don't want her here only to use her. Nevertheless, she wants to stay and she may be a tool, quite apart from whether we want her to be one or not.'
'And just because she wants to remain on Erythro, you are willing to allow her to do so? Just because she wants to stay out of some perverse desire she can't explain and in which you and I can see no reason or logic. You seriously think she should be allowed to remain here merely because she wishes to? Do you dare tell me that?'
Genarr said with an effort, 'As a matter of fact, I am tempted in that direction.'
'It is easy for you to be tempted. She is not your child. She is my child. She is the only-'
'I know,' said Genarr. 'She is the only thing you have left of - Crile. Don't stare at me like that. I know that you have never overcome your loss. I understand how you feel.' He said this last softly, gently, and looked as if he wanted to reach out and touch Insigna's bowed head.
'Just the same, Eugenia, if Marlene really wants to explore Erythro, I think nothing will stop her from doing so in the end. And if she is absolutely convinced that the Plague will not touch her mind, perhaps that mental attitude will prevent it from doing so. Marlene's aggressive sanity and confidence may be her mental immune mechanism.'
Insigna snapped her head up, her eyes smoldering. 'You are speaking nonsense, and you have no right to give in to this sudden streak of romanticism in a mere child. She is a stranger to you. You do not love her.'
'She is no stranger to me and I do love her. More important, I admire her. Love would not give me that depth of confidence that would permit the risk, but admiration would. Think about it.'
And they sat there, staring at each other.
Chapter 20. Proof
42
Kattimoro Tanayama, with his accustomed tenacity, lived out the year he had been allotted, and was well into another year before his long battle was over. When the time came, he left the field of battle without a word or sign, so that the instruments recorded death before any onlooker could see it had come.
It made little stir on Earth and none at all in the Settlements, for the Old Man had always done his work outside the public eye and had been all the stronger for it. It was those who dealt with him who knew his power, and those who most depended on his strength and policy who were the most relieved to see him go.
The news reached Tessa Wendel early, by the special channel set up between her headquarters and World City. Somehow, the fact that it had been expected for months did not ease the shock.
What would happen now? Who would succeed Tanayama and what changes would be made? She had been speculating on the matter for a long time, but it was only now that the questions seemed to have real meaning. Obviously, despite everything, Wendel (and perhaps all who were involved) had not really expected the Old Man to die.
She turned for comfort to Crile Fisher. Wendel was realistic enough to know that it was not her now clearly middle-aged body (in less than two months, she would be reaching an incredible fifty) that held Fisher. He was forty-three now and the bloom of youth had become somewhat overblown there, too, but it wasn't as obvious in a man. In any case, he was held, and she could still make herself feel that it was she who held him, figuratively, especially on those occasions when she held him, literally.
She said to Fisher, 'Well, now what?'
Fisher said, 'It's no surprise, Tessa. It should have happened before this.'
'Granted, but it's happened now. It was his blind determination that kept this project going. Now what?'
Fisher said, 'As long as he was alive, you were eager for him to die. Now you are concerned. But I don't think you need worry. The project will continue. Something this size has a life of its own and it can't be stopped.'
'Have you ever tried to calculate how much this has cost, Crile? There'll be a new Director of the Terrestrial Board of Inquiry and the Global Congress will certainly pick someone they can control. There'll be no new Tanayama before whom they must all cower - not in the foreseeable future. And then they'll look at