“If you have doubt about becoming a Mason,” MASON answered, “the Annus Dialogorum will settle it.”
I approximate my answer: “That isn’t it, Caesar. There’s no doubt I will be a Mason. I can’t wait to start speaking Latin, and using and understanding power, and serving you. But I know I’m very young. If I do my Annus Dialogorum now I’ll understand less than if I wait until I’m older, and learn less from it about what it really means to be a Mason. I want to be a Mason now, but I don’t want to waste the Annus, since I only get to do it once.”
MASON’s next words were not to me, but to an aide, commanding that my ba’pas be summoned to witness my investiture as an Imperial Nepos. That very night—I will not say ‘in my honor’—Cornel MASON created the Ordo Vitae Dialogorum, “the Order of the Life of Debate.” Membership is open to all Masons, and marked by one white sleeve, a permanent invitation to engage the wearer in debate over the Masonic life, not for a year, but lifelong. I wear it proudly. That night too, the title of Familiaris was promised to me upon my passing the Adulthood Competency Exam, since, by Alliance Law, a minor may not subject themself to Caesar’s Force.
I had long desired, even expected, these honors, but each in their course as I earned them, not all in one breath. I asked Caesar in some bewilderment why they granted me so much so quickly. This was my true investiture: “I have a use for you. You will be my instrument, my touch, my voice, my proxy while my work keeps me away, the one Masonic influence to counter all the others. You will teach and guide my son.”
That night I met the Porphyrogene.
The first stage of my investigation of the Black Sakura and Saneer-Weeksbooth double break-in has already been related. At 17:57 UT on 03/24/2454 I requested permission to interview Tsuneo Sugiyama, preferring to conduct the interview in person rather than over the tracker system. I was invited to the Sugiyama residence, outside Kanazawa in the Ishikawa prefecture of Chubu, and arrived at 19:31 UT. The Sugiyama bash’house is a compact town house, three stories, pressed tightly on both sides by similar houses. Tsuneo Sugiyama is eighty-nine years old, female, one hundred and sixty-two centimeters tall, dark brown eyes, short grayish white hair, with distinctly yellowed front teeth, no other distinguishing marks. Sugiyama wore a Japanese-cut Mitsubishi suit, green, with a spring pattern of morning glories climbing bamboo. Eight strat insignia were visible: on the right wrist a Japanese nation-strat bracelet and Lune Cassirer Fan Club bracelet, on the jacket front a Journalists’ Guild clip and Gazetteer Gaming Club pin, on the shoes skiers’ buckles, on the front pocket a Shiba Inu dog breeder’s patch and an Ishikawa Region patch, on the left ring finger a Nagoya Campus ring, and on the right little finger a Great Books Club ring. Sugiyama offered me tea, and I accepted. I commenced formal interview at 19:37 UT. The following is a verbatim transcript, interspersed with my interpretative comments:
Sugiyama seemed unusually relaxed at the beginning of the interview, though not in a joking or jovial way. I did not understand the reason until later on.
Guildbreaker: “Thank you for seeing me, Mitsubishi Sugiyama. You are aware this is being recorded?”
Sugiyama: “Of course, Mason, of course.”
Guildbreaker: “This is just an initial interview. There may be more detailed sessions later, once I’ve had a chance to act on your initial statement.”
Sugiyama: “I know how interviews work, youngster.”
Guildbreaker: “And you know I represent a poly-Hive investigation? If you report anything here which is pertinent to the security of a non-Mitsubishi, I’m legally obligated to inform the Praetors of the affected Hive, or the Tribunes’ Officers in the case of Hiveless.”
Sugiyama: “I knew outside police would come. It doesn’t make sense for this to be handled among us.”
Guildbreaker: “I am not police, I am a polylegal investigator. My team is handling the initial stages of this, since it affects all seven Hives at sensitive levels, so they want it handled delicately. Once we’ve secured the safety of the essential parties, the police will apprehend the actual offender.”
Sugiyama: “You’re using Utopians for the grunt work, aren’t you? I know how it works. I covered the Mycroft Canner case as well.”
Guildbreaker: “First, for the record, is it correct that you are not the author of the Seven-Ten list which was stolen from Black Sakura two days ago and subsequently recovered by the police?”
Sugiyama: “That’s correct, but no one outside Black Sakura knew I wasn’t writing it this year. Seven-Ten lists are only popular when they’re written by big names, and with Black Sakura being only the second-most-important Mitsubishi paper, the Hagiwara-san knew our readership outside the Hive would fizzle if the public found out I wasn’t the author. That doesn’t excuse them trying to pass off Masami-kun’s work as mine, but I understand why they did it.”
Guildbreaker: “How long have you worked at Black Sakura?”
Sugiyama: “I first worked for them from 2382 to ’86, then did graduate school from ’86 to ’90, worked at Black Sakura again until 2411, freelance from ’11 to ’25, then took nine years off to write my books, started again at Black Sakura full time in ’34, and retired last week. That last run was nineteen years, nine months, eleven days all told.”
Sugiyama answered this question with a speed which indicated that they had prepared their answers ahead of time. My flight to Chubu had taken forty-six minutes, and they had clearly spent that time preparing. Having worked so long as a reporter, Sugiyama was experienced with interviews, so it was safe to assume that, if they chose to lie to me, I would have no way to detect it.
Guildbreaker: “You retired last week?”
Sugiyama: “Unofficially. A lot of people invest in the paper counting on me as a draw, so we decided it was best to wait and announce at the end of the quarter when the contracts expired.”
Guildbreaker: “Was this a planned retirement, or…”
Sugiyama: “Oh, it was sudden. I know doctors keep telling me I have another fifty years left in me, but after seventy-two years as a journalist voker I decided it was time to pay more attention to family. Knowing me, I probably won’t be able to keep myself entirely retired very long, but it’s the plan for now.”
Guildbreaker: “How far ahead had you planned this?”
Sugiyama: “It wasn’t planned at all, totally sudden.”
Guildbreaker: “What was the cause?”
Sugiyama: “My grandchild Aki tried to kill themself.”
Guildbreaker: “I’m sorry to hear it. Do you know why?”
Sugiyama: “Aki’s lover killed themself. You see, Aki is already twenty-one, and had been living in a Campus seven years but hadn’t really gotten close enough to anyone to think about forming a bash’, except this one lover, a bright young Irish Brillist named Mertice O’Beirne. Had a marvelous voice, that kid, but a bit unstable, into gore photos and Canner-beat, but lots of potential. They were very close. Aki wanted the two of them to come join and continue my bash’ rather than forming a new one, since Aki’s always been close to me and my bash’mates, but Mertice wanted to stay in the Campus longer to see if they could find some others of their generation to make a new bash’.”