"Who, me?"
"Fired. Out. Now."
"But what am I supposed to have done?"
State pulled some papers from the inside pocket of his jacket. "Here, you rat. Try page three."
Channing took the papers and turned to the third page. He read:
CHANNING: Exactly what I was saying.
DENEBIAN AMBASSADOR: Then we ought to bide our time?
CHAN: Sure. Right now, Earth's becoming the laughingstock of the galaxy. And later on it will be worse.
D. A.: That's only conjecture, of course.
CHAN: But it makes sense. Not tomorrow or the day after that, but, say, in a hundred years, Earth will be finished. For one thing, the birth