Free Analog Science Fiction And Fact - June 2014 by Penny Publications Page A

regarded as diabolical. Dokhara, Zifra, Bodajiz—none of the countries where Mishoma was the dominant faith permitted radio transmitters or receivers. Even the Terrans were reduced to sending dispatches by courier.
    The rules strictly and absolutely forbade the courier to take a sidekick along, but no rule prohibited the embassy from hiring a new courier. Collins requested assistance from his mother, she went to the ambassador with an appeal on Baldwin's behalf, the regular courier learned—much to his surprise—that he was too ill to make the run, the alternate who would have ordinarily substituted for him was inexplicably incommunicado, the routine dispatches awaiting transport were reclassified "Urgent," and—since high-priority documents of this nature couldn't tolerate delay—the embassy was compelled to appoint an alternate to the alternate.
    Bureaucracies can be—and usually are—appallingly inefficient, but efficient bureaucrats can—and usually do—find ways to circumvent the regulations.
    Collins' mother was an efficient bureaucrat.
    The Terran Embassy in Kazunori, the capital of Dokhara, had a rooftop shuttle-pad. Baldwin was standing on it less than fourteen hours after he asked Collins for help.
    Collins' mother was a
very
efficient bureaucrat.
8.
    The port of Izmir and the port of Kazunori were both hubs of bustling activity, but the Kazunorian waterfront was also an open-air marketplace. It had a festive, carnival atmosphere that blurred the distinction between work and play, profit and pleasure, business and busyness.
    Ships were docking and undocking. Passengers were embarking and disembarking. Crews were coming and going. Vessels in need of overhaul were being winched out of the water and sailors in need of overhaul were being wenched out of their pay.
    All of that was to be expected. What Baldwin hadn't expected was the motley jumble of kiosks and stalls cluttering the quays. Fresh fruit and vegetables were for sale. So were flowers, pottery, cooking utensils, jewels, tools, weapons, clothes, medicines, amulets, seeds, pets, intoxicants... and so on and so forth. Lack of entertainment was certainly no problem. Acrobats tumbled, dancers capered, poets recited, actors declaimed, storytellers lied, fanatics sermonized, charlatans swindled, singers vocalized, and jugglers played elaborate games of catch with themselves. Ballyhoo spielers made persistent entreaties to passers-by, adding sales pitches to an intermix of overlapping sounds that was already cacophonous.
    It almost had to be the
Izanumi.
Only one other ship had departed Izmir for Dokhara on the afternoon of Escoli's funeral, and Tumanzu wouldn't have had time to get aboard before it sailed. Inquires had revealed that the
Izanumi
was approaching the harbor. Baldwin was lingering on the pier like a ghost condemned to haunt it, watching as the
Izanumi
was gentled into its berth, waiting for the gangplank to be lowered, trying to keep an eye on the crowd
and
on the debarking passengers who were joining it.
    And there he was.
    Not Tumanzu.
    Usiga.
    With a shock of recognition, Baldwin realized that he was looking at a familiar face. He had seen it exactly seven times before. Usiga was manning a booth where customers were competing for prizes by casting darts at moving targets. Presumably, these darts weren't poisoned, but the disguise Usiga had adopted wasn't really much of a disguise. It was only one step removed from the truth. If Usiga had been one of the contestants, he could have won all the prizes with ease. Maybe he had. Maybe that was how he'd become the proprietor of this kiosk. He was sufficiently skillful to have put the previous owner out of business.
    The ship was still disgorging passengers. Tumanzu had not as yet appeared, but Usiga was well positioned to strike when Tumanzu descended the companionway. Could Baldwin intervene before Usiga got his chance?
    Baldwin made no attempt to force his way through the center of the crowd. Too