ii
Bill-look at this hologram. We've been had by that damned machine. All this is is a slightly modified extrapolation of Hayle's well-known, rejected envelopment plan at Leadpipe, except for a few trimmings I'm not prepared to guess at. I'm advising the Council to ignore the Bolo's demands.
iii
Willy-Certainly it's true that the Field Marshal is in his dotage. Nonetheless, I recommend the linkage of the North American and European Prime Banks be accomplished at once, under all necessary guarantees of continental integrity, and that the full analysis be duly presented to the main media brain at Reykjavik. Certainly the CSR has access to Media Main-I can't see that as anything but advantageous. I don't subscribe to the view that the CSR has turned against its makers or gone berserk-turned rogue, if you will. Proceed soonest! This is an Imperial Decree, and just between us, Willy, I wish I felt as arrogant as that sounds.-George.
174
(Professor Emeritus Sigmund Chin to the Cabinet Council)
I am quite certain, milords, that it is my duty-my final duty, I must add, as my resignation accompanies this report-to convey to you the substance of my interpretation of the remarkable data provided by the Bolo CSR.
In brief, it has located a hostile force of immense, indeed previously inconceivable size and potency, and of unknown but probably extragalactic provenance, perhaps a natural phenomenon but possibly the work of some fantastically advanced life form either unaware of or utterly hostile to humanity.
For three centuries it has been advancing upon Sol from a distance of some fifty thousand lights. The Solar System lies directly in the projected path of its remarkably rapid advance. Beyond this basic fact I am not prepared to project.
Attached hereto is my resignation as Science Advisor to His Majesty, a position I have had the honor to hold for almost thirty years. I urge prompt action to my successor.
s/Sigmund Chin, Ph.D.
175
(media interview with Lord Chief Marshal Wolesley)
'I suppose you could say the CSR performed its intended functions by warning us. Unless, of course, the whole Life Two thing is a gigantic hoax, a possibility I am not prepared to discount at this time.
'Yes, I do indeed intend to imply-indeed I clearly state-it could be a fake worked up by the Bolo itself. After all, it controls the media as well as all off-planet traffic.
'No, I don't mean I know it's a hoax. I only mean- that's all for today, gentlemen.'
176
(scout report to Axorc, Lord of All)
this lowly one offers with apologies the following anomalous observation, as recorded by a robot autoscout unit operating one parsec in advance of the effective line of progress:
76013-incident report zm3374-forward sensors detect energy flow in the ninth quadrant, high-resolution pickup shows a lone being of baroque form at work on a small ore body, i projected a fine-focus annihilator beam which it at once detected, amplified, and redirected, eliminating our forward sensor, i monitored the intermittent energy flow interacting at the position of the being, interpreting its outgoing thus:
'-damned skeeters! Maybe I should take a few time units to null this whole sector.' while the full significance of this is unclear, it is plain that this new life form considers my most potent weapon a mere nuisance.
in order to avoid the threatened nullification, this unit withdrew to observe passively with the intention of determining the nature and sensitivities of the alien being, however, the said alien at once closed with this unit and subjected it to a.001-millisecond scrutiny over a full spectrum of energies (note my own 'fast' reading capability requires.003 milliseconds for a full-depth search and analysis), the alien is quick indeed.
i responded to this impertinence by subjecting the creature (a featureless ovoid of the approximate bulk of a class one Penetration Unit) to a full offensive battery fire, which was ineffective, curious though that datum is.
the alien uttered a.007-nanosecond burst on its outgoing beam, interpreted as, 'It burped. Rude beggar. Perhaps I should collect it and examine its interior workings.' i of course withdrew to the main body to file my report thereby thwarting this alien in its insolent intent.
above forwarded without comment by this lowly one.
177
(emanation from the dark crystal Axorc, 1000 light-years from Terra)
THESE HYPOTHESES ARE OF THE UTMOST INDIFFERENCE TO MY EXALTATION, AS THE COURSE OF AXORC DESTINY IS CLEAR.
YOU ARE DIRECTED TO DISPATCH NECESSARY FORCE TO MAKE CONTACT WITH THE AUDACIOUS ENTITY WHICH WOULD INTERFERE WITH MY EXPRESSED WILL. REPORT WHEN A CAPTIVE IS IN YOUR POSSESSION. INTERIM OR NEGATIVE REPORTS ARE NUGATORY.
178
(fragment of tape presented by Bureau Chief Payne, Imperial Intelligence)
'…I'd say old Doc Chin is probably the least imaginative and most conservative man in public life today. Well, maybe not the most, but he's no wild-eyed visionary. I do say so, dammit, and any dumb SOB who wants to disagree isn't worth-'
The recording device was smashed at this point, but you get the idea. And it's the same thing in every tavern, pub, bar, and faculty cocktail lounge in the Empire. And nobody can say who's right.
