As the President re-entered the chamber, the members of the Security Council rose. The atmosphere was heavy with foreboding.
He spoke slowly and clearly, his face expressionless. "Mr. Khrushchev says he desires to establish a true peace with us. He will agree to all our terms: complete inspection, atomic test ban, disarmament, anything of a reasonable nature!"
He looked around the shocked room. Relief, puzzlement, suspicion, were mirrored on various faces.
"I'm sure I don't understand all this," the President continued. "I doubt if any of you do. But if the Soviet Union is sincere in desiring a true peace—!" His voice became very quiet. "We shall certainly meet them halfway!"
Veux looked up from the account book with a grunt of approval, then reached for the drink his partner held out.
"Well," Tai said. "Didn't I tell you business would be good this period?"
Veux nodded and downed his drink. "Excellent, but I see that most of our profit came from native trade!" His eyes narrowed. "It looks illegal! Are you supplying arms for a revolution somewhere?"
Tai's smile became contemptuous. "No, it's just local products, native trivia. We drop-chuted survey robots, then called them back and installed a delivery system. The robot picks up samples by dematerialization and I synthesize them."
"But so much profit! Aren't there any complaints?"