China-blue eyes glared vacantly back at him.
"I am Jherek Carnelian. A friend of Yusharisp's," he told them agreeably.
"The leader, the one in the middle, is known as Chief Public Servant Shashurup," the Duke of Queens informed him.
Jherek made another effort. He waved his fingers. "Good afternoon, Chief Public Servant Shashurup!"
"Why-ee (skree) do you continue-oo too-too-to tor(roar)-ment us?" asked the CPS. "All we a(kaaar)sk(skree) is (hiss) that-tat-tat you do-oo-oo us(ushush) the cour(kur-kur-kur) tesy-ee of com-com-communicat(tate-tate)ing our requests to your representat(tat-tat)ives!" He spoke wearily, without expectation of answer.
"We have no 'representatives', save ourselves," said Jherek. "Is there anything wrong with your environment? I'm sure that the Duke of Queens would be only too pleased to make any adjustments you saw fit…"
"Skree-ee-ee," said CPS Shashurup desperately. "It is not(ot-ot) in our nat(tate-tate)ure to (skree) make(cake-cake) threat(et-et-et)s, but we must warn you (skree) that unless we are re(skree)lea(skree)sed our peo(pee-pee)ple will be forced to take steps to pro(pro-pro)tect us and secure(ure-ure) our release. You are behaving childishly! It is imposs(oss-oss)ible to believe(eve-eve-eve) that a race grown so old can still(ill-ill) skree-skree yowl eek yaaaarrrrk!"
Only Mrs. Underwood showed any genuine interest in the Chief Public Servant's attempts to communicate with them. "Shouldn't you release them, Duke of Queens?" she asked mildly. "I thought it was argued that no life-form was kept here against its will."
"Ah," said the Duke, dusting at his braid, "that is so, by and large. But if I let them go immediately, some rival will acquire them. I have not yet had time to display them as mine, you see."
"Then how long must they remain prisoners?"
"Prisoners? I do not understand you, Mrs. Underwood. But they'll stay here until after this party for Mongrove, at least. I'll conceive a special entertainment later, at which I may display them to full advantage."
"Irr-re-re-sponsible oaf(f-f-f)!" cried CPS Shashurup, who had overheard some of this. "Your people already suck(uck-uck) the universe dry and we do not complain(ain-ain-ain). Oh, but we shall see (skree-skree-skree) a change when we are free (ee-ee-ee-ee)!"
The Duke of Queens glanced at his index-finger's nail, in which a small, perfect picture formed. It showed him the party above.
"Ah, Mongrove has arrived at last. Shall we return?"
12. In Which Lord Mongrove Reminds Us of Inevitable Doom
"Truly, my dear friends, I, too, disbelieved, as you do…" moaned Mongrove from the centre of the hall, "…but Yusharisp showed me withered planets, exhausted stars — matter collapsing, disintegrating, fading to nothing … Ah, it is bleak out there. It is bleak beyond imagining." His great, heavy head dropped towards his broad, bulky chest and a monstrous sigh escaped him. Massive hands clasped themselves together just above his mighty stomach. "All that is left are ghosts and even the ghosts fade. Civilizations that, until recently, spanned a thousand star-systems, have become merely a whisper of static from a detector screen. Gone without trace. Gone without trace. As we shall go, my friends." Mongrove's gaze upon them was a mixture of sympathy and accusation. "But let my guide Yusharisp, who risked his own life to come to us, to warn us of our fate, and to whom none but I would listen, tell you in his own words."
"Scarce(skree)ly — scarcely any life survives in the universe," said the globular alien. "The process of collapse continues faster than (roar) I predicted. This is partially (skree) the fault of the people of this planet. Your cities (yelp) draw their energy from the easiest available (skree-skree) source. Now they (roar) suck raw energy from disintegrating novae, from already (skree) dying suns. It is the only reason why (skree) you still (yelp) survive!"
Bishop Castle stood at Jherek's left shoulder. He leaned to murmur: "In truth I become quickly bored with boredom. The Duke of Queens' efforts to make entertainment from that alien are surely useless, as even he must see now." But he lifted his head and dutifully cried: "Hurrah! Hurrah!" and applauded.
Mongrove lifted a hand. "Yusharisp's point is that we are contributing to the speed with which the universe perishes. If we were to use less energy for pursuits like — like this party — we could slow down the rate of collapse. It is all running out, dear friends!"
My Lady Charlotina said, in a loud whisper, "I thought Mongrove shunned what he called 'materialism'. This talk smacks of it, if I'm not mistaken. But, then, I probably am." She smiled to herself.
But Li Pao said firmly: "He echoes only what I have been saying for years."
An Iron Orchid, in red and white checks and a simple red and white domino, linked arms with Bishop Castle. "The world does grow boring, I agree, most concise of clerics. Everyone seems to be repeating themselves." She giggled. "Especially me!"
"It is even in our power, thanks to our cities, to preserve this planet," continued Mongrove, raising his voice above what had become a general babble of conversation. "Yusharisp's people sent us their finest minds to help. They should have arrived by now. When they do, however, there is just a chance that there will still be time to save our world."
"He must be referring to those we have just seen in the Duke's menagerie," said Mrs. Underwood. She gripped Jherek's arm. "We must tell Lord Mongrove where they are!"
Jherek patted her hand. "We could not. It would be in very bad taste to spoil the Duke's surprise."
"Bad taste?"
"Of course."
She subsided, frowning.
Milo de Mars went by, leaving a trail of perfectly symmetrical gold six-pointed stars in her wake. "Forgive me, Lord Mongrove," she fluted, as the giant petulantly brushed the metallic things aside.
"Oh, what self-satisfied fools you are!" cried Mongrove.
"Should we not be? It seems an excellent thing to be," said Mistress Christia in surprise. "Is it not what, we are told, the human race has striven for, all these millions of years? Is it not contentment?" She twirled her Grecian gown. "Is that not what we have?"
"You have not earned it," said Li Pao. "I think that is why you will not make efforts to protect it."
Amelia smiled approval, but Jherek was puzzled. "What does he mean?"
"He speaks of the practical basis of the morality you were so anxious to understand, Mr. Carnelian."
Jherek brightened, now that he realized they touched upon a subject of interest. "Indeed? And what is this practical basis?"
"In essence — that nothing is worth possessing unless it has been worked for."
He said, with a certain slyness, "I have worked hard to possess you, dearest Amelia."
Again amusement threatened to get the better of her. The struggle showed on her face for only a moment before she was once more composed. "Why, Mr. Carnelian, will you always insist on confusing the issue with the introduction of personal matters?"
"Are such matters less important?"
"They have their place. Our conversation, I thought was a trifle more abstract. We discussed morality and its usefulness in life. It was a subject dear to my father's heart and the substance of many a sermon."
"Yet your civilization, if you'll forgive me saying so, did not survive for any great length of time. A couple of hundred years saw its complete destruction."
She was nonplussed, but soon found an answer: "It is not to do with the survival of civilizations, as such, but with personal satisfaction. If one leads a moral life, a useful life, one is happier."
He scratched his head beneath the tweed cap. "It seems to me that almost everyone at the End of Time is happier, however, than were those I encountered in your Dawn Age era. And morality is a mystery to us, as you know."