"Yes, of course."
"And promise me something else."
&n
bsp; "I'm getting old. Don't count on my remembering too many promises all at once."
"When they elect you governor, do it."
"They will not."
"If they don't, then fine," said Vitaly. "But when they do elect you, as everyone but you fully expects they will, do it."
"No."
"And here's why you must," said Vitaly. "You are best qualified for the job because you don't want it."
"Nobody in their right mind wants it."
"Too many men crave it, not because they want to do it, but because they fancy the honor of it. The prestige. The rank." Vitaly laughed, and the laugh turned into an ugly coughing jag till he was able to get a drink of water and calm the spasms in his chest. "I won't miss that sort of thing when I'm dead."
"Rank?"
"I was speaking of my cough. That constant tickling deep in my chest. Wheezing. Flatulence. Blurred vision no matter how good my glasses are and no matter how much light I have. All the nasty decay of old age."
"What about your bad breath?"
"That is designed to make you glad I'm dead. Sel, I'm serious about this. If someone else is elected governor, it will be someone who wants the job and won't be happy to give it up when the new governor comes."
"That's what they get for deciding, clear off in Eros, that along with supplies, equipment, and expertise, they'll also send us a dictator."
"I was a dictator at first," said Vitaly.
"When we were starting and survival looked impossible, yes, you kept things calm till we could find a way to handle the things this planet came up with to kill us off. But those days are over."
"No they're not," said Vitaly. "Let me lay it out plainly. The ship that is coming to us contains two admirals. One is our future governor. And one is the captain of the ship. Guess which one believes he should be our governor."
"The captain of the ship, of course, or you wouldn't have said it that way."
"A bureaucrat. A climber. I didn't know him before we set out on our own voyage, but I know the type."
"So the ship is bringing us everything we need, plus a power struggle."
"I don't want war here. I don't want bloodshed. I don't want the newcomers to have to conquer an upstart acting governor here on Shakespeare. I want our colony to be ready to welcome the new colonists and all they bring with them--and to unify behind the governor that was appointed for us back on Eros. They knew what they were doing when they appointed him."
"You know who it is," said Sel. "You know, and you haven't told a soul."
"Of course I know," said Vitaly. "I've been corresponding with him for the past thirty-five years. Ever since the colony ship launched."
"And didn't breathe a word. Who is it? Anyone I'd have heard of?"
"How do I know what you've heard and haven't heard?" said Vitaly. "I'm a dying man, don't bother me."
"So you still aren't telling."
"When he comes out of lightspeed, he'll make contact with you. Then you can deal with telling the colonists about him--whatever he tells you, you can tell them."
"But you don't trust me to keep the secret."