The press gallery was practically empty. The duel had more than an hour to run, and most of the newsmen were outside, broadcasting their hastily-drawn guesses about Dulaq’s failure to win with his own choice of weapon and environment.
Then a curious thing happened.
On the master control panel of the dueling machine, a single light flashed red. The meditech blinked at it in surprise, then pressed a series of buttons on his board. More red lights appeared. The chief meditech rushed to the board and flipped a single switch.
One of the newsmen turned to his partner. “What’s going on down there?”
“I think it’s all over.... Yes, look, they’re opening up the booths. Somebody must’ve scored a victory.”
They watched intently while the other newsmen quickly filed back into the gallery.
“There’s Odal. He looks happy.”
“Guess that means—”
“Good Lord! Look at Dulaq!”