your majesty's
pardon."

"You'll have to wait a while, colonel; Imperial pardons have to be by
the Portfolio for the Interior. Your Sovereign is an impotent
figurehead."

"Sure you are, Sire," said the colonel. "Meanwhile, what about those
tapes?"

"Get them--or copies of them. They can't be dangerous in themselves, but
if they're genuine, I want to know who's bugging this place. I can't
have spies in the Palace itself. Otherwise, keep your eyes on the
Senesin boy."

The voice went on giving instructions, but the colonel lifted the thumb
of his left hand from his larynx; the waiter was approaching, and if he
wanted to speak to him, it would be better not to have to interrupt the
flow of words from his finger.

The android put the dishes on the table. "Coffee, sir?"

"Yes," said the colonel. "Cream, no sugar. And bring a second cup as
soon as I've finished with the first." Only a part of his attention was
given to the waiter; the rest was focused on the instructions he was
receiving. The instructions kept coming until after the coffee had been
brought. Then the voice said:

"Any questions?"

"No, Sire," said the colonel, replacing his thumb.

"Very well. I'll be expecting your report sometime between eleven and
midnight."

The colonel nodded, brought his hand down from the side of his jaw to
pick up his fork and begin a concerted attack on his lunch.

* * * * *

Hawaii, with its beauty and its perfect climate, had been the obvious
choice for the center of the Terran Empire. For centuries before the
coming of interstellar travel, the islands had been used to a mixture of
tongues and races, and the coming of the Empire had merely added to that
mixture. In the five centuries since Man had begun his explosive spread
to the stars, more "races" had come into being due to the genetic
variations and divisions that occurred as small groups of isolated
colonists were cut off from Earth and from each other. The fact that
interstellar vessels incorporating the contraspace drive were relatively
inexpensive to build, plus the fact that nearly every G-type sun had an
Earth-like planet in Bode's Third Position, had made scattering to the
stars almost an automatic reflex among men.

It had also shattered the cohesion of Mankind that had been laboriously
built up over several millennia. The old U.N. government had gradually
welded together the various nations of Earth under one flag, and f