"Thank you." He crossed the office. "May I sit down?"
Kimmensen nodded toward the chair, and Messerschmidt took it. "Mr. President, the way I slanted my speech this afternoon was unjust in many respects. I did it that way knowingly, and I know it must have upset you a great deal." His mouth hooked into its quirk, but his eyes remained grave.
"Then why did you do it?" Kimmensen snapped. He watched Messerschmidt's face carefully, waiting for the trap he knew the man must be spinning.
"I did it because I want to be President. I only hope I did it well enough to win. I didn't have time to lay the groundwork work for a careful campaign. I would have used the same facts against you in any case, but I would have preferred not to cloak them in hysterical terms. But there wasn't time. There isn't time—I've got to destroy this society you've created as soon as I can. After tonight's election, I will."
"You egomaniac!" Kimmensen whispered incredulously. "You're so convinced of your superiority that you'll even come here—to me—and boast about your twisted plans. You've got the gall to come here and tell me what you're going to do—given the chance."
"I came here to apologize, Mr. Kimmensen. And then I answered your question."
Kimmensen heard his voice rising and didn't care. "We'll see who wins the election! We'll see whether a man can ride roughshod over other men because he believes he has a mission to perform!"
"Mr. President," Messerschmidt said in his steady voice, "I have no idea of whether I am supplied with a mission to lead. I doubt it. I don't particularly feel it. But when I speak my opinions, people agree with me. It isn't a question of my wanting to or not wanting to. People follow me."
"No Freeman in his right mind will follow you!"
"But they will. What it comes down to is that I speak for more of them than you. There's no Utopia with room for men like you and me, and yet we're here. We're constantly being born. So there's a choice—kill us, burn us down, or smash your Utopia. And you can't kill more than one generation of us."