Sum nodded. "An apt description."
Arnheim tossed off the rest of his drink, then placed the cup on the table and folded his arms. "Perhaps, then, you should explain to me a little more about this Goatha."
Havu Da Miraac pondered the human Billy Pratt sitting nervously across the folding table from him. Pratt had seemed to enjoy the trip into the capsule on the elevation field, and had almost squealed with delight as he stood, clothes and all, in the clenser to rid himself of the dust. But, soon after the human had eaten his rations, he plunged into long, silent periods punctuated with twitches and looks over his shoulder through the view bubble. There were only a few of the humans on the street. Most of them were in the eating place. Havu sighed. He hadn't enjoyed the experience nearly as much as he had hoped he would. Pratt had been silent, jumping, groping under his shirt. Soon Havu would have to order him out so that the human could get some sleep before the next day's pointless work. Perhaps a Goatha existed, to whatever small degree, in the treatment of the original lots of humans. Havu still couldn't see the Goatha working on the circus people. He wished he had imagination enough to work the Goatha on the Imperial Chamber for tying up guards to supervise the remains of inept revenge.
"Pratt, before you asked about the Goatha."
The human jumped and quickly withdrew his hand from under his shirt. "Yes." Pratt took a deep breath, then nodded, letting the air out slowly. "Yes."
"Well?"
Pratt shrugged. "I just don't understand it. You Nuumiians have made a religion out of hurting people?"
"No, no." Havu shook his head. "The Goatha is not hurting people, except as a peripheral function of what you call revenge."
"I don't get the difference."
Havu frowned, then leaned on the tiny table. "Goatha we use to mean what you call revenge, but we use the same word to describe what you call justice. In your language, Goatha literally means an evening of scales."
Pratt shook his head. "Now I'm certain I don't understand." He half turned and pointed a finger toward the village street dotted with tired humans trudging their way back from the eating place. "This is not what we call justice. As near as I can figure it out, your Goatha has your Empire taking out its frustrations on these people, and they aren't even the ones who put the brakes on your bunch. I don't see any 'evening of scales' here."
Havu nodded, then shrugged. "To some, the humans are of one body—that by subjecting one human to a Goatha the entire body of humans is subjected—"
"Stuff and nonsense."
Havu sat up and his fingers closed around the handle of the stun gun he had placed on his lap. "Explain that."
"If what you say is true, then there would be no reason to do what you are doing to these people. Not all of them. You could satisfy this Goatha by doing it to only one human."
Havu released his grip on the weapon and studied the human. He had said in words what Havu had almost thought many times. The Imperial Chamber's Goatha—it's form?—was a makeshift affair, an excuse, a rationalization, and a poor one at that. "True, this is a poor example of Goatha."
Pratt leaned back in his chair and folded his arms. The human, seemed no longer nervous. "Give me a good example of a Goatha."
"Very well." Havu thought for a moment. "A classic Goatha is told of in the Nuumiian Chronicles. It seems that Hakkir and Joldas were brothers, and both desirous of obtaining Aiela for a mate. Aiela favored Hakkir over Joldas, and Joldas set about the task of disgracing Hakkir in Aiela's eyes. Joldas stole some livestock from his father's estate, sold it, and made it appear as though Hakkir had performed the deed. When the deed was discovered, Hakkir's father disowned him and banished him from his father's land. When Aiela heard of this, she also disowned Hakkir and turned her favor to Joldas." Havu said as an afterthought, "this is called the Benth."
Billy Pratt frowned. "Benth?"
"Yes. The foundation of every Goatha is the Benth—the imbalance of the scales—the cause, if you will. How would you feel if you were Hakkir; that is, how would you feel toward Joldas?" "Not good. I don't know if I'd kill him, but the urge would be there."
"That would be unartistic, crude striking out, Pratt, not Goatha. But, you understand the Benth?"
"I think so. The Benth for the Goatha the Imperial Chamber is working on those people out there is that the Empire has a tradition of expansion, but that the Quadrant Assembly—largely in the control of humans—put a halt on it. Therefore, the Chamber picked another bunch of humans to work their Goatha on, much like Hakkir picking just any Nuumiian off the street to get back at Joldas. Is that about it?"
Havu sat back, scowled at the human, then shook his head. "For the moment, let us only consider Hakkir and Joldas." Havu realized that he was feeling slightly ill. It was true that the Goatha of the Imperial Chamber did not bear close examination. But, to question a Goatha dictated by the Royal Family? It had never been done.
"Havu, what about Hakkir and Joldas? I think I understand the Benth"
Havu let the use of his familiar name pass without notice. "Very well. From the Benth Hakkir could design either a Jah or a Najah to work on Joldas. The Jah is to deny a goal." "Like killing Aiela. That would deny her to Joldas." Havu nodded. The human appeared very quick. "But, instead, Hakkir chose the Najah. The Najah allows the object of revenge to achieve the goal that caused him to Benth, or make the un-evening of the scales. But, it is done in such a manner that the achievement of that goal evens the scales—Goatha."
Billy Pratt nodded. "Joldas gets the girl, but finds out he doesn't like what he gets."
"Yes," Havu leaned back and sipped at his drink, thinking that he was, after all, enjoying his evening. "Next, you must understand Hakkir's feelings about Aiela and his father. His father had not believed him when Hakkir had claimed innocence."
"So Hakkir's father had also unevened the scales, as well as Aiela. She didn't believe him either."
Havu smiled and nodded. "He decided to work Jah on his father, whose goal was the honor of the family name, and on Aiela, whose goal was to mate with a rich husband. All of these elements, you understand, become parts of the same Goatha. Where the art comes in is that Hakkir must work the Jah on his father and Aiela, and the Najah on Joldas with the same act."
Billy Pratt studied the top of the table as he rubbed his chin and nodded. "Sweet revenge."
"I do not understand."
Billy looked at the Nuumiian. "When an act of revenge is particularly apt—when the revenge fits the crime, so to speak, we humans call it sweet revenge." He nodded again. "I think the Goatha is something I can understand. Go on. What did Hakkir do?"
"Hakkir disappeared to begin a new life under another name, leaving behind a note confessing all of his crimes in such a manner that Joldas was implicated and the information made public."
Billy Pratt held up his hands. "Wait. Let me see if I can tell what happened. Joldas was put up for trial?"
"Yes."
Billy nodded. "And it wiped out his fortune."
"He was found guilty and was required to pay the court a large sum. Too large."
"This public disgrace, of course, ruined the father's good name, his Jah, and left Joldas without a bean, Aiela's Jah." Billy leaned back and smiled. "And, of course, since Aiela was mated to a pauper, she became something less than desirable."
"A veritable monster."
"Joldas's Najah." Billy nodded again. "There is something of beauty in the Goatha."
"There is a part that I haven't explained. The Hazb makes the Goatha complete, and with his note, Hakkir also performed the Hazb."