At that moment JEVEX spoke again: “Latest update now analyzed.” A hush fell at once across the Jevienese War Room. “Target no longer registering in scan data. All traces have vanished. Destruction effected with one-hundred-percent success. Mission accomplished.”
The tension lifted abruptly, and a flurry of relieved murmurings broke out on all sides. Broghuilio permitted a grim smile of satisfaction as he drew himself up to his full height to acknowledge
the congratulations being directed toward him from around the floor. His chest swelled with the feeling of power and authority that his uniform symbolized. Wylott turned and threw his arm out in a crisp Jevlenese salute acknowledging the leader. The rest of the military followed suit.
Broghuilio made a perfunctory return, waited a few moments for the excitement to subside, then raised an arm. “This is but a small foretaste of what is to come,” he told them, his voice booming to carry to the far corners of the room. “Nothing will stand in our path when Jevien marches forward to its destiny. The Thuriens will be wisps of straw lost in the hurricane that will sweep across first the solar system, and then the Galaxy. DO YOU
DARE TO FOLLOW ME?”
“WE DARE!” came the response.
Broghuilio smiled again. “You will not be disappointed,” he promised. He waited for the room to quiet and then said in a milder tone, “But in the meantime we have our good duty to perform for our Ganymean masters.” His mouth writhed in sarcasm as he wrung out the final word, causing grins to appear on the faces of some of his followers. He raised his head a fraction. “JEVEX, contact Calazar through VISAR and request that Estordu, Wylott, and I see him at once on a matter of gravest urgency.”
“Yes, Excellency,” JEVEX acknowledged. A short delay followed. Then JEVEX reported, “VISAR informs me that Calazar is currently in conference and asks if the matter can wait.”
“I have just received news of the most serious nature,” Broghuilio said. “It cannot wait. Convey my apologies to Calazar and inform VISAR that I must insist on going to Thurien immediately. Tell VISAR we have reason to believe that the Shapieron has met with a catastrophe.”
A minute or two went by. Then JEVEX announced, “Calazar will receive you immediately.”
chapter twenty-seven
At Houston, Caldwell had described to Hunt the network of real power that had lain hidden across the world possibly for centuries, operating to preserve privilege and promote self-interest by opposing and controlling scientffic progress. The attempt first to frustrate and then to shut down communications with Thurien had seemed consistent with such a power structure and policy.
Then Danchekker had called in a visibly excited state from McClusky with the news that Karen Heller had opened up a completely new dimension to the whole situation. On arriving in Alaska hours later, Hunt and Caldwell learned of the evidence for supposing that the Jevlenese had been interfering with Earth’s technological development since the dawn of its history while they grew in numbers, reorganized, and profited from their access to Ganymean knowledge. This notion had proved so astonishing that nobody made the connection between the two sets of information until Lyn arrived from Washington with the staggering announcement that not only was Sverenssen in communication with the Jevlenese, as he apparently had been for many years, but that, from the evidence of the sculpture, the Jevienese were still staging physical visits to Earth, at least intermittently. In other words the Jevlenese had not been interfering merely way back in early times; what Pacey and Sobroskin had started to uncover parts of right now was a Jevlenese-controlled operation.
This news immediately threw up a host of whole new questions. Was Sverenssen simply a native Terran working as a collaborator, or was he actually a Jevlenese agent injected into Earth’s society and using the identity of a Swede killed in Africa years before? Whatever the answer, how many more like him were there and who were they? Why had the Jevlenese been distorting their reports to make Earth appear warlike? Could the reason be that they wanted a pretext to justify to the Ganymeans their maintaining a military strength of their own as an “insurance” against the possibility of future terrestrial aggression beyond the solar system?