Spencer huffed. “The Terran embassy here used slightly different terms, but they painted the same picture of him.”
“And, uh, she said he’s also very brave and patriotic … but short-tempered.”
Leoh turned a worried expression toward Spencer. “It oesn’t sound as though he’d be willing to admit that he needs Commonwealth protection, does it?”
Shrugging, Sir Harold replied, ‘The plain fact is that an alliance with the Commonwealth is the only way to avert a war. I’ve had our computer simulators study the situation. Now that Keralc has absorbed Szamo and has neutralized Acquatainia’s other former allies, the computer predicts that Kerak will defeat Acquatainia in a war. Ninety-three percent probability.”
Leoh’s look of gloom sank deeper.
“And once Kanus has Acquatainia under his grasp, he’ll attack the Commonwealth.”
“What? But that’s suicide! Why should he do that?”
“I’d say it’s because he’s a lunatic,” Spencer answered, with real anger edging his voice. “The sociodynamicists tell me that Kanus’ sort of dictatorship must continually seek to expand, or it will fall apart from internal dissensions and pressures.”
“But he can’t beat the Commonwealth,” Hector said.
“Correct,” Spencer agreed, “Every computer simulation we’ve run shows that the Commonwealth would crush Kerak, even if Kanus has Acquatainia’s resources in his hands.”
The Star Watch Commander paused a moment, then added, “But the computers also predict that the war will cost millions of lives on both sides. And it will trigger off other wars, elsewhere, that could eventually destroy the Commonwealth entirely.”