"They started early," Ludwig said. "It's been going on since 1000."
"How do things look?"
"I'm puzzled, Roy. Couple of die-hards are screaming for your scalp, but you're getting help from unexpected quarters. Old Mogens Snorreson of Denmark suddenly got up and said it was necessary for the safety of mankind that we give you a permanent appointment as director of Popeek."
"Snorreson? But hasn't he been the one who wanted me bounced?"
Ludwig nodded. "That's what I mean. The climate is changing, definitely changing. Ride the crest, Roy. The way things look now, you may end up being swept into office for life."
They entered the giant Assembly hall. At the dais, a black-faced man with bright teeth was speaking.
"Who's that?" Walton whispered.
"Malcolm Nbono, the delegate from Ghana. He regards you as a sort of saint for our times."
Walton slipped into a seat in the gallery and said, "Let's listen from here before we go down below. I want to catch my breath."
The young man from Ghana was saying, "... Crisis points are common to humanity. Many years ago, when my people came from their colonial status and achieved independence, we learned that painstaking negotiations and peaceful approaches are infinitely more efficacious than frontal attack by violent means. In my eyes, Roy Walton is an outstanding exponent of this philosophy. I urge his election as director of the Bureau of Population Equalization."