"E. E. Doc Smith - D' Alembert 5 -Appointment at Bloodstar" - читать интересную книгу автора (Smith E. E. Doc)

an unexpected problem that I don't like the looks of at all."

He leaned back in his huge chair, lacing the fingers of both hands together behind his
neck. "With Princess Edna the only child of the Emperor, and heir to the throne, her
marriage in seventeen days will be the biggest social event of the decade. And, as you
might expect, the nobility is flocking to Earth in record numbers. Even the most minor
barons who can scrape together enough cash are going into hock to come. There are
going to be more titles in our hotels than in our libraries.

"We expected this, of course, and have been preparing our security precautions for
months. What we didn't expect is that someone would be making a determined effort to
kill certain select members of the nobility."

Jules grimaced with the appropriate concern, and after a moment his boss continued.
"One marquis stepped into a sabotaged elevator tube and plummeted twenty-eight
stories to his death. A viscountess died in a fire that turns out to have been deliberately
set. Those two deaths might have been considered coincidence, but there were three
other incidents that were far less subtle-a countess and two dukes were victims of
blatant attacks by gangs of thugs who struck, performed their assassinations, and got
away again before we could marshal our own forces.

"One possibility we're looking into is the terrorist/ nationalist organizations that, for one
reason or another, want their own worlds to break away from the Empire. We've got the
local offices checking on that angle, but frankly I don't hold much hope for that
explanation. The coordination makes it all suspect. Plus, there's the fact that the victims
were all carefully chosen."

"In what way?"

"Each victim was getting along in years. Each was among the staunchest supporters of
the Emperor, above the faintest taint of suspicion, even during the Banion scandal. And
each will be succeeded, according to law, by an heir who is, from our point of view, less
than satisfactory. One heir is wavering just this side of mental incompetence. One is, by
private reports, a drug addict, and another is a public alcoholic. The remaining two are
spineless cowards. And, with the possible exception of the drug addict, there is nothing
we can do to legally intervene and prevent these people from gaining their inheritances.
The Emperor can disentitle anyone he chooses, of course, but to fly in the teeth of the
Stanley Doctrine without any hard evidence to back him up would cause serious
repercussions. It would cause at least a minor revolt among some lords who count on
the Doctrine as a shield against imperial displeasure. If they felt they could no longer be


file:///F|/rah/E.E.%20Doc.%20Smith/Smith%20-%2...Vol%205%20-%20Appointment%20at%20Bloodstar.txt (11 of 81) [2/3/03 12:44:03 AM]
 file:///F|/rah/E.E.%20Doc.%20Smith/Smith%20-%20d'Alembert%20Vol%205%20-%20Appointment%20at%20Bloodstar.txt

certain of safety there, open warfare might result."

Jules nodded. The Stanley Doctrine, established two centuries ago by Empress Stanley
Three, laid down strict rules for inheritance of titles and division of lands. It legitimized
every title now in existence. For the Emperor to set that aside without just cause would