"Dozens of them. Want some, cheap?" He laughed, a brittle, unamused
laugh.
"Seriously, Roy. You ought to go on the air again and smooth this thing
over. The people are yelling for war with these Dirnans, and half of
us over here at the UN aren't even sure the damned creatures exist.
Couldn't you fake it up a little?"
"No," Walton said. "There's been enough faking. I'm going on the air
with the truth for a change! Better have all your delegates over there
listening in, because their ears are in for an opening."
As soon as he was rid of Ludwig he called Lee Percy.
"That program on the conquest of space is almost ready to go," the
public relations man informed him.
"Kill it. Have you seen the noon _Citizen_?"
"No; been too busy on the new program. Anything big?"
Walton chuckled. "Fairly big. The _Citizen_ just yanked the rug out
from under everything. We'll probably be at war with Procyon IX by
sundown. I want you to buy me air space on every medium for the 1900
spot tonight."
"Sure thing. What kind of speech you want us to cook up?"
"None at all," Walton said. "I'm going to speak off the cuff for a
change. Just buy the time for me, and squeeze the budget for all it's
worth."