Eating his breakfast with one hand, Regnar flippedthrough a few news sheets with his other, and snortedas he read a headline. "Look at that!" he exclaimed indisgust to his mother, who was just coming in from outdoors."The Gathering! They must be hard up for news; this is thefourth day in a row that it's been the top story."

Activities on a distant planet seemed of remote interesthere on Azure, even if the Orb was the capitol of theImperium and location of the government of all these colonyworlds.

"Well, it is an important event," his mother respondedmoderately.

"'As the time draws near for the youngest of theEmperor's sons to reach his majority, the princes aregathering at the capital for this momentous event'" he read"`Hotels are filled to capacity with the entourages fromdistant places, although all of the princes themselves are beingaccommodated within the palace grounds.'

"`Speculation is intense regarding the identity andcharacter of the youngest of the princes, whose attainmentof majority triggers this momentous event.'" He read on,"`Each prince is expected to perform some deed of benefit tothe public in order to demonstrate his abilities, so that TheEmperor may choose the most worthy as his successor.'"

"Poor bastards," Regnar observed, looking up at hismother with a rueful grimace. "A contest of good deeds! Andmost of them will end up going back to being nobodies whenit's over. Just poor bastards," he repeated.

"That sounds disloyal," his mother responded sharply.

"I call it obscene," Regnar replied heatedly. "Goingaround impregnating women all over the Empire whetherthey want you or not, and leaving the poor kids to grow upignorant of who their father really is."

"It's the custom, son, and it ensures that there will begood, strong genes in the imperial family and The Emperorwill be someone who's really worthy.

"A contest to decide who will be Emperor! It's a wonderthey don't kill each other."

"A man who did that would never be acknowledged asEmperor."

"Oh, Mom, you just can't imagine how it would be for afellow."

"I've certainly tried," she replied, sitting down oppositehim. Regnar gave her his customary smile. He was so veryfond of this young-looking lady who was his mother. Theywere perfect pals, and he always felt free to express himselfcandidly with her. Mostly she already seemed to know how hewould react to things.

He was offended by this event; how could she bring himto say the things that were deep within him? "The princescan only do their best at the tasks assigned them," she said."Perhaps they don't want to be in that position: their normallives disrupted, everyone knowing about—their birth and soforth, maybe wanting the big prize, maybe scared. How wouldyou feel if it were you?"

It was his nature that he truly considered her question, notgiving a flip answer.

"I guess I'd be one of those who'd be scared. Imaginefacing the possibility of being made Emperor; beingresponsible for—all that!" He flung his arms wide, to take inall that they knew of the universe.

"I suppose that one could do poorly on his assigned task,she said. "Then there would be no worry about being chosenEmperor, or even being given a post in the government. Onecould just take his annuity and go back to wherever he camefrom."

"And what? Live in shame?" he interrupted. "A guy'd justhave to try to do his deed, even if he hated it."

"Why?" she prompted.

"For his own self-respect," Regnar answered sharply,looking swiftly at her in surprise that she wouldn't haveknown that for herself.

"How could he have any self-respect to start with," sheasked, then. "If he knew he was a bastard, just the product ofsome scheme to provide sons for The Emperor?"

"Self-respect comes from what you are inside, you knowthat, Mother. A person can't help how he came to be born!It's what he's done as he grew up that makes him a man or apathetic creature."

His mother smiled, and Regnar laughed. "You suckeredme into that, didn't you?" he asked, giving her arm a playfulshove. "Just like to hear me spout about high morals and allthat honor stuff you've been feeding me all my life."

"I do like to hear you talk," she admitted. "More coffee?"She got up and moved to the stove, her back to him.

"Thanks."

"Well, I hope that a lot of what I've talked about over theyears has sunk in," she said, fiddling with the coffee pot. "Ihope that if you have to face a trial of some sort you'll makeme and your father proud."

Regnar moved to get up, but she motioned him to remainseated.

"I've told you a very bad lie, my son, and it has hurt meto do it. Now that you are to be a man—legally—I have to tellyou—" She stopped, unable to step over that boundary thatshe had observed for so long.

"Go on," he said, and his voice sounded a little deeperthan she remembered its being. His eyes drilled into her face;she forced herself to look at him: her handsome son. Thosecandid eyes which could become introspective or determined,the mobile lips, the fair skin, the image of the man she hadloved.

"Your father did not die on his flight from here to Ohryan;he's still alive." She could feel the tension that sprang throughhis body.

"He deserted you? Us? Then to hell with him! I don'twant to know him!"

"No, no. It wasn't that! He wanted to stay—so much!He swore he wouldn't go back, that he'd give up everything;but of course I couldn't let him do that! I loved him so, and Icouldn't cause him to dishonor himself. I made him go."

