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up.
But a hush fell as Karis made her way to the front and sat down. Norina,
Medric,
and J'han had already gathered there, and now Zanja arrived and said
something
to Emil while shaking her head slightlyù bad news about Medric? Then Zanja
approached the chairs, said something to Karis that made her glance down at
her
outfit with an expression of despair, and settled on her heels at Karis's
feet.
People were finding seats, and Clement led her rigid, silent contingent to
the
row of chairs behind Karis. Gilly had joined the officious clerks crowded
around
a big table. On a second, smaller table lay a very big book, which Clement
recognized as the Law of Shaftal, and a plain box of beautiful wood within
which
was preserved the original handwritten manuscript of Mackapee's Principles of
Community. Between them lay a handwritten, much-corrected, and overwritten
stack
of paperùEmil's speech, apparently finished so late that there had been no
time
to recopy it.
Emil stood at the table, facing the murmuring room. "Norina Truthken will
open
this assembly," he said.
Why would the least likable be the first one to speak? And Norina's topic
could
not have been less interesting. Standing by the Law of Shaftal, she asserted
her
own status as a Truthken, and made various declarations about the lawfulness
of
the assembly, the legitimacy of the oaths already taken, and the verity of
Karis's claim to her position. She asserted that Emil was properly named and
confirmed as head councilor, and that all decisions agreed to by this body
would
become law. Norina is the law, thought Clement in surprise, and the law is
what
leads them. Not Emilùnot even Karis!
"Madam Truthken!" It was a voice from the midst of the councilors. Everyone
turned, startled.
Norina said, "Please stand and state your name when you speak."
The man leapt to his feet and said he was Jerem, a Midlander. He planted
himself
with his feet apart, as if braced for a fight. "Madam Truthken, I disagree
with
your conclusion that this assembly is lawful. For the Law of Shaftal does not
permit the presence and participation of alien interlopers in the governance
of
Shaftal!"
"There are no alien interlopers present."
Norina spoke so flatly that it took a moment for people to realize what she
had
said. Then a dozen outraged people leapt to their feet. They started shouting
at
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the tops of their voices: The Sainnites were murderers, thieves, destroyers,
and
parasites; they were stupid, oblivious, crass, and oppressive. They were
mindlessly, pointlessly, persistently violent; they were beyond redemption;
and
they were aliens. Emil remained impassively silent, and Norina gazed coolly,
not
quite contemptuously, at the shouting people.
The room quieted. Still, Norina gazed at the councilors. A restlessness took
over the room, and people began to glance about anxiously.
Norina turned her gaze to Clement. Bloody hell! Clement thought.
"General Clement, please explain by what right you and your people are
present."
But Karis was already standing. "The Sainnites of Shaftal are Shaftali." Her
hoarse, smoke-shattered voice could not carry far in that vast space, but the
garrison commanders certainly had heard her, for there was a rustle of
surprised
movement among them.
"The Sainnites of Shaftal are Shaftali," Norina said. "Therefore, the
Sainnites
are entitled to the rights and protection of the law."
The angry Midlander, still on his feet, cried, "By what principle?"
"The declarations of the G'deon will be accepted as fact, without debate,
objection, or confirmation, as you well know, Jerem of the Midlands."
"The law must be changed, then." The man looked pugnaciously around himself
at
the openmouthed people who now stared at him. "We can do that," he said to
them.
Norina said, "Yes, the councilors of Shaftal may eliminate the G'deon's
right,
if they are willing to forego her power and protection, as well."
Karis looked directly at Jerem. So she had looked at Cadmar, when she gave
him
the choice he was too stupid and arrogant to perceive as an ultimatum.
Jerem, glowering, sat down. Clement felt the shifting among her commanders
again, and for the first time in days she could believe, if just for a
moment,
that there was hope for her people.
There were no more objections. Norina gestured to Emil, who seemed not merely
unruffled, but serene as he touched his fingertips to the tabletop and began
to
speak. "On Long Night, Karis G'deon pierced me with Responsibility, and then
asked me to head a new Council of Shaftal. I could neither have accepted the
responsibility nor taken the oath if not for my confidence that I was not
expected to do this task alone. From that first day, my companions included
Sainnites, and I am grateful to them for teaching me to avoid heedless
statements about who these Sainnites are, and what they are capable of."
Months ago, when Emil told Clement he wanted her commanders at the council
meeting, she had argued vigorously with him: the presence of the hated enemy
at
this significant event would make them targets for anger, she had said. She
did
not think that even she should go.
"That anger is our country's largest problem," Emil had said. "Shall we not
say
so? Should we make decisions based on our anger, rather than decisions about
our
anger?"
He had been right, thought Clement, as Emil began to review the history of
the
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