"Not at all. The anteater was a gift from Apollo Milton Obote of Uganda. It is an important appointment." I thought for a moment he was making a joke, but his face seemed to warn me against asking, and I realised that here, more than anywhere else, our conversation must be overheard and recorded. After a moment longer, he smiled. "To meet with the Emperor in person—in private—is a remarkable thing, Berihun Bekele. There are men in the palace this very morning who would give everything for a chance encounter with our Emperor, merely long enough to share a joke with him and assure him of their loyalty. For you, he has twenty minutes after the anteater. Would it ease your heart to know who comes before the anteater?"