If the Ixians bad been safe and careful all of us nght now would be sitting around a campfire wearing skins This guild can make us great-I tell you we can be the wings of the Impenum Right now this moment as we argue a new humanity is being conceived and we have the chance to shape the child thai will be born Hesitate now and the chance will never come again As the Impenum develops that child will grow and if we hide on Tupile for how long' a century9 two centuries9-when we come out of our burrows and look at him we 11 see that he can fly all nght but his wings won t be Guild ships But they can be we can be those wings-if we remember who and what we are and be bold' His speech moved them, and a unanimous board affirmed his polity The approaches would continue, mixing boldness with a re served prudence based on a realistic apprais al of current politics They sent another emissary this time to die governor of Nabatea who proved more temperate in his reaction Even so, die Nabatean was not inclined to believe claims put forth by an agent who had never seen his superiors (having gotten his instructions by radio) and the governor demanded a demonstration The Guild there fore transported the governor to the Imperial Court m three standard days, a journey which usually took two years (Initiating a practice that was later followed without exception a Guild pilot brought the governor s ship into orbit and docked it within the heighhner The Nabateans were confined to their own craft during the voyage, and were never permitted a glimpse of the Guild ship or its crew) The Emperor Saudir I was then involved in touchy dealings with the Landsraad over the form of a government dial would permit both parties to thrive The revelation of the Guild, whose claims were manifestly true brought a pause to the Cornno Landsraad talks while Saudir integrated the potent new factor of the Guild into his political calcu lations He saw three alternatives deal witii die Guild on a basis of mutual advantage seize control o