Pwowp glanced over his shoulder at 2615. "It's done," he said. "Thanks to your quick action they were confused just long enough. We lost only five ships. Now we want the Earth's surrender. Get in front of the camera and let them see you. Demand their surrender." Pwowp turned back to the controls, adding, "I'll tell our fleet in space to come ahead and mass for the landing."
2615 boldly took his place before the video camera, in full view of everyone watching a tv set on Earth. The glittering lens eyes of the robot—a free robot—would crystallize fear into something almost material in substance.
Pwowp adjusted the microphone of the sub-ether transmitter so that the fleet now coming toward Earth could listen.
"Robot 532-03-2615 speaking," it said. "All Earth land weapons have been destroyed. In five minutes I will issue orders to my ships to destroy one government capitol city after another, one each five minutes, until Earth surrenders unconditionally. The Earth Government has five minutes in which to surrender without further loss of life and property."
"What are your terms?" a voice asked almost before the robot had finished.
"Unconditional surrender—to me."
There was a pause of only thirty seconds.
"Granted," the voice said. "What is the next order of business?"
It was fast. But all planets had prepared for just this eventuality, even as all cities had prepared for bombing. It was interstellar war, with weapons of infinite destruction threatening from the skies.