Standing as we entered, they greeted me cordially, and, once the formal
greeting of a short bow and a blessing was finished, we all sat down,
they in their previous seats, I next to Wagner, and Bernibus in a small
chair in the corner, away from the circle of the delegates. He, that is,
Wagner, then opened our dialog:

"Welcome to the council, Jehu," he said.

"I was under the impression that the council was much larger," I replied
candidly.

"It is, but this is the leadership; we felt that the clamors of a full
legislature would be overwhelming to you at first. I know it still
overwhelms me sometimes," he laughed, and the others with him. That
explanation sufficed at the time, but I later found that Wagner had
taken control of the council himself, and that it had no real power: it
never met for more than ceremonial matters, the Khedive Kibitzer,
Wagner, controlling the rest. But I get ahead of myself.

One of the others then interjected, "Our purpose now, Jehu, is not so
much to make decisions as to inform you of the decisions we have already
made, not that we mean to exclude you from our counsels, but we've been
preparing for this moment, your arrival, for many years, since it was
foretold long ago."

"Decisions with what end?" I asked of them.

"The reestablishing of an efficient and healthy climate, both naturally
and philosophically, one in which tradition, history, and experience
reign supreme," Wagner said in such a way that I couldn't help but think