"Thanks, we'll be there this afternoon," Ruth said.
The bus crossed the narrow spit and then stayed well out over the harbor. The sun had burned off most of the cloud cover over the city. The skyline was a jumble of shapes: in the center and to the south were massive square skyscrapers, thin towers, tall buildings connected by bridges a thousand feet above street level. North of that were lower granite buildings in a classic style. In the center were the green parks of the Palace district.
Renner looked thoughtful. "Ruth, think about it. The Emperor is over there. Just lob a big fusion bomb in the general direction of the Palace..."
He stopped because everyone on the bus was looking at him.
"Hey! I'm a Naval Reserve officer!" he said quickly. "I'm trying to figure out how you keep someone else from doing it. With this many people on Sparta, and visitors from everywhere, there's bound to be crazies."
"We get our share, Sir Kevin." Riley emphasized the title so everyone would hear it.
"We do check on people coming to Sparta," Ruth said. Her voice had dropped. "And it's not all that easy to buy an atom bomb."
"That might stop amateurs."
"Oh, all right," Ruth said. "Drop it, huh? It's a depressing thought."
"It's something we live with," Riley said. "Look, we have ways to spot the crazies. And generally professionals won't try because it won't do them any good. Everybody knows the royal family's never all in the same place. Prince Aeneas doesn't even live on this planet. Blow up Serpens and you'll get the Fleet mad as hell, but you won't kill the Empire. One thing we do not do-sir-is tell everybody on a random tour bus all about the defenses!"
"And one thing I don't do," Renner answered, and his voice had dropped low, "is guard my mouth. It would prevent me from learning things. Even so: sorry."
Riley grunted. "Yes, sir. Look over there. Those are the fish farms." He pointed to a series of brightly colored sea patches divided by low walls. "That's another good racket. Fish from offplanet don't do well out in Sparta's oceans. You want sea bass or ocean cat, it'll come from here or someplace like it."
The limousine was waiting at the hotel. Bury wasn't smiling. When they were airborne, he looked to Ruth. "What did Kevin do this time?"
"Eh?"
"The Secret Service asked me to verify that this was indeed my pilot, Sir Kevin Renner. Asked me."
"Oh," Ruth said. "Well, he did talk about lobbing an atom bomb at the Palace."
Bury did not look amused. "I would prefer not to be thrown off this planet."
"It wouldn't help my career much," Ruth said. "Look, maybe I better talk to them."
"You need not bother," Bury said. "Once they were certain of his identity they lost interest."
"Now I know I want to see your file, Kevin," Ruth said.
The limousine stayed low over the outskirts of the central district. Massive granite buildings stood next to parks.
Ruth stared through binoculars. "Department of Public Health," she read. "Stock Exchange. Wow, that's the Colonial Office! It doesn't look big enough."
"Nor is it," Bury said. "That building houses the offices that might be of interest to the general public, and the secretary of state. The computer and most of the offices are scattered all over the city. Many are below ground."
"Maybe someday they'll build a new building and put everything in one place," Ruth said,
Bury chuckled. "That is the new building. You would not suppose its cost, most of it paid for by taxes on interstellar trade."
"It doesn't look new," Renner said.
"No government building looks new," Bury said. "They are deliberately done in classical styles. Some show Russian influence."
"I see plenty of skyscrapers and tall walls, though," Renner said.
"Certainly. Sparta is the financial center of the Empire," Bury said. "Land near the city is very costly. Only the government could afford anything as inefficient as classical architecture. Ah. To illustrate-"
He pointed. "The Blaine Institute."
The Institute looked south at ocean beaches. The complex of buildings rose up the side of a steep cliff. Balconies broke the steep lines, and halfway up was a large flat roof dotted with small trees and picnic tables.
The limousine landed on the roof. Two ramrod-straight young men opened the doors and helped Bury into his travel chair. The ocean breeze was brisk on the rooftop. Sunlight danced on wavetops below, Ruth stretched and took a deep breath. She turned to Renner, but he wasn't looking at her.
Renner stared at a large elderly man in police uniform coming toward them. "Kelley," he said. "Gunner Kelley."
"That's me, Sir Kevin. Your Excellency."
"By damn, it is you. Ruth, this is Gunner Kelley. Imperial Marines. He was in MacArthur. Kelley, this is Lieutenant Commander Ruth Cohen."
"Pleased to meet you, ma'am."
"I thought that was a police uniform," Renner said.
"Well, it sort of is," Kelley said. "I'm security chief here at the Institute. But there's not a lot of need for that, so I've got plenty of time to greet visitors. The Earl will be glad to see you."
"Earl?" Renner said. "Isn't Blaine Marquis of Crucis?"
"No sir," Kelley said. "Not yet. The Marquis isn't as young as he used to be, but he still gets to Parliament." He gestured. One of the uniformed staff opened the door to the interior. Another guided Bury's travel chair.
The inside corridor was short. Scenes from Mote Prime decorated the walls. At the end of the corridor was a semicircular reception desk. The receptionist wore a skirted version of Kelley's uniform, and a businesslike sidearm. She held out thick badges on a tray. Their names and pictures were already on the badges.
"Welcome, Your Excellency. Sir Kevin. Commander Cohen," the receptionist said. "If you'll just thumbprint the badges..."
When Renner touched his thumb to the badge, it glowed softly green.
"Thank you. Please be sure to wear these at all times. Enjoy your stay."
There were three elevators beyond the reception desk. Kelley passed them all and indicated a fourth around the corner, marked PRIVATE. Renner noted buttons for thirty-eight floors. Kelley used a key before punching the button for twenty-four.
When they were inside, Renner frowned. "I thought you said there wasn't much need for security."
"No, I said there wasn't much need for a security chief," Kelley said. "And there isn't. I've got a good staff."
"Do you often have trouble, then?" Bury asked.
"Not too much, Your Excellency. But we have had some threats. There are people who don't like Moties. Don't want us studying them."
The twenty-fourth floor was paneled in dark wood, and thickly carpeted. The walls were hung with photographs. Ruth stared at one of them. "Kevin-Kevin, that's you."
Renner looked. "Yep, in the Museum on Mote Prime. That statue-that was the time machine."
"What?" She started to laugh, changed her mind, and looked more carefully.
"Didn't work."
"Ugh. What are those things attacking? The, uh, time machine?"
"Evil, aren't they? The Moties told us they were mythical demons defending the structure of reality. Later we found out they were Warrior-class Moties. You would not want those loose in the Empire."
Kelley led them to the end of the corridor, knocked, and opened a walnut door. "My Lady. M'Lord, your visitors."
Rod Blaine stood as the others entered. He was far enough away that he didn't have to shake hands. "Welcome to the Institute, Your Excellency. Delighted to see you again. Kevin, you're looking good. Civilian life must suit you.'