At long last, a servant, dressed in a comparatively plain black uniform, came to escort Nikola to his employer. He led him down equally baroque corridors until one ended in a pair of engraved mahogany doors, which the servant opened for Nikola and closed softly behind him. The room centered around a fireplace at least four feet tall and six across. A dog house worth of logs crackled and popped heartily within it. However, a subtly disguised heating vent on the left wall told Nikola that the fire was for show only. A pair of chairs sat comfortably arranged before the heath.
Before he could take in the rest of the room, his host stepped out of a side chamber, where he had doubtlessly secreted himself purely to make an entrance.
"Ah, Nikola Yuran. How good of you to come. Please, take a seat," he proclaimed, indicating the far chair.
"Sergey Ivanoff, I had no idea how much you cared for me. If, as they say, good things come to those who wait, you've forced quite a collection upon me tonight," Irony mixed disconcertingly with a wolfish grin as Nikola moved to the chair not offered to him. His grin spread into a smile at the flicker of annoyance in Sergey's face. However, Sergey suppressed the feeling and took on a mantle of dignity as he took the rejected seat.
"I am sorry to here you were kept waiting."
Passive voice, Nikola thought, he deflects blame on instinct.
"I can, of course, trust you to keep all matters discussed from this point on strictly between ourselves," Sergey stated, implying a question with the slightest raise of an eyebrow.
"If you could not, you would not have asked for me. However, I can only keep a secret that I know, and your message was rather vague. 'Come to my house to be part of something great' I believe was the exact phrasing," Nikola replied, voice dry and disinterested as always.
"Sir, you and I have always had an understanding. Whatever else we think of one another, I can respect your science and you can respect my politics. We are both skilled, and unless I very much misjudge your character, we are both ambitious." Sergey observed Nikola, but he betrayed nothing. That robot.
"Men have grown fearful of greatness. No one attempts to expand his power beyond the borders carved out by rulers who dared to fight. A scientist cannot test questions that the mob public considers inhumane. We aim for mediocrity, because it is cheap compared to the sacrifices needed for glory. I never attempted to challenge this before, for I lacked the tools. Now, however, I have almost everything I need."
Nikola watched the wild light in Sergey's eyes warily. His old acquaintance had slipped dangerously close to exposing uncensored emotions. Whatever could pull his mask away warranted caution.
"What do you still need?" Nikola asked, knowing what the reply would be.
"You."
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