With a shrug, Leoh said, “Your man is going to look very foolish. He was run over by a bowling ball, and then overestimated his strength and popped his back trying to lift. . . .”
The V.P. put up his hands. “I don’t care what the tape shows. I made up my mind to put it on the air, if you have no objections.”
“No, I don’t object.”
“You’ll become a famous man all over the planet,” the
V.P. beamed. “Your name will become a household word;ri-di stardom can do that for you.”
“If the tape will convince the Acquatainian people that the dueling machine is safe, fine,” Leoh said. “As for fame . I’m already rather well known.”
“Ah, but not to the general public. Certainly you’re famous among your fellow scientists, and to the ehte of Acquatainia and the Commonwealth. But all the general public’s seen of you has been a few fleeting glimpses on news broadcasts. But now you’re going to become very famous.”
“Because of one silly duel? I doubt that.”
“You’ll see,” the V.P. promised.
The V.P. did not exaggerate. In fact, he had been oveiiy conservative.
Leoh’s duel was broadcast over the tri-di networks all across the planet that night. Within the week, it had been shown throughout the Acquataine Cluster and was in demand in the Commonwealth.
It was the first time a duel had ever been seen by the general public, and the fact that the inventor of the dueling machine was involved made it doubly fascinating. The sight of the chubby newsman bumbling into obvious traps and getting tangled in pulleys and inclined planes with bowling balls atop them, while Leoh solicitously urged him to be careful every step of the way, struck most people as funny. The Acquatainians, living for months now with the fear of war hanging over them, found a sudden and immense relief in Leoh’s duel. Here was the inventor of the dueling machine, the man who had stopped the Kerak assassinations, appearing on tridi, showing how clever he is, proving that Kerak is up against a mastermind.