"L. E. Modesitt - The Ecolitan Institute 01 - Ecologic Envoy" - читать интересную книгу автора (Modesitt L E)

Restinal picked up his case, placed it on his lap, opened it, and pulled out the carefully drawn list the Elders
Quaestor and Torine had hammered out in the short hours before he had been dispatched.

"Keep the list. The names on it are predictable. They begin with Tormel, Reerden, and Silven."

Restinal kept his mouth shut. The list began with Tormel, Reerden, and Silven. But there were only two copies of the
list--the one he had and the one Torine had kept. He, Restinal, had handwritten both.

"I can see you haven't had that much contact with the Institute, Werlin, and I'm afraid that will make your
acceptance of your role that much more difficult.

"In answer to your unspoken question, none of us has seen the list, but we do know the personalities of the
individuals who made the choices and the parameters for selection. I'll admit, in candor, that I would be hard-pressed
to name the next person in order on the list, although we could probably pick eight out of ten."

Restinal allowed his features to express mild interest. "Perhaps you have already made a choice, then?"

"As a matter of fact, I have. But the name is not one on your list."

The Minister for Interstellar Commerce suddenly felt sticky in his formal Macks, as if he had been placed squarely in
the Parundan Peninsula rain forests. "If you would explain--"

"Werlin, the Institute is not obligated to explain anything, but since you are intelligent and informed, I will put it in
simple terms. The same reason why the House of Delegates cannot select any Envoy is why anyone chosen from dial
list will not succeed."

"I fail to see that. Most governments select their Envoys." Restinal was beginning to see why Elder Torine had
delegated the job to him and why few of the older Delegates cared much for the Institute.

"Most Envoys fail. We do not care to be associated ~with failure. The question is not political. The question is
power. Politics is a system of using nonovert force to work out an agreeable compromise teat does not lead to
violence. The more equal the base of power, the more political the means of agreement can be." Restinal was lost, and
he knew his face showed it. The Prime shook his head.

"Let me attempt to explain by analogy. When two torkrams contest for superiority, do they fight for blood? Of
course not. They fight until one loses his footing. In fact, the amount of violence is minimal. If a prairie wolf should
wander into the hills, however, the torkram becomes a merciless attacker. The first is an example of near equality of
force, as well as an example of similar social behavior which allows what might be called a negotiated settlement. The
second is a struggle for survival.

"You and the other Delegates are assuming that in negotiating with the Empire the basis of force is equal and the
social behaviors behind the political structures are alike. Both are questionable assumptions."

"Are they really?" questioned Restinal. What did torkrams have to do with the picking of Envoys anyway?

"As a consequence," continued the Prime, "we have picked our own nominee."

Restinal repressed a whistle. Elder Torine didn't like being crossed, and neither did Elder Quaestor, and the Prime
was blithely crossing them both. "Do you honestly think the Delegates will agree?"