“That's it!” bellowed the Governor. “You've got two days to put your affairs in order and clear out.
You're fired!”
“I wouldn't release that to the press for a few hours yet, Josh,” said Hill. “And why not?”
“It won't make the headlines until they're through running the story about Canphor VI turning down our apology.”
The intercom flicked off without another comment from Bellows. “We haven't got much time,” said Hill to his aides. “Three hours from now every human in the Deluros system will be screaming for war, and by tomorrow morning the rest of the human worlds will be out for blood too. If Josh wants to keep his political scalp, he'll have to attack—and if I know Josh, he'll procrastinate until it's too late.”
“I don't see that you can do anything about it,” volunteered one of the aides. “That's why I'm your boss instead of the other way around,” said Hill. “Send the following message to Greeley, unscrambled.'’ He paused, trying to get the words straight in his mind, and then began dictating. Admiraclass="underline"
The content of this message is of such import I that we've no time for code. The planned attack on
the Canphor system will take place in five days’ time. The delay is regrettable, but the bulk of our
fleet is engaged in maneuvers on the Rim. Do not—repeat, do not—move in until that time, as you
can expect no assistance from Deluros VIII prior to the return of the fleet. Should there be any
doubt whatsoever concerning your orders, return immediately to base at Deluros V.
Melvyn Hill,
Assistant to the Governor
Hill looked up. “What's the latest frequency that Canphor VI has cracked?” “H57, about a week ago.”
“Good. Send it on H57, but in Terran. We don't want to make it look too easy for them.” “What if Greeley attacks?” asked an aide. “He won't,” said Hill. “He doesn't know what the hell I'm talking about, so he'll come racing back to base, just in time to help fend off the Canphor fleet.” Hill walked out his door and strolled casually over to Bellows's office. He smoked a cigar, checked his watch, decided that the message would have been sent and intercepted by now, and walked in. The security agents had already been instructed that he was no longer a member of the staff, and they barred his way. After sending through his formal request to see the Governor, he was kept cooling his heels in the outer office for another hour before he was finally ushered in. “I don't know why I'm wasting time like this,” began Bellows. “I've got nothing to say to you.” “But I've got a lot to say to you, Josh,” said Hill. “Especially since this is probably the last time we'll ever speak together. May I sit down?”
Bellows stared hard at him, then nodded. “Why did you do it, Mel?”
“I suppose I should say I did it for you,” said Hill, “and in a way I did. But mostly, I did it for Man,'’ He paused. “Josh, I don't want to startle you, but you're going to have a war on your hands in less than a day, and there's no way in hell you can get out of it, so you'd better make up your mind to win it.” “What are you talking about?” demanded Bellows. “Canphor VI,” said Hill. “And possibly Canphor VII too. They'll be attacking Deluros VIII very shortly. It'll take very little effort to beat them back, and not much more to defeat them. They're operating on the assumption that we're unprotected.” Bellows reached for his intercom panel, but Hill laid a hand on his arm. “No hurry, Josh. Greeley will be back ahead of them, and has probably got everybody in an uproar already. Let's talk for a few minutes first; then you can do anything you want to me.” Bellows sat back in his chair, glaring. “Josh, I'm not going to tell you how this came about. It's so simple you wouldn't believe me anyhow, and besides, you'll be able to speak with a little more forcefulness and moral outrage on the video if you don't know. But the thing is, it's started. Man's about to make his first move back up the ladder, and you're going to go down in history as the guy that did it. It won't be completed in your term, or your lifetime, or even in a millennium, but it's started now and nothing's going to stop it. “You've got the people behind you,” Hill continued, “plus the unswerving loyalty of the military. This battle won't amount to anything more than a minor skirmish, and knowing you, I'm sure you'll offer very generous terms to Canphor when it's over. But the very least the legislature will demand is that the Canphor system become a human protectorate. They'll want more than that, but I imagine you'll get them to compromise there. Whatever the result, the Canphor worlds will contribute their taxes to Deluros VIII, and our tariffs will reflect their change in status. “And once you find out just how easy this is, it'll occur again and again in some form or another. You're going to be riding a tidal wave of sentiment, and you're either going to steer it where it wants to go or get thrown out of the saddle within a month You'll be very careful and meticulous, and you'll always pay lip service to the Democracy. Perhaps it will even remain as a figurehead of galactic power, but the handwriting will be on the wall. Man's going to wind up calling the shots again.” “I don't know what you think you've done,” said Bellows, “but whatever it is, it can be undone. If there really is an alien attack force on the way from Canphor, I'll see to it that it's called back.” “Uh-uh, Josh,” said Hill. “They've heard what they've been expecting to hear, and they're not going to believe anythingyou tell them.”
“They'll believe me when I tell them we're standing ready to repulse any attack.” “I'm afraid not,” said Hill. “There's no way you can turn it off, Josh. You'd better start thinking about how you're going to tell the people that you're the leader they've always wanted you to be.” Hill stood up and slowly walked out of the office. Bellows spent the next two hours confirming the truth of what he'd been told, and two more hours after that frantically but fruitlessly trying to avert the coming conflict.
As night fell, the Governor of Deluros VIII sat alone in his semi-darkened office, his hands clasped in
front of him, staring intently at his fingers. He considered resigning, but realized that it wouldn't have any effect on the tide of events. He even considered having Hill make a full public confession, but knew even as the thought crossed his mind that the populace would approve of Hill's actions. Bellows was an essentially decent man. He didn't want to destroy anyone. At heart he believed that Man would emerge triumphant in the galactic scheme of things by virtue of his own endeavors. Furthermore, Man was still immensely outnumbered by the other races. The course Hill had charted would be so perilous, so fraught with danger at any misstep ... Man would have to divide and conquer on a scale never before imagined. He'd have to be quiet about it, too; would have to accomplish most of his plan before the galaxy awoke to what was happening, or everything would come down on his head, hard. And yet, if Man was capable of pulling it off, didn't he deserve to? After all, this wasn't exactly survival of the fittest so much as ascendancy of the fittest. The races of the galaxy would continue to function, and under Man's leadership they would very likely function all the more efficiently. Or was he just rationalizing? Man was capable of such splendid achievements, such generosity to other races, why did he have to have this aggressive, darker side of his nature? Or was it a dark side at all? Was Man, as Hill had said, merely making the most of every single one of his attributes, including this one?