"Then Ennius-"
"Ennius," said Shekt, "would not take the chance. Isn't that strange?" He laughed a queer, cracked, rasping laugh. "The three of us singlehandedly discover a vast plot against humanity, singlehandedly we capture the ringleader and bring him to justice. It's like a visicast, isn't it, with the great all-conquering heroes zooming to victory in the nick of time? That's where they usually end it. Only in our case the visicast went on and we found that nobody believed us. That doesn't happen in visicasts, does it? Things end happily there, don't they? It's funny-" The words turned into rough, dry sobs.
Arvardan looked away, sick. Pola's eyes were dark universes, moist and tear-filled. Somehow, for an instant, he was lost in them-they were universes, star-filled. And toward those stars little gleaming metallic cases were streaking, dee vouring the light-years as they penetrated hyperspace in calculated, deadly paths. Soon-perhaps already-they would approach, pierce atmospheres, fall apart into unseen deadly rains of virus- Well, it was over. It could no longer be stopped. "Where is Schwartz?" he asked weakly. But Pola only shook her head. "They never brought him back."
The door opened, and Arvardan was not so far gone in the acceptance of death as to fail to look up with a momentary wash of hope upon his face.
But it was Ennius, and Arvardan's face hardened and turned away.
Ennius approached and looked momentarily at the father and daughter. But even now Shekt and Pola were primarily Earth creatures and could say nothing to the Procurator, even though they knew that short and violent as their future lives were to be, that of the Procurator would be even shorter and more violent.
Ennius tapped Arvardan on the shoulder. "Dr. Arvardan?"
"Your Excellency?" said Arvardan in a raw and bitter imitation of the other's intonation.
"It is after six o'clock." Ennius had not slept that night. With his official absolution of Balkis had come no absolute assurance that the accusers were completely mad-or under mental control. He had watched the soulless chronometer tick away the life of the Galaxy.
"Yes," said Arvardan. "It is after six and the stars still shine."
"But you still think you were right?"
"Your Excellency," said Arvardan, "in a matter of hours the first victims will die. They won't be noticed. Human beings die every day. In a week hundreds of thousands will have died. The percentage of recovery will be close to zero. No known remedies will be available. Several planets will send out emergency calls for epidemic relief. In two weeks scores of planets will have joined the call and States of Emergency will be declared in the nearer sectors. In a month the Galaxy will be a writhing mass of disease. In two months not twenty planets will remain untouched. In six months the Galaxy will be dead...And what will you do when those first reports come in?
"Let me predict that as well. You will send out reports that the epidemics may have started on Earth. This will save no lives. You will declare war on the Ancients of Earth. This will save no lives. You will wipe the Earthman from the face of his planet. This will save no lives...Or else you will act as go-between for your friend Balkis and the Galactic Council, or the survivors thereof. You may then have the honor of handing the wretched remnants of the crumbs of the Empire to Balkis in return for antitoxin, which mayor may not reach sufficient worlds in sufficient quantities in sufficient time to save a single human being."
Ennius smiled without conviction. "Don't you think you're being ridiculously overdramatic?"
"Oh yes. I'm a dead man and you're a corpse. But let's be devilishly cool and Imperial about it, don't y'know?"
"If you resent the use of the neuronic whip-"
"Not at all," ironically. "I'm used to it. I hardly feel it any more."
"Then I am putting it to you as logically as I can. This has been a nasty mess. It would be difficult to report sensibly, yet as difficult to suppress without reason. Now the other accusers involved are Earthmen; your voice is the only one which would carry weight. Suppose you sign a statement to the effect that the accusation was made at a time when you were not in your-Well, we'll think of some phrase that will cover it without bringing in the notion of mental control."
"That would be simple. Say I was crazy, drunk, hypnotized, or drugged. Anything goes."
"Will you be reasonable? Now look, I tell you that you have been tampered with." He was whispering tensely. "You're a man of Sirius. Why have you fallen in love with an Earthgirl?"
"What?"
"Don't shout. I say-in your normal state, could you ever have gone native? Could you have considered that sort of thing?" He nodded his head just perceptibly in the direction of Pola.
For an instant Arvardan stared at him in surprise. Then, quickly, his hand shot out and seized the highest Imperial authority on Earth by the throat. Ennius's hands wrenched wildly and futilely at the other's grip.
Arvardan said, "That sort of thing, eh? Do you mean Miss Shekt? If you do, I want to hear the proper respect, eh? Ah, go away. You're dead anyway."
Ennius said gaspingly, "Dr. Arvardan, you will consider yourself under ar-"
The door opened again, and the colonel was upon them.
"Your Excellency, the Earth rabble has returned."
"What? Hasn't this Balkis spoken to his officials? He was going to arrange for a week's stay."
"He has spoken and he's still here. But so is the mob. We are ready to fire upon them, and it is my advice as military commander that we proceed to do that. Have you any suggestions, Your Excellency?"