"Could it be an attempt by some faction to seize power?"
"Impossible. The way it was set up, political power was not desirable, being unprofitable and mostly drudgery. If they upset the apple-cart, the balance was so fine only chaos would result and there would be nothing to take power over. The only reason parties have developed now is due to differing views on how to rectify the situation, and blaming different things for being responsible. But no power motive."
"Very well then, the situation is a Class A emergency, but we've handled them before."
Kim allowed one fleeting sigh of despair. He had thought for a while that this Roald could take hold, could be competent, but—
"If you have ever consulted our financial records, sir," he said with heavy sarcasm, "you would find that our largest contribution comes from Lyrane. They have established our organization as tops in the good-deeds field, and nearly every person on Lyrane has stock in us, along with a sizable payment since we threw a high premium at them, fearing just this eventuality."
Roald appeared thoughtful, then said, "Well, continue with standard procedures for a Class A emergency. I'll see what can be done."
Kim made one last desperate appeal. "I firmly believe that this should be a Class AA emergency!"
"Your field of specialization is overriding your business sense, Kim. You are fascinated, as an economist, by this Lyrane system, and you would like to see us put it back on its feet so you economists would have a live experiment to observe. I'm sorry, but it isn't practical. You know how fantastically expensive a Class AA is, and no one planet is about to get it."
Kim cowered mentally. This wasn't the indolent playboy, but the Old Man, giving him a good dressing down. He left the office with restored faith, but a faith that was interlaced with doubt in regard to Roald Gibbons.
Roald appeared to Kim to be uninformed and incompetent; but on the contrary, he had learned the business thoroughly from his father. There was one division of the company that he knew especially well.