Foundation's Edge - Isaac Asimov [89]
"I agree, Speaker Gendibal, I agree," said Delarmi. "My suggestion, however, refers back to your role as Hamish trader. To make it indisputably authentic, what better companion need you ask but a Hamishwoman?"
"A Hamishwoman?" For a second time in rapid succession, Gendibal was caught by surprise and the Table enjoyed it.
"The Hamishwoman," Delarmi went on. "The one who saved you from a beating. The one who gazes at you worshipfully. The one whose mind you probed and who then, quite unwittingly, saved you a second time from considerably more than a beating. I suggest you take her."
Gendibal's impulse was to refuse, but he knew that she expected that. It would mean more enjoyment for the Table. It was clear now that the First Speaker, anxious to strike out at Delarmi, had made a mistake by naming Gendibal his successor--or, at the very least, that Delarmi had quickly converted it into one.
Gendibal was the youngest of the Speakers. He had angered the Table and had then avoided conviction by them. In a very real way, he had humiliated them. None could see him as the heir apparent without resentment.
That would have been hard enough to overcome, but now they would remember how easily Delarmi had twitched him into ridicule and how much they had enjoyed it. She would use that to convince them, all too easily, that he lacked the age and experience for the role of First Speaker. Their united pressure would force the First Speaker into changing his decision while Gendibal was off on his mission. Or, if the First Speaker held fast, Gendibal would eventually find himself with an office that would be forever helpless in the face of united opposition.
He saw it all in an instant and was able to answer as though without hesitation.
He said, "Speaker Delarmi, I admire your insight. I had thought to surprise you all. It was indeed my intention to take the Hamishwoman, though not quite for the very good reason you suggest. It was for her mind that I wished to take her with me. You have all examined that mind. You saw it for what it was: surprisingly intelligent but, more than that, clear, simple, utterly without guile. No touch upon it by others would go unnoticed, as I'm sure you all concluded.
"I wonder if it occurred to you, then, Speaker Delarmi, that she would serve as an excellent early-warning system. I would detect the first symptomatic presence of mentalism by way of her mind, earlier, I think, than by way of mine."
There was a kind of astonished silence at that, and he said, lightly, "Ah, none of you saw that. Well well, not important! And I will take my leave now. There's no time to lose."
"Wait," said Delarmi, her initiative lost a third time. "What do you intend to do?"
Gendibal said with a small shrug, "Why go into details? The less the Table knows, the less the Anti-Mules are likely to attempt to disturb it."
He said it as though the safety of the Table was his prime concern. He filled his mind with that, and let it show.
It would flatter them. More than that, the satisfaction it would bring might keep them from wondering whether, in fact, Gendibal knew exactly what it was he intended to do.
6.
THE FIRST SPEAKER SPOKE TO GENDIBAL ALONE that evening.
"You were right," he said. "I could not help brushing below the surface of your mind. I saw you considered the announcement a mistake and it was. It was my eagerness to wipe that eternal smile off her face and to strike back at the casual way in which she so frequently usurps my role."
Gendibal said gently, "It might have been better if you had told me privately and had then waited for my return to go further."
"That would not have allowed me to strike out at her. --Poor motivation for a First Speaker, I know."
"This won't stop her, First Speaker. She will still intrigue for the post and perhaps with good reason. I'm sure there are some who would argue