"A sword—people used to chop each other's heads off with them."
Almost at once the metal giant was seen to move. Quickly it retraced its path across the apron, remained poised on the center of the runway, then disappeared almost instantaneously.
The Intersolar Council weathered the storm. The representative of the colony on Venus was recalled, his political life temporarily ended. A vigilante committee did for a time picket the spaceport. But the tremendous emotional outbursts of the first day gradually gave way to a semblance of order.
Video speakers, some of them with huge followings, still denounced the ISC for permitting the alien to land in the first place. Others clamored for a fleet to pursue the arrogant visitor. And there were many fools who chose to ignore the implications of the strange speech and its implied threat. Some even thought it was a gigantic hoax.
But most men soon came to restore their trust in the scientists of the Intersolar Council.
Harrison cast down the long sheet of morning news that had rolled out of the machine.
"The fools! They'll play politics right up to the last, won't they?"
"What else?" asked Mills. "Playing politics is as good a way as any of avoiding what you can't figure out or solve."
"And yet, what the hell are we doing here?" Harrison mused. "Listen to this."