(Georgius Imperator to His Royal Highness, Crown Prince William)
Willy, I like it. -Georgius Imp.
47
(transcript of conversation from room in Royal Hotel, Georgetown, occupied by the RAS terrorist, 'Cliff' Hangar)
Thank you, gentlemen, for meeting me here. Got to lie low-heat's still on after the explosion in Ankara. And don't ever believe it wasn't sabotage. Cayuk never made mistakes like that.
RAS did a good job, sneaking me into the country on false papers, so let's face facts. Grease is dead, and I'm the logical one to take over. After all, I was his right-hand man for over three years. I know what he had in mind, and we're going ahead with it. Thanks to Gunn's forethought, we have Cayuk's formulae and can proceed immediately to synthesize a ten-pound batch of Compound 31 IB. That will be enough to carry out Operation Fumigate. You know the rough outline-and now it's time to start filling in the details.
The site selection committee will study the data and finalize the precise location, somewhere in the middle of Cabinet Hollow in Arlington. There's more civilian brass concentrated there in their ritzy townhouses than in any other square mile on the planet. When Fumigate goes up, I guarantee they're not going to be able to ignore our program any longer.
Now, there's the matter of the two volunteers who'll place the device. One other volunteer, I should say, because I'm claiming the privilege myself. The chances of getting in are good to excellent, but frankly, the odds on getting back out don't look so hot. OK, who's first? Quietly, gentlemen, one at a time now. No, Hank, you're out of order. There's to be no debate as to whether the operation goes, only the matter of who will accompany me. Gentlemen, silence, please! I'll hear each of you in turn. What's the matter, Gunther, you're not in contention for the honor? That's all right, I prefer a younger man in any event…
48
(picked up by electronic surveillance grid, unidentified terrorist, Queen's Park, November 1, 1084, 1800 hours)
'Right in that flowerbed yonder. Boss Hangar said at 1815 hours precisely, and he and Gunn studied the setup for over two years, so I guess we'd better stick strictly to instructions. Old Secretary Millspaugh knocks off puttering in his garden at 1800 sharp, and we have to give him time to get busy with his dinner.
'Another six minutes is all. Take it easy. We walk right in there as if we owned the park, dump our stuff in the big red-white-and blue box, and make it out the other side and split up. Just follow my lead-and think about something else. We got no time for jitters. Buck will be there with the car, and by the time she blows on the 5th we'll be long gone and under cover.
'Never mind that, Binder. Maybe I'd better do it alone after all. OK, OK, 'I'm just thinking out loud. Your job is to keep the old eyeballs peeled just in case one of these fat cats happens to come wandering in, off-schedule. But that's highly unlikely at cocktail-and-dinner time, all out of the public trough.
'Keep cool. All right, now we cross the street and look at the schedule on the post over there, as if we missed the ferry or something. I'm carrying the garbage, all wrapped and sealed according to the law. OK, watch that servo-cart! Damn steering beam gave me an after-image!
'Funny, that wasn't in our briefing. OK, now!'
49
(fragmentary message received by Space Communications from Pluto Probe, November 2, 1084 NS)
… as a result of the above, I have relieved Commander Bland, and shall do my best to hold my command intact. Naturally, the Lord of All expects instant compliance with all instructions, but I have resolved to leave that decision to his Imperial Majesty, and am aborting the mission as of this hour 0213111981. Confirm soonest, as I must commit within ninety-one hours.
– Admiral Starbird
50
(General Margrave to field agent, Imperial Security)
'Certainly I think sitting the Relocation Facility adjacent to the Proving Ground is a good idea. I didn't pick the location by accident. The damned riff-raff can see the Bolo looming up over there beyond the fence, and it'll put the fear of God and the Emperor into them. I know what I'm doing.
'Yes, I know the Bolo called for a full briefing as soon as it rolled out of the shed and turned its scanners on the detention camp. That's okay. Give it all the data it wants. It's on low alert and under complete control. The more it knows, the better it can do its job.'
51
(surveillance tape, ex-Chief Joel Trace, detained in Relocation Facility, November 3, 1084 NS)
'I can't agree with you fellows that we've been deprived of anything but the opportunity to raise hell, and the government has enough on its hands these days, what with the nuclear blackmail movement, and the confusing reports from the Pluto Probe.
'All right, in rounding up the revolutionaries, a few of us loyal subjects were caught in the net. It's an inconvenience, but we've received decent enough treatment. Lots of these folks never lived this well before.
'Now, they've gone ahead with the Bolo. You saw the thing yourselves today, moving around the Proving Ground, big as a hill but docile as a lamb. I can't help feeling excited and proud. She's my baby, you know. All those years, building her CSR capability. Maybe, now that she's clad in her war hull, with her weapons activated, she'll stop feeling nervous and scared and order us to be released. 'Things will be straightened out eventually. I'm sure we'll be well recompensed. For the last time, fellows, I am not in sympathy with your plans.'
52
Possibly, I have erred in the direction of excess in my arrangements for random sampling. I lack rigorous
