Steve nodded to show he'd received the message.

Karlstrom returned the salute of the two ensigns guarding the turnstile, stepped into the gleaming metal cylinder and was rotated through onto the blue carpet of the Oval Office. The President-General stood in his usual opening position, gazing out at the computer-generated landscape beyond the tall, curved windows.

Today's picture was his favourite view of Pre-Holocaust New England in the fall, leaf-strewn gra.s.s overhung by yellow, gold and russet trees which framed a white wooden building surmounted by a tall spire with a cross on top. A church. A place where people gathered to worship.

Religion. The Family had retained the concept but dispensed with the buildings. Twice a day, the soldier-citizens of the Federation gathered in various-sized groups at their posts or work-places to offer up prayers to the Supreme Being which, in their case, was not G.o.d but the President-General.

Whenever Karlstrom entered the Oval Office for a one-on-one meeting, Jefferson always had his back turned. As a past-master himself in the art of manipulating people, Karlstrom believed it was a deliberate ploy by the PG, part of a continuing programme to create and maintain the aura of unchallengeable superiority. By ignoring the person entering, he was saying: This view from my window which holds my attention is more important than you and the business you have come to discuss and, what is more, I do not feel threatened by your presence.

And by averting his face in those first few crucial moments, the P-G left his visitor wondering what kind of reception they were going to get. The uncertainty usually put them at a disadvantage which the P-G would then exploit in the subsequent conversation. Rule One of Man-Management: If in doubt, maintain effective control by undermining the self-confidence of your subordinates.

None of this had quite the same effect on Karlstrom because he had grown up alongside Jefferson and, for the last ten years, as head of AMEXICO, had conferred with him daily. He understood the process, knew the whole thing was an act, but Jefferson still kept on trying to put one over on him. Maybe he just liked to keep in practice.

Karlstrom halted at the appropriate spot, coughed politely, and waited for his presence to be acknowledged.

What would it be this time - silver-haired statesman, Prince Machiavelli, concerned father of his people, or the regular guy - one of the boys?

Having psyched himself up into the appropriate mood, the P-G ceased his contemplation of Pre-H New England church architecture and turned on the charm. 'Ben!" The P-G offered Karlstrom a firm hand and ten thousand volts of sincerity, then invited him to take a seat.

Regaining the high-backed swivel chair behind the blue leather-topped desk, Jefferson gestured towards his video console. 'I've been reviewing Brickman's summaries of what occurred at the trading post and -' He broke off.

'How is our young hero by the way?"

'Never better,' said Karlstrom drily.

'Good. Those casualty figures - nearly two hundred thousand dead can we place any reliance on that?"

'I think so. Brickman obviously didn't do a body count. That was the casualty figure the Mute elders came up with. Their day-to-day computations don't embrace numbers of this magnitude, but it squares with our own estimates based on the video-tapes made by the reconnaissance overflights."

Jefferson nodded. 'Yes, I saw them."

'They were subjected to careful a.n.a.lysis - but even if you allow for a thirty per cent error that still leaves a big pile of dead meat."

'Plus five wheel-boats..."

Karlstrom nodded. 'Biggies. Great Lakes trade-ships with a hundred and fifty ratings and twenty-five officers.

Plus military units; samurai cavalry - and perhaps infantry.

At least two thousand men. Bad news whichever way you look at it."

'And the Yama-s.h.i.ta lost a similar boat and its expeditionary force in the spring..."

'On Lake Michigan. Hirohito's stand-in at Syracuse must be tearing his hair out. Well - he would, if he had any."

The P-G thought this over. 'What's been the feedback from our friends in Ne-Issan?"

The question caused Karlstrom to shift in his seat. 'The reaction's been somewhat mixed. Apparently, Ieyasu ' 'The Lord Chamberlain .... '

'Yes ... was very upset when we sank the Lake Michigan wheel-boat without prior consultation." Karlstrom spread his hands. 'I explained that our hand was forced by the time factor, but they seem to want to have their cake and eat it. The Shogun and the rest of the TohYota family are h.e.l.l-bent on destroying the Yamas.h.i.ta and with it, the rest of the Progressive movement. The trouble is, they can't do it without our help, but they want to do it their way.

