"Shut the door, Sam, and sit down. I can answer that several ways. One,
by saying they all represent each other, like bees in a hive or ants
in a hill--a sort of group intelligence with nobody's thinking very
far out of line from anybody else's. Two, by saying their big wheel at
the moment is that Addison Madison, or Frij, fellow, a more insulting
parody of an American Earthman than I could have imagined possible.
Three, by saying I haven't the faintest idea who they'll produce when
they get us to Ultra--quite possibly someone who's never been to Earth
at all. Any other questions?"
"Yes, sir, if you don't mind. What are you and the Big Three Europeans
going to discuss before you get to Ultra?"
"I frankly don't know, son, but I can make a guess. We'll probably
have a few drinks and talk about the good old days when all we had to
worry about was the Russian or the Chinese menace."
I started to interrupt, but Gov held up a hand. "I know you can't
put that in a communiqué. All right, you can say we had a frank
and wide-ranging exchange of views and vowed to take any steps,
consistent with honor, that would advance the cause of international
and interplanetary peace. That ought to be diplomatic and obfuscatory
enough for anybody."