Maske: Thaery Read Online Free PDF Page B

handsome. His garments were impeccable, tending perhaps toward fashion rather than tradition. Dark yellow pantaloons fitted without a crease into black boots encased in silver filigree.
    To his plum red waistcoat was affixed the iron slange of the Ymphs; he wore no other culbrass. The black cutaway cape, tightly molded to his shoulders, flared loose at the hips. A tall black dath 15 enhanced his already noble stature. Under the brim a fringe of dark curls framed a broad forehead; proud nostrils accented a high-bridged nose. The black eyes were wide and glossy; the full mouth drooped at the corners. He stood less than fifty feet from Jubal, who studied him in fascination. Remarkable circumstance!
    The chamber was still; no sound, scuffle of foot, cough or murmur disturbed the silence. Jubal leaned back into the cushions of the couch. Mieltrude and Sune stared raptly at Ramus Ymph, though with different expressions. The Servants sat behind their desks blank as stones: eyes unfocused, emotions indeterminate.
    Ramus Ymph turned to face the Servants. His two sponsors spoke in unison: “We are Ymph ilk; our caste is high. Here is Ramus Ymph, our first and best. We require that he be urged into Servantry.”
    “The request is noted,” said Nai the Hever, now the Senior Servant. “Ramus Ymph, we recognize your presence!”
    The sponsors spoke on in unison: “He will now state his doctrines. Let the examination proceed.” Turning smartly on their heels, they marched to places left and right of the podium.
    Nai the Hever, slender and silver-haired with silver-gray eyes and a thin ironic mouth, spoke: “We thank the Ymph ilk for their sacrifices—first Rohad tragically dead, now the notable Ramus. Let it be known that our examination may not be easy or casual. The problems of Thaery weigh on our minds; they must be solved correctly. I therefore invite the nominee to submit his views.”
    “Venerable Servants!” spoke Ramus Ymph. “I am anxious to apply my energies to these problems.
    Admittedly they are real and urgent. I hereby dedicate myself to their dissolution! The weal of Thaery hangs in the balance!”
    Ambish the Quorce, newest of the Servants, a large grave man, ponderous of jowl and abdomen, made the response. “We are Servants; we are likewise nobles of Wysrod and not figments of pedantic abstraction.
    We are aware of each other; we know how each other’s lives have gone, what causes we have advocated, what deeds we have done. Certain folk have suggested bold and unprecedented methods—I might substitute the words ‘brash’ and ‘irresponsible’—to alter the conditions of today. What is your opinion of this?”
    Mieltrude sighed and made a quick fluttering gesture. “What a hateful despot is Ambish! Always he reminds me of a shoad sitting on a glacier.”
    Sune spoke more fervently: “Lynaica has described his personal habits: he is incredible! Each day follows an unalterable routine, to the second. He enforces impossible schedules upon Lynaica, all in the name of Regularity!”
    “I doubt if he will endorse Ramus,” said Mieltrude in a wry voice.
    “I find him altogether unpleasant,” Sune declared. “Still—what does it matter? Your father will endorse.”
    “If he intends the marriage, and why should he not?”
    Sune gave her mouth a queer crooked twist. “Listen: Ramus speaks!”
    “The future is an enigma,” said Ramus Ymph. “The road across the future is strewn with obstacles; there are many dangerous detours. How shall we avoid them? We must use the best techniques at hand. Let me explain myself in this manner: if a person is coping with Problem A, and he finds that Solution B produces no effect, then he must consider Solutions C, D and E.”
    “What if Solutions C, D and E, in dissolving Problem A, produce Problems F, G and H, to an even sharper detriment?” asked Ambish.
    “It becomes our duty,” said Ramus Ymph, “to consider possibilities and to calculate their risks.”
    “I