Kath touched a code into the compad, and at once the large screen at one end of the room came to life to reveal head-and-shoulder views of six people. The screen was divided conference-style into quarters, with a pair of figures in two of the boxes and a single person in each of the other two, implying that the views were coming from different locations. Kath noticed the concerned look that flashed across Bernard’s face. “It’s all right,” she told him. “The channels are quite secure.
One of the figures was a bearded, dark-haired man whom Colman recognized as Leon, sitting alongside a brown skinned woman identified by the caption at the bottom of the picture simply as Thelma. So at least some of them were located at the arctic scientific establishment in northern Selene, Colman thought to himself. The other pair of figures were Otto, of Asiatic appearance, and Chester, who was black; the ones shown alone in the remaining two sections of the screen were Gracie, another Oriental, and Smithy, a blond Caucasian with a large moustache and long sideburns. From their ages they were all evidently Founder. Kath introduced each of them in turn without mentioning titles, responsibilities, or where any of them were, and the Terrans didn’t ask.
Otto seemed to be the spokesman. He seemed anxious to reassure them. “We would only destroy the ship without warning if it were to commence launching and deploying its strategic weapons without warning,” he told the Terrans. “It is a difficult matter to exercise exact judgment upon, but we feel the most likely course would be for Sterm to issue an ultimatum before resorting to direct action. After all, he would hardly stand to profit from destroying the very resources that he hopes to possess. Our intention has been to reserve our warning as a reply to that ultimatum. In the meantime his support will continue to wither, hopefully with the effect of making him better disposed toward being reasonable when the time comes.”
“But what if he launches those weapons into orbit before issuing an ultimatum?” Bernard asked.
Leon nodded gravely from his section of the screen. . “That is a risk,” he agreed. “As Otto said, it is difficult to judge exactly. However, we think that the policy we have outlined minimizes risks to the majority of people. Nothing will eliminate the risks completely.” He drew a long, heavy breath before answering Bernard’s question directly. “But there can be no alteration of our resolution.”
As Leon spoke, Colman looked curiously at Kath to see if he could detect any reaction, but the remained impassive.
Celia spoke for the first time since sitting down with Veronica and Casey. Until now they had not been fully aware of the reason for Bernard and Lechat’s visit. “Either way a wanting won’t do any good,” she said. “Whether you issue one now or later is academic. He would defy it. You don’t know him. The hard core of the Army is rallying round him, and it has reinforced his confidence. He thinks he is unbeatable.”
Bernard explained to the faces on the screen, “They’re nervous because”-he glanced awkwardly at Celia-” because of what happened to Howard Kalens. Sterm is playing on that.”
“That was unfortunate, but it was beyond our control,” Leon said. “I hope you do not believe that we were responsible.” Bernard shook his head.
After a long silence Otto looked up. “Then I’m afraid we can offer no more.”
There seemed to be no more to say. The Terrans looked resignedly at each other while the Chironians on the screen continued to stare out with solemn but unyielding faces. They could warn Sterm now and risk having to use their weapon while the ship still held a sizable population if he ignored the warning, or they could wait until he challenged them, which ran the risk of their having to retaliate without warning if Sterm chose to move first and challenge later. Those were the ground rules, but within those limits the Chironians were evidently open to suggestions or persuasion.
Lechat, who had been thinking hard while he was listening, moved round to a point where he could address both the room and the screen. “Perhaps there is something else we can do,” he said. Everybody looked at him curiously and waited. He raised his hands briefly. “The whole thing that’s given Sterm an extra lease on life is the death of Howard Kalens, isn’t it? Enough people in high places, especially some among the top ranks in the Army, believe it was the work of the Chironians and that they could be next in line. So they’re clustering around Sterm for mutual preservation. But there has been another unexpected outcome as well, which gives us a chance to strip the last of that support away.”