McKie took heart at the revealed weakness. It was a particular kind of flaw that often went with wealth and power. He had had experience in dealing with such flaws.

“Fanny Mae, am I your guest?” he asked.

“Indeed,” the Caleban said. “I open my door to you.”

“Am I your employer, Fanny Mae?” Abnethe demanded.

“Indeed, you employ me.”

A breathless, crouching look came over her face. Her eyes went to slits. “Very well. Then prepare to fulfill the obligations of . . .”

“One moment!” McKie said. He felt desperate. Why was she moving so fast? What was that faint whine in her voice? “Guests do not interfere,” Abnethe said.

“BuSab makes its own decisions about interference!” McKie said.

“Your jurisdiction has limits!” she countered.

McKie heard the beginnings of many actions in that statement: hired operatives, gigantic sums spent as bribes, doctored agreements, treaties, stories planted with the visos on how this good and proud lady had been mistreated by her government, a wide enlistment of personal concern to justify—what? Violence against his person? He thought not. More likely to discredit him, to saddle him with onerous misdeeds.

Thought of all that power made McKie wonder suddenly why he made himself vulnerable to it. Why had he chosen BuSab? Because I’m difficult to please, he told himself. I’m a Saboteur by choice. There was no going back on that choice now. BuSab appeared to walk down the middle of everywhere and always wound up on the high road.

And this time BuSab appeared to be carrying most of the sentient universe on its shoulders. It was a fragile burden perched there, fearful and feared. It had sunk stark claws into him.

“Agreed, we have limits,” McKie growled, “but I doubt you’ll ever see them. Now, what’s going on here?”

“You’re not a police agent!” Abnethe barked.

“Perhaps I should summon police,” McKie said.

“On what grounds?” She smiled. She had him there and knew it. Her legal staff had explained to her the open association clause in the ConSentient Articles of Federation: “When members of different species agree formally to an association from which they derive mutual benefits, the contracting parties shall be the sole judges of said benefits, providing their agreement breaks no law, covenant, or legative article binding upon said contracting parties; provided further that said formal agreement was achieved by voluntary means and involves no breach of the public peace.”

“Your actions will bring about the death of this Caleban,” McKie said. He didn’t hold out much hope for this argument, but it bought a bit more time.

“You’ll have to establish that the Caleban concept of discontinuity interprets precisely as death,” Abnethe said. “You can’t do that, because it’s not true. Why do you interfere? This is just harmless play between consenting ad—”

“More than play,” the Caleban said.

“Fanny Mae!” Abnethe snapped. “You are not to interrupt! Remember our agreement.”

McKie stared in the direction of the Caleban’s unpresence, tried to interpret the spectrum-flare that rejected his senses.