars themselves?
Once in his tower-top bedroom he called for her. Adela came to him quickly, without delay or question. She wore a simple knee-length gown tied loosely at the waist. It hung limply over her boyish figure.
«You sent for me, Sire.» It was not a question but a statement. The Emperor knew her meaning: I will do what you ask, but in return I expect you to give me what I desire.
He was already reclining in the soft embrace of his bed. The texture of the monolayer surface felt soft and protective. The warmth of the water beneath it eased his tired body.
«Come here, child. Come and talk to me. I hardly ever sleep anymore; it gives my doctors something to worry about. Come and sit beside me and tell me all about yourself … the parts of your life story that are not on file in the computers.»
She sat on the edge of the huge bed, and its nearly-living surface barely dimpled under her spare body.
«What would you like to know?» she asked.
«I have never had a daughter,» the Emperor said. «What was your childhood like? How did you become the woman you are?»
She began to tell him. Living underground in the mining settlements on Gris. Seeing sunlight only when the planet was far enough from its too-bright star to let humans walk the surface safely. Playing in the tunnels. Sent by her parents to other worlds for schooling. The realization that her beauty was not physical. The few lovers she had known. The astronomer who had championed her cause to the Emperor at that meeting nearly fifteen years ago. Their brief marriage. Its breakup when he realized that being married to her kept him from advancing in the hierarchy.
«You have known pain too,» the Emperor said.
«It’s not an Imperial prerogative,» she answered softly. «Everyone who lives knows pain.»
By now the sky was milky white with the approach of dawn. The Emperor smiled at her.
«Before breakfast everyone in the palace will know that you spent the night with me. I’m afraid I have ruined your reputation.»
She smiled back. «Or perhaps made my reputation.»
He reached out and took her by the shoulders. Holding her at arm’s length, he searched her face with a long, sad, almost fatherly look.
«It would not be a kindness to grant your request. If I allow you to pursue this dream of yours, have you any idea of the enemies it would make for you? Your life would be so cruel, so filled with envy and hatred.»
«I know that,» Adela said evenly. «I’ve known that from the beginning.»
«And you are not afraid?»
«Of course I’m afraid! But I won’t turn away from what I must do. Not because of fear. Not because of envy or hatred or any other reason.»
«Not even for love?»
He felt her body stiffen. «No,» she said. «Not even for love.»
The Emperor let his hands drop away from her and called out to the computer, «Connect me with Prince Javas, Academician Bomeer, and Commander Fain.»
«At once, Sire.»
Their holographic images quickly appeared on separate segments of the farthest wall of the bedroom. Bomeer, halfway across the planet in late afternoon, was at his ornate desk. Fain appeared to be on the bridge of a warship, in orbit around the planet. Javas, of course, was still in bed. It was not Rihana who lay next to him.
The Emperor’s first impulse was disapproval, but then he wondered where Rihana was sleeping.
«I am sorry to intrude on you so abruptly,» he said to all three of the men, while they were still staring at the slight young woman sitting on the bed with their Emperor. «I have made my decision on the question of trying to save the Earth’s Sun.»
Bomeer folded his hands on the desktop. Fain, on his feet, shifted uneasily. Javas arched an eyebrow and looked more curious than anything else.
«I have listened to all your arguments and find that there is much merit in them. I have also listened carefully to Dr. Montgarde’s arguments, and find much merit in them, as well.»
Adela sat rigidly beside him. The expression on her face was frozen: she feared nothing and expected nothing. She neither hoped nor despaired. She waited.
«We will move the Imperial throne and all its trappings to Earth’s only Moon,» said the Emperor.
They gasped. All of them.
«Since this project to save the Sun will take many human generations, we will want the seat of the Empire close enough to the project so that the Emperor may take a direct view of the progress.»
«But you can’t move the entire Capital,» Fain protested. «And to Earth! It’s a backwater—»
«Commander Fain,» the Emperor said sternly. «Yesterday you were prepared to move Earth’s millions. I ask now that the Fleet move the Court’s thousands. And Earth will no longer be a backwater once the Empire is centered once again at the original home of the human race.»
Bomeer sputtered, «But … but what if her plan fails? The sun will explode … and … and …»
«That is a decision to be made in the future.»
He glanced at Adela. Her expression had not changed, but she was breathing rapidly now. The excitement had hit her body, it hadn’t yet penetrated her emotional defenses.
«Father,» Javas said, «may I point out that it takes five years in realtime to reach the Earth from here? The Empire cannot be governed without an Emperor for five years.»
«Quite true, my son. You will go to Earth before me. Once there, you will become acting Emperor while I make the trip.»
Javas’ mouth dropped open. «The acting Emperor? For five years?»
«With luck,» the Emperor said, grinning slightly, «old age will catch up with me before I reach Earth, and you will be the full-fledged Emperor for the rest of your life.»
«But I don’t want …»
«I know, Javas. But you will be Emperor some day. It is a responsibility you cannot avoid. Five years of training will stand you in good stead.»
The Prince sat up straighter in his bed, his face serious, his eyes meeting his father’s steadily.
«And son,» the Emperor went on, «to be an Emperor—even for five years—you must be master of your own house.»
Javas nodded. «I know, Father. I understand. And I will be.»
«Good.»
Then the Prince’s impish smile flitted across his face once again. «But tell me … suppose, while you are in transit toward Earth, I decide to move the Imperial Capital elsewhere? What then?»
His father smiled back at him. «I believe I will just have to trust you not to do that.»
«You would trust me?» Javas asked.
«I always have.»
Javas’ smile took on a new pleasure. «Thank you, Father. I will be waiting for you on Earth’s Moon. And for the lovely Dr. Montgarde, as well.»
Borneer was still livid. «All this uprooting of everything … the costs … the manpower … over an unproven theory!»
«Why is the theory unproven, my friend?» the Emperor asked.
Bomeer’s mouth opened and closed like a fish’s, but no words came out.
«It is unproven,» said the Emperor, «because our scientists have never gone so far before. In fact, the sciences of the Hundred Worlds have not made much progress at all in several generations. Isn’t that true, Bomeer?»
«We … Sire, we have reached a natural plateau in our understanding of the physical universe. It has happened before. Our era is one of consolidation and practical application of already-acquired knowledge, not new basic breakthroughs.»
«Well, this project will force some new thinking and new breakthroughs, I warrant. Certainly we will be forced to recruit new scientists and engineers by the shipload. Perhaps that will be impetus enough to start the climb upward again, eh, Bomeer? I never did like plateaus.»