'They're also still very angry over the number of high-ranking j.a.ps that Brickman's crew took out at the Heron Pool. The thought of out-landers killing samurai offends their code of honour. That bushido s.h.i.t is a real heavy number. When it comes to killing their own kind they like to do things by the book. And that means settling things between themselves."

'But you managed to talk him round..."

'It wasn't easy, but-' Karlstrom shrugged. 'They've got more to lose than we have."

'You mean Ieyasu has. As I understand it, Yoritomo is still unaware that our covert support of leyasu's intelligence network is helping to keep the TohYota in power." 'Absolutely - and we plan to keep it that way."

Gluing Karlstrom to his seat with an imperious gesture, the President-General got up and began to pace slowly between his desk and the fireplace on the far side of the room. Karlstrom slid round sideways on his chair to avoid getting a crick in the back of his neck.

'Have you considered how this latest episode might affect the Federation?"

'The Yama-s.h.i.ta's military expedition?" The question caused Karlstrom to raise his eyebrows. 'It's nothing to do with us. They flouted the rules laid down by the shogunate. They tried to avenge the death of their domain-lord by an illegal act of war and came a cropper.

End of story."

'Not quite. They also tried to divide and rule the Plainfolk - and almost succeeded."

'until Mr Snow pulled the rug out from under them."

Karlstrom smiled. 'The sonofab.i.t.c.h may have wrecked The Lady, but in a round-about way we owe him a vote of thanks. If the deal with the D'Troit and C'Natti had gone through as planned, we could have been in big trouble."

'We still may be. Supposing they try again?"

'They won't,' said Karlstrom firmly. 'Not after the beating they took.

Our inside sources all report that, as yet, none of the families involved - the Yamas.h.i.ta, Ko- Nikka or Se-Iko- have a clear idea of what happened at the trading post. All anyone knows - and that includes our friend Ieyasu - is that five ships were lost, probably with all hands."

'But the full story is bound to filter through eventually."

Jefferson paused half-way through a turn and pointed to the VDU on the side-table on the left-hand side of his desk. 'According to Brickman, anyone in the D'Troit, C'Natti and San'Louis delegations who survived was allowed to return home - to spread the word. That was nearly two months ago. More than enough time for that word to have reached any one of those five Iron Master outstations."

'That's true,' admitted Karlstrom. 'And the j.a.ps will then know that their boats were wrecked and their men were killed - along with thousands of others - by a tidal wave raised by She-Kargo summoner. Mr Snow might be dead, but as you saw from Brickman's report, there are other powerful summoners. We got one ourselves. And that's a threat the Yama-s.h.i.ta can't ignore."

'I take the point, but the Iron Masters don't think like we do. They can accept defeat, but not loss of face." The P-G went on the prowl again. 'Let me run a scenario by you and see how it sounds."

'Okay .... ' 'You've mentioned the involvement of the Se-Iko and Ko-Nikka families. They were given that trading concession by the Shogun as a pay-off for switching their support from the Yama-s.h.i.ta to the Toh-Yota and here they are, two ships down and out of pocket. I shouldn't be surprised if they haven't already sent a delegation to the Shogun to ask for redress."

'Tough on them,' said Karlstrom. 'They got involved in an illegal operation and ended up getting their fingers burned. They won't get any joy from Yoritomo - or Ieyasu."

'They certainly won't get any compensation,' agreed Jefferson. 'But there are other forms of redress."

'Such as a government-led punitive operation against the Mutes..."

'It's not out of the question. Despite their fall from grace, the Yama-s.h.i.ta still enjoy the covert support of the other progressive domain-lords. And because of that support the Toh-Yota were unable to eliminate the Yama-s.h.i.ta family and seize its lands - despite the treason charges levelled against them. Charges which were supported by the majority of the other domain-lords.

And we know why. They all knew that if they stood by and let the Yama-s.h.i.ta family go to the wall, they could suffer the same fate.