At the head of the table sat Xan VIII himself, adorned from head to foot with rare, exotic jewels, watching the redundant proceedings from bored, seemingly-sleepy eyes.
There were more, many more, but those six were the main cogs of the machine. I counted exactly one hundred figures seated around the table, and some of them were strange beings indeed....
I knew immediately these were the evolved Plutonians. There were twenty-five of them, ranged along one side of the immense table, fidgeting uncomfortably under the concentrated attention of their hosts. There was something odd about those creatures, although I couldn't say just what. Certainly their color was strange; a sick, yellowish-white—but that wasn't what bothered me. I could tell by their actions they were rational, thinking beings. It was something about their "flesh" that had me going. Augie solved the problem with his next words.
"My lord!" he whispered loudly. "Those creatures are composed almost entirely of an impure form of calcium carbonate! I thought something like this would happen! Away from the native world, the Plutonian process of evolution was torn between its natural tendencies and the contradictory characteristics of its new environment. This is the result!"
It was then I knew what we must do. We went over the plan hurriedly, yet making sure there were no flaws. Down below, Mon Pordo was beginning a speech. He stood at the table importantly, white teeth flashing against the purple background of his corpulent lips.
"Gendlemen," he began blandly, as if that was the only form of address he knew. "I have de unequalled honor of presending do you a mosd marvelous revelashion. I have de privilege of making known do you dad which has been kepd secred from your eyes; dad which we have ofden hinded ad in the pasd dwo monds, bud have nod yed divulged. Once I have mad dis gread disclosure, you will realize vicdory is widin our grasp—jusd as our enemies will realize furder resisdance is endirely fudile and will abandon deir idealisdic cause. I—"
He rambled on like that for half an hour, finally getting around to introducing the Plutonians. Things moved more swiftly then. The Plutonians were just the least bit reluctant to form an allegiance and the experienced diplomats argued, pleaded, thrust and parried and generally browbeat them into a decision. The confident delegates finally withdrew to other parts of the palace to give the beleaguered Plutonians a chance to think it over in private. This was what I had been counting on, and we took quick advantage of the situation.
Augie scurried back through the window and clung to the vines outside, to be a safe distance away from what was to come. An hour, the diplomats had said. We would make good use of those sixty minutes. I leaped to the balcony-rail and plummetted down in the center of the Hall.
The Plutonians didn't have time to get out so much as a peep. I had divested myself of both false arms and, even in mid-air, I released a killing charge of electricity that left the duped creatures slumped in their chairs—lifeless hulks. If the armed Mon Pordo had been there, things would probably have been different. The Jovians were quick-eyed and quick-acting and he would have blasted me to pieces with his ato-matic the minute I appeared on the balcony-rail. That's why I couldn't risk it before. I didn't want Augie facing the devils alone.