Childhood's End - Arthur C. Clarke [36]
"Look," said George, nibbling at a sandwich. "How the devil has Rupert got hold of an Overlord? I've never heard of such a thing-but he seems to take it for granted. He never even mentioned it when he invited us."
Benny chuckled.
"Just another of his little surprises. You'd better ask him about it. But this isn't the first time it's happened, after all. Karellen's been to parties at the White House and Buckingham Palace, and-"
"Heck, that's different! Rupert's a perfectly ordinary citizen."
"And maybe Rashaverak's a very minor Overlord. But you'd better ask them."
"I will," said George, "just as soon as I can get Rupert by himself."
"Then you'll have to wait a long time."
Benny was right, but as the party was now warming up it was easy to be patient. The slight paralysis which the appearance of Rashaverak had cast over the assembly had now vanished. There was still a small group around the Overlord, but elsewhere the usual fragmentation had taken place and everyone was behaving quite naturally. Sullivan, for example, was describing his latest submarine research to an interested audience.
"We're not sure, yet," he said, "just how big they grow."
"There's a canyon not far from our base where a real giant lives. I've caught a glimpse of it once, and I'd say that its tentacle-spread is the best part of thirty metres. I'm going in after it next week. Anyone like something really novel in the way of pets?"
There was a squeal of horror from one of the women.
"Ugh! It gives me the creeps just to think about it! You must be terribly brave."
Sullivan looked quite surprised.
"I'd never thought about that," he said. "Of course, I take suitable precautions, but I've never been in any real danger. The squids know that they can't eat me, and as long as I don't go too close they never take the slightest notice. Most sea-creatures leave you alone unless you interfere with them."
"But surely," someone asked, "sooner or later you're bound to run up against one that thinks you're edible?"
"Oh," replied Sullivan airily, "that happens now and then. I try not to hurt them, because after all I'm anxious to make friends. So I just turn the jets full on and it usually takes only a minute or two to pull free. If I'm too busy to stop and play, may tidde them up with a couple of hundred volts. That settles the matter and they never bother me again."
You certainly met some interesting people at Rupert's parties, thought George as he moved on to the next group.
Rupert's literary tastes might be specialized, but his friendships were wide-ranging. Without bothering to turn his head, George could see a famous film producer, a minor poet, a mathematician, two actors, an atomic power engineer, a game warden, the editor of a weekly news magazine, a statistician from the World Bank, a violin virtuoso, a professor of archaeology and an astrophysicist. There were no other representatives of George's own profession, television studio design-which was a good thing, as he wanted to get away from shop. He loved his work; indeed, in this age, for the first time in human history, no one worked at tasks they did not like. But George was content to mentally lock the studio doors behind him at the end of the day.
He finally trapped Rupert in the kitchen, experimenting with drinks. It seemed a pity to bring him back to earth when he had such a faraway look in his eye, but George could be ruthless when necessary.
"Look here, Rupert," he began, perching himself on the nearest table. "I think you owe us all some explanation."
"Um," said Rupert thoughtfully, rolling his tongue round his mouth. "Just a teeny bit too much gin, I'm afraid."
"Don't hedge, and don't pretend you're not still sober, because I know perfectly well you are. Where does your Overlord friend come from, and what's he doing here?"
"Didn't I tell you?" said Rupert. "I thought I'd explained it to everybody. You couldn't have been around-of course, you were hiding up in the library." He chuckled in a manner