"Was he already married?"

She did not answer that, but went on, "I fell in love withhim the first time I saw him, coming down the ramp from theship. There were lots of officials there, and he was wearingjust a commander's uniform, but my eyes went right to him; Iwas taken with him in an instant. Later he told me that he hadfelt that current between us, too, but he had gone past, then,and he couldn't do anything about it right then. Eventuallywe met again; I'll tell you about it when we have time. Wehad wonderful days together, and he wanted to stay. He saidthat he'd done his duty, and now he wanted something forhimself."

Regnar now got up, and moving to her, he put his armaround her shoulders.

"It's ok, Mom. I don't mind being a love child if that'sreally how it was. After all, if princes can live with beingbastards, so can I."

He would have continued, but a gesture of her fingerstoward his lips made him pause.

"That's just it, my darling son. You are a prince."

His expression was blank as he looked down at her. Shewondered if she had really said the words aloud or, as she hadso many times in practice, only mouthed them to herself.

"Do you hear?" Her voice was low but firm. "You are aprince, a son of The Emperor; the last son of The Emperor,"she went on quickly, to get it all out before something shouldstop her. "And they are waiting for you. They are all waitingfor you, who will be of age: twenty-five, next month."

He turned away, picked up his wallet and keys.

"Regnar!"

"Time to get to work!" At the door he stopped for amoment, then turned and gave her a full, grave look. "I haveto think about this," he said.

* * *

Think? How could he think about it? It was soimprobable, so strange. Here he was, in his own home.He walked out and got into his vehicle. The streets werecomfortably familiar: houses, vegetation, signs. At the officehe went in and the heavy door closed behind him with asatisfying whoosh; he was in the well-appointed offices of themoderately prestigious engineering firm that had employedhim right out of school. It had seemed to him to be exactlythe right firm for him at this stage in his life, a firm that wouldgive him experience and allow him to advance as he becamemore capable. He nodded to the receptionist and went on tohis `office', just a cubicle, really, but private, and there on hisdesk were the figures he'd been working on yesterday.

He sat down and picked up a stylus.

`A prince?' he thought, `I'm a prince? What kind of lifedoes a prince live? I guess he doesn't punch up numbers allday. Does he give orders? About what? They'll want me togo to The Orb, won't they? What are the others like?' Thequestions whirled past him like meteorites; there was no timeto answer them.

Jerry put his head in the door. "Hello, hello? Where areyou? Have you met the girl of your dreams or what? You'vebeen sitting there like a goof ever since you came in."

"Jerry!"

"Yep, that's me. Very good. Now, what day is it? Are wegoing to finish this report or what?"

"I feel strange," Regnar answered.

"Yeah, well, you look strange." Jerry came in and shut thedoor, leaning on it. "What's up?"

"I guess I'll have to leave the firm."

"Leave! Why? What did you do? Whatever it is, we'll fixit. Come on, Reg, you couldn't do anything so bad that they'dcan you! You're the fair-haired boy around here, and I meanmore than literally."

Regnar smiled at his friend and stood up, which put themface to face in the small room.

"You'd go with me, wouldn't you, Jerry?"

"Maybe," his friend answered, dubiously. "Where, and forhow long?"

"The Orb. And I don't know."

"The capitol? Hey, we couldn't even get a bunk in a third-rate hotel, if they have such things there. There's big doingson, you know. What's gotten into you?"

Regnar did not know how he would have answered; hisphone rang just then.

"It's your mother," said her familiar voice. "You shouldcome home now; there are people here to talk to you."

"All right," he answered briefly, and switched off.

"Jer," he said tentatively, suddenly shy of his lifelongfriend.

"Your mom sick?"

"No. Stick by me, will you?"

"Sure. You want me to go with you now?"

"No. Later. Call me, or I'll call you."

He moved to squeeze past Jerry and open the door. "Ihave to go home," he said, and Jerry, looking at his departingback, shook his head in puzzlement. It wasn't like Regnar tobe vague or obscure in either speech or action, but today hewas both. Jerry thought it likely that his first, off-hand guessabout him having fallen for a girl must be right. What elsemade a guy act like that? And he knew that there had beenfew girls that Reg was really interested in, so he might behard hit by the real thing.

Still, that wouldn't make him leave the firm. Even if therewere a woman here who interested Reg, so what? As long asthey kept it low key, what difference would it make?

