Colin had grown up in a fairly middle-class home on one of the second-rank worlds. It hadn’t been an easy life, but it hadn’t been a hard one, and it wasn’t unknown for some of the inhabitants to make something of themselves, provided that they escaped being noticed by the governors. His family had always had to work to put food on the table, however, and he’d been used to working from a very early age… but looking into the entrance hall was like looking into a different world. The men and women who ran the Empire, or used to run the Empire, wanted for nothing and it showed.
The entrance hall would have outshone the greatest hall on his homeworld. Everywhere he looked, he could see men and women having a good time, carefree and wanting for nothing, although he could see some of them looking around to ensure that no one else was having a better time. As he studied them, refusing to be pushed along by the flower girls, he saw signs that all was not right. Some of the men were desperate, trying hard to convince themselves that they belonged her, laughing too loudly at every little incident. Some of their dates were growing heartily sick of them and were already looking for other meal tickets, while the men and women of the most important Families swept by with their noses in the air. Some of the snubbed guests, looked down upon by those whose support they needed, retreated to the corners to remain outside public view. Others glared back, daring the secret masters of high society to try to put them in their place, testing the real strength of their former patrons.
He shook his head finally. They were all crazy. Their world had turned upside down when his starships had battered through the defences of Earth and forced a surrender. Even if Tiberius’s plan worked and he was killed, they would only be delivering the Empire into Admiral Wilhelm’s hands, not recovering it for themselves. The handful of Family Members who were competent and capable of doing what needed to be done — Kathy and Tiberius, among others — would be buried by the others, just for telling them that they needed to cut back.
No wonder Mars is angry, he thought, as their escort finally managed to urge them on into the next room. It would have been… unseemly for the Thousand Families to grow their own food, or tend their own animals, regardless of the advantages of such a step. They could have fed an entire planet without ever having to see a farm, but that wasn’t good enough for them. They had, instead, turned Mars into the main supplier of food and drink for Earth, at astonishing expense. Prices, he’d heard, had more than tripled after the rebellion, but it wasn’t as if there were many other places to sell it. Most planets could grow their own food easily. To give the Empire its due, they had generally insured that most planets could feed themselves. Mars had a captive market, but it was one that cut both ways.
The next room was a monstrous swimming room, with two massive swimming pools, dozens of hot tubs and even a sauna field, holding enough steam inside to warm a hundred people. The swimming pools were full of bright young things, men and women showing off their perfect bodies — the result of cosmetic adjustment to fit the latest styles — in hopes of being noticed by those higher up, or someone who just wanted a fling. Only a handful of the women in the pool wore costumes, he noted with a flush of slight embarrassment; they swam naked as if they didn’t have a care in the world. The flower girl hurried them through the swimming room and directly into the next room, an internal garden with plants and flowers from all over the Empire.
Colin found himself becoming dazed as they walked through room after room. It was unbelievable wealth, completely wasted on nothing, but entertainment. There were so few people outside the Thousand Families — and even the merest of the Thousand Families was unimaginably wealthy — who could have afford such a display, even if they had wanted to make such an unnecessary display of wealth. It was like one of the illegal computer simulations he had played with as a child, one where the player had unlimited funds and could do whatever he pleased, pretending to be one of the charmed inner circle. The lifestyle of the Thousand Families was a matter of rumour, but rumour hadn’t even touched the true scale of their wealth, or how they used it.
The reporters are going to have a field day, he thought, as they passed into yet another room. He had lost track of how far they’d gone into the massive building, which might have been the point. They could have gone right into the building, or they might not even have left the entrance region, rather than seeing the inner heart of the Family. The reporters, once they told the Empire just what kind of luxury the Thousand Families enjoyed, would unleash a storm.
“This is the main reception room,” the flower girl said finally, with a curtsey. They found themselves at the top of a long series of stairs, leading down into a swarm of people, the real movers and shakers of the Empire. Colin spotted Gwendolyn Cicero and a handful of others holding court, while Jason Cordova, resplendent in his Admiral’s uniform, was lecturing a crowd of young boys on space combat tactics. Colin’s eyes flickered, almost involuntarily, to the sword on Cordova’s belt…
I’m an idiot, he thought, without heat. Oddly, it almost felt good to be finally taking a step forward, even if it was an insanely risky one. One way or the other, the question of who run the Empire — and whose reform program would go into effect — would be settled at the wedding.
“President Colin Harper, Admiral of the Shadow Fleet, and Prime Minister and First Among Equals Blondel Dupre,” the master of ceremonies thundered, as they started to descend the steps. The crowd glanced up at them, took in their faces and uniforms, and pasted expressions of welcome on their faces. Colin, who had plenty of experience with people who were trying to convince him that they liked him, could see the truth. Only a handful of men and women in the room, mainly representatives from the smaller Families, were pleased to see him. The remainder hated him for shattering their world. “Give them due honour, as they deserve.”
Colin had half-expected to find themselves talking to no one, but Kathy Tyler, wearing a simple blue dress that looked stunning on her figure, brought them into a discussion with a pair of representatives from junior Families. Colin listened with half an ear at first — most Family representatives were unimpressive — but as they continued to talk, he found himself paying more attention. A plan to continue democratising their workforces and paying more wages, as well as chances for proper advancement, was certainly worth advancing.
Blondel added her own comments as the discussion became more detailed. The Empire’s normal tactic for striking workers had been to turn the SDs on them, but without the SDs the workers had started to take over entire industries, which started to damage the already-frail economy. The workers didn’t think that they had much to lose, but the truth was that altering the economy had to be done carefully, or all would suffer. The plan to improve conditions and to ensure that competence was rewarded with advancement was effectively giving the workers what they had already, but if it was used carefully, the workers might acquire the working habits of the first-rank worlds. They, at least, had not forgotten how to be competitive.
A dull rumble of drums brought them all to attention, facing the small dais in the centre of the room. Colin had wondered how they were going to fit all of the thousands of guests into the main room, but it appeared that most of them were not going to be watching the wedding directly, but would be viewing it from their positions. Tiberius entered from one side of the room, walking alone and wearing a simple black suit, looking neither left nor right as he reached the dais. For a man who had decided to use his wedding as a chance to commit murder, Colin decided, he was looking remarkably calm. He’d seen Admirals facing an easy victory who’d looked more concerned.