The doors of the reception hall were closed again, but there was no
lock now. One of the two doctors whom Zorchi had trusted was there
now, waiting for the stragglers who came in slowly as a result of our
broadcast. We couldn't reach them all, of course, but some could be
saved. The men who had fought with us were treated and suspended. Even
the boy and his dog had finally reached us and been put away.
In the main room of the executive vault, Carmody was waiting for
Rena and me as we came in, haggard from lack of sleep, but somehow
younger-looking than he had been since we had first revived him.
He stood up, managing a tired smile. "The first work's done, Tom," he
said. "It wasn't too hard, once they learned Defoe was suspended; a lot
of the others were afraid of him, I guess. So far, I've only contacted
the ones I can trust, but it's a beginning. I've gotten tapes of their
delegation of authority to you as acting assistant Chief Underwriter. I
guess the factor that influenced them most was your willingness to give
up all hopes of suspension for the emergency. And having Zorchi was a
help, too--one man like him is worth an army now. I'll introduce you
tomorrow."
He stumbled out, heading toward the sleeping quarters.
Well, I had the chance I'd wanted. And I had his promise to put off
suspension until things were running properly. With time to develop a
small staff, and with a chance to begin the work of locating the men to
study the problems that had to be solved, I couldn't ask for much more.
Zorchi grinned at me. "Emperor Weels!" he mocked.
I grinned back. "If you ever say that seriously, Luigi, I want you to
say it with a bullet through my brain. I've seen enough cases of power
corrupting."
* * * * *
For a second, he studied me. "If that day should come, then there shall
be the bullet. But now, even I must sleep," he said.
Then he glanced at Rena. "I have left orders that a priest should be
wakened."
She colored faintly.
"You'll be best man, I suppose?" I asked.
This time, even his beard couldn't conceal his amusement. "Is Zorchi
not always the best man?" he asked as he left us alone.
I stared at the vault that would be my home for the next twenty-five
or fifty years--until I was an old man, and the rest of the world was
ready to be awakened. "It's a lousy place to spend a honeymoon," I told
Rena.
She leaned against me. "But perhaps a good place to bring up children,"
she said. "A place to teach them that their children will have a good
world, Tom. That's all a woman ever wants, I guess."
I drew her to me. It was a good way to think of the future, whatever
happened. And it _would_ be a better world, where the virtues of the
Company could be used.
Probably it wouldn't be perfect.
Even the best form of government all the experts could devise couldn't
offer a permanent solution. But it could give men a chance to fight
their way to a still better world.
* * * * *
[Transcriber's Note: There are two section V headings as per the
orginal publication.]