Jerry went back into his own cubicle, across the hallfrom Reg's, and sat, pondering. He was here because ofReg, he believed. Not that he had been a poor student; alittle more than average, actually, but an established firmlike this usually took in only one junior member at a time,and they had actively recruited Regnar. Then, inexplicably,they had given him an offer, and who would turn down achance like that? When he and Reg had been put on thesame assignments as partners, Jerry had decided that he wasprobably riding on Reg's coattails. Certainly Reg could dohis work without Jerry's help. It would have been easy tobecome offended, resentful, but all things considered it wasa nice arrangement. He was getting experience that wouldhelp his career; he was making good money (terrific money,for a person just out of school); he was working with hisfriend. How could he lose?

Even if Regnar left the firm, as he had just mentioned,Jerry didn't have to. He felt sure that he'd shown that he wasa good employee in his own right. Yet, Reg had asked himto stick by him. Did that mean that he wanted Jerry to leave,too? Jerry didn't know enough about what was going on tomake any kind of decision, so why not wait and see? Surelytheir friendship was an established thing. What could interferewith that?

They had been friends since boyhood, when they hadboth been put into the same classroom, for the second grade.As time went by they got to know each other well, but theirmutual activities were only at school. Jerry was never invitedto Regnar's house, nor was Reg allowed to go into Jerry's.The mothers at school said that Reg's mother was `stuck-up';thought herself too good for the rest of them. Not that shehad anything to be stuck up about, they added: a lone womanwithout any visible support, who had a son and said that shewas a widow, but who knew?

It made no difference to Jerry, except that theirinteractions were often truncated and, not knowing how Reg'shome life really was, Jerry imagined the mother as a sterndisciplinarian who never gave Reg a hug as his mother did.As they matured he could see that Reg was genuinely fondof his mother, and spoke of her as a person with whom heshared good times and exchanged thoughts. His conversationsoften included the phrase `Mother and I were talking the othernight, and we agreed that—"

Yes, Reg was a mother's boy, Jerry thought, and thatetched away a little of his respect for his friend. `I wonderwhat he would do if he had to live on his own,' Jerrysometimes thought. It was a real surprise when Reg got a part-time job the year before he started college, and kept it all theway through. He kept up his grades, too. Jerry admired that;well, heck! he admired almost everything about his friend.He had become especially grateful that Reg wasn't muchinterested in girls; they were crazy about him, but he neverreally paired up with one for long. That left Jerry a mostlyclear field.

Jerry became aware that something was surging throughthe office: that sub-rosa excitement, like when someonehas unexpectedly been fired, or the chairman of the boardsuddenly shows up in the lobby. He raised his head, and couldsee through the intervening layers of glass that a group washuddled by the receptionist's desk. Hurriedly he jumped upand began to walk toward them. All the cubicles he passedwere empty. After a few paces he could see that their faceswere showing stunned surprise; some, even, unbelief. Thereceptionist was shaking her head.

"I know it seems crazy, but I heard it on the news. Tune itin yourself if you don't believe me."

"What's happened?" Jerry asked lightly. "Did someonewin the lottery?"

"Well, sort of," someone replied. "It's hard to believe,that's for sure—Gen, here, says that your pal Regnar is theImperial Prince from here."

Jerry looked at the man; he could not say anything. Hisskin stood up in goose-bumps. Reg's enigmatic remarks thismorning became perfectly understandable.

"I suppose he could be," he said at last, slowly. "He'salways been kind of—special."

The group fell silent. Betty Hollis, the usually stern-facedand businesslike secretary to the first vice-president, jumpedup impulsively, her face flushed with excitement. "I'm goingto ask the boss," she said, to everyone's amazement. Shenever called him anything except `Mr. Stonely', and she neverlooked excited.

"Do you think they knew when he was hired?' someoneasked. There were shrugs.

"You must have known." It was a kind of accusation,directed at Jerry. "After all, you've known him all your life."What could he say? `Yes, I should have known'? `Henever let on'? `I feel stupid and used'?

He turned away. "It's not official yet, is it? Let's wait andsee." He went back to his cubicle for his coat and then left bythe stairs, avoiding the group still gathered, speculating.

There was a large vehicle parked in front of the house,unmarked but very official-looking, and as Regnarapproached his front door it opened and someonemurmured, "My Lord."

The room seemed crowded with large men, formallydressed; Regnar's eyes skimmed past them to his mother,Aletta, standing small and slender among them. Her eyeswere bright, her carriage very upright and formal.

One of the men edged in front of him, saying, "We arehere to formally acknowledge your status as Imperial Prince,Lord Regnar. I am Lord Farley, head of the delegation."

Something about the way the man pronounced his owntitle struck Regnar as uncertain. "Lord Farley?" Regnarrepeated, cocking an eyebrow at him. The man grew red andlowered his eyes. "The commoners call us so," he excusedhimself.