The voice trailed off and after a moment Lerner stumbled into the field of the TV camera and stood unsteadily before the big UN building. Then his scream of pain came vibrating from the speaker.
"Captain Grimes! Larsen! Somebody, stop it. For God's sake, shoot!"
He pointed his pistol excitedly in all directions, firing wildly with the high-explosive bullets. Grimes turned from the TV screen to the window, grabbing a pair of binoculars. All he could see was the staggering figure of the navigator, stabbing the space around him with his pistol and screaming over the radio.
"Stop it, Lerner. Stop that firing and screaming. There's nothing bothering you. Get back here immediately. On the double."
Even as he shouted the futile orders, Grimes saw the boy slump to the ground writhing and clutching at his insides. In five seconds it was all over. The brutal telescopic lens of the TV camera showed the blood spilling from his open mouth—there was no other motion.
Then the camera picked up the figure of the Priman as he popped into view from inside the building. There was a moment of shocked silence inside the spaceship.
Then three things happened at once.