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settled.
    I thought the worst was over. I thought, in that early day, that I really could do it. Such was my hubris, my namesake: the arrogance of pride and passion. Hope Hubris, the foolish dream of glory.

Bio of a Space Tyrant 4 - Executive
    Chapter 3 — THE TYRANCY
    Emerald took us to New Wash. The Navy landed troops to safeguard my arrival, but Emerald did not trust this. She made sure that no segment of the public had access to me during the transition. “There are always the crazies, the kamikaze assassins,” she said. “We need to get you installed alive, sir.”
    The White Bubble, so recently vacated by Tocsin, was a short distance from the massive New Wash city-bubble, like a satellite, though, of course, it did not orbit the city. It was now flanked by three cruisers and a number of smaller ships; nothing short of a direct military invasion could penetrate that defense.
    We were funneled in on another destroyer. Emerald kissed me at the lock. “Take care of yourself, sir,”
    she cautioned me.
    “My staff will see to that,” I said.
    “For the moment,” she agreed obliquely. “Remember, the Navy is always at your service.”
    She meant more than militarily. I wished I could take her up on it; the Navy had been a competent home for me, in the past. At the moment I wished someone could take me by the hand and guide me to some quiet, safe place where I could just relax for a time. But there was too much to be done; I did not know when I could afford to rest. “I'll remember,” I agreed wanly.
    Then we were moved to the White Bubble. There, at the entrance lock, was my sister Spirit. She was three years my junior but, I think, looked younger. Somehow I still remembered her as a child of twelve.
    As a woman of twelve.
    I moved into her arms. Suddenly I felt much better. Spirit had always been my strength; how glad I was that she had gotten here as fast as I had.
    Spirit got right to work. “You have done a good job of consolidating power, Hope. Now you need to establish a government, at least a temporary one.”
    “I will declare the present mechanisms of government to continue until further notice,” I said. “Then I will revise them as convenient, piecemeal.”
    She nodded appreciatively. “You are better organized than I thought you might be.”
    “It's not my notion,” I confessed.
    “Oh?”
    “Beautiful Dreamer.”
    “Oh.” She understood the reference, of course, but took a moment to digest the implication. “Then let's make notes on your speech.” She turned to Shelia. “Set up a planetary address at the earliest auspicious moment.”
    “Twenty-one minutes hence,” Shelia said evenly.
    “We'll make it,” Spirit said.
    We huddled over it, working out suitable phrasing. The essence was: I am the new government of North Jupiter, by the authority of the Constitutional Convention to Balance the Budget. I declare all the current institutions to remain in force until further notice, on an advisory basis. Life will proceed unchanged until further notice. The leaders of Congress and the governors of all the States of the Union will have twelve hours to acknowledge their acceptance of this state to my office. The members of the Supreme Court will acknowledge similarly. Any failing to so acknowledge will be summarily removed from office thereafter.
    Announcements of new posts and appointees will follow in due course, and the first major effort will be made to balance the budget as of the present.
    Of course, the actual wording was more sophisticated and polite, with due compliments to the good sense of the population. But the message was plain: Accept the new order or else. I didn't like putting it that way, but I had already been convinced by the problems I had encountered that absolute firmness was required, if there was not to be anarchy in short order. Once the new administration was established, I could relax.
    The broadcast was planetary, and the monitors indicated that a goodly portion of