“You mean Castor's not even a member of the Commonwealth?” said Mallow. “Its status is up in the air at the moment. They've been asked—politely—to join. If they decide not to...” “They'll be asked unpolitely,” concluded Mallow. “In all likelihood,” agreed Verlor. “At any rate, any unpleasantness with the ambassador is to be initiated by the Floating Kingdom, not by you. Understood?” “Understood,” said Mallow distastefully. “When do we expect this visitor of yours?”
“If I may be so bold as to intrude upon your discussion,” said the cold, noncommittal tones of a T-pack,
“I am quite ready to proceed with our meeting.” The two men turned to the doorway, and saw a huge, thick-limbed being standing there, its blunt, broad head covered by a combination plastic mask and T-pack, its heavily-armored skin exposed to the air. It had the three-legged, tripodal structure and stance common to most of the denizens of high-gravity worlds. Affixed to the mask were small medallions that obviously represented medals and official status. “How long have you been standing there?” demanded Mallow. “My name is Krotar,” said the Castorian, ignoring the question. “May we proceed?” “I'll leave you two gentlemen for a few minutes,” said Verlor. “Buzz me if you need anything.” “I object to being termed a gentleman,” said Krotar, “but since the T-pack may be translating Terran inaccurately or too literally, I shall offer no formal complaint.” Mallow shot Verlor a who-the-hell-does-he-think-he-is look, then turned back to Krotar. “Well, Mr. Krotar,” he said, “just what can I do for you?” “You may begin by referring to me as Ambassador Krotar,” said the Castorian. “Whatever you wish, Ambassador,” said Mallow, wondering what theless diplomatic Castorians must be like.
“And,” said Krotar, nodding an acknowledgment, “you can show me the plans for the Bureau of Alien Affairs.”
“Is there some particular reason why you're interested in them?” asked Mallow as he darkened the room and threw the Tri-D mockup of the Bureau's exterior into the area separating him from Krotar. “I would not ask without a reason,” said Krotar. “You will explain the plans.” “As you wish.” Mallow shrugged and began to recite the stock speech he had given perhaps a thousand times during the past two years. “The new Bureau of Alien Affairs, to be erected on Deluros IV, will be rectangular at the base, and will remain that way although tapering by almost fifty percent by the time it reaches its peak, which will be almost two kilometers above the ground. At its base the Bureau will be four kilometers long and three kilometers wide. The outer facade, as you can see, will contain various bits of art from almost all of the known cultures of the galaxy.” “Including Castor?” asked Krotar.
“If Castor is adopted into the Commonwealth, I have no doubt that its art will be incorporated into the facade,” said Mallow, devoutly hoping that the Floating Kingdom would require a better display of manners before welcoming it into the fold. He flicked a number of switches on his desk, and the Tri-D picture changed, now showing a miniaturized cross-section of the huge lobby of the building. “Now, although the Bureau will be multi-environmental, the lobby through which all entities will enter and
exit will not be so treated. The atmosphere on Deluros IV is almost nonexistent, and the gravity is about
half that of Deluros VIII. It would be an easy matter to supply it with an atmosphere and artificial gravity more to Man's liking,” he said, getting in the dig, “but there will be no favoritism in the Bureau. “Throughout the lobby will be numerous signs and recording stands, in all the known languages of the galaxy, directing the various member races to the proper areas. There will be literally hundreds of moving courseways crisscrossing and encircling the lobby, each of them ending at a designated elevator. The elevators are designed to hold a minimum of ten members of any race at a time, and in the case of some of the smaller races, they will accommodate almost one hundred of them. “The elevators will respond to each race's own language, or to a T-pack using Terran or any of the five recognized forms of Galactic. Once an elevator is told that no more entities will be entering, it will hermetically seal its doors, and within a matter of thirty to sixty seconds the atmosphere of the entities’ home world will be established and its gravity put into effect. Unless otherwise directed, the elevator will proceed to the floor or sector reserved for use by that species. Incidentally, most of the elevators can move horizontally as well as vertically, since very few species will need an entire floor of their own. “Each elevator, as well as each office, will be supplied with an ample number of protective suits designed to fit that elevator's—or office's—race, plus atmospheric helmets and facemasks.” He flicked two more switches, and the view of the elevator's interior was replaced with a cross-section of one of the upper levels of the building. “Now here we have a typical floor plan—the 288th, as I recall. Each section is more than ample to hold up to three hundred members of a race, although it can easily be compartmentalized by so programming one of the desk computers. As you will notice, there is an impenetrable barrier about midway up the south hallway; this separates the environments between races sharing the floor. The only way for a being to cross from one section to the other is by means of the horizontal elevator. I should also point out that the elevators will move to their destinations immediately, but will not open until their atmosphere has been drained and until each passenger is wearing a protective suit. To borrow an old military term, it might be construed as a fail-safe system.
“Each office can be placed in immediate communication with any other office. All interoffice communications will be translated instantaneouslyen route unless caller or receiver designates otherwise. “Every race will have its own cafeteria and sleeping quarters, as well as libraries and, where possible, commercial holo transmissions from its home planet. And, of course, each race will be provided with recreational and medical facilities.”
“Will there be a security force?” asked Krotar. “Absolutely,” said Mallow.
“What will be its composition?”
“Men,” said Mallow.
“I see,” said Krotar. “Why, if I may ask, is the Bureau of Alien Affairs to be erected on Deluros IV, when Deluros VIII or the Floating Kingdom would seem to be the more logical place to build it, if the race of Man is truly interested in convincing the other races of the galaxy of its goodwill?”
“I'm not a politician, Ambassador Krotar,” said Mallow. “I'm just an architect. I was told to erect it on
Deluros IV, and that's where it will go. If I might offer an unofficial opinion, I would estimate that the cost of placing the Bureau on Deluros VIII, which has a far greater gravity, would be so high as to make such a move impossible.”
“Are you trying to tell me that a race that could build the Floating Kingdom and the Deluros VI planetoids, and can keep a standing army and navy numbering in the tens of billions, could not find the economic and architectural means to erect a single dwelling for nonhuman races on Deluros VIII?” “I'm not trying to tell you a damned thing, Ambassador!” said Mallow in exasperation. “If you want to create a scene, why not hunt up Verlor? He's in charge of racial incidents. I just design buildings.” Krotar stood up, towering over both Mallow and the Tri-D image of the 288th floor. For just an instant Mallow feared for his safety, but the Castorian merely stared at him. If there was any expression of rage or indignation on his face, Mallow couldn't detect it. “I think,” said Krotar, and his tones came out infuriatingly flat and unemotional through the T-pack “that you need not bother adding any Castorian artwork to your Bureau.” “I hadn't really planned to,” said Mallow. “Now suppose you tell me just what you came here for.” “That is my business,” said the Castorian. “Yours, as you pointed out, is designing buildings.” After he had left, Verlor came back in. “Well?” he asked.