He smiled faintly. “Do you know what I was doing when they came to tell me you had come?”
“How can I guess?”
“Preparing your double.”
“My double?”
“A man as like you as we could find. We were going to hypnotise him, to save him the difficulty of acting. It was imperative. The whole of this revolt depends on the idea that you are awake, alive, and with us. Even now a great multitude of people has gathered in the theatre clamouring to see you. They do not trust... You know, of course—something of your position?”
“Very little,” said Graham.
“It is like this.” Ostrog walked a pace or two into the room and turned. “You are absolute owner,” he said, “of more than half the world. As a result of that you are practically King. Your powers are limited in many intricate ways, but you are the figure head, the popular symbol of government. This White Council, the Council of Trustees as it is called.”
“I have heard the vague outline of these things.”
“I wondered.”
“I came upon a garrulous old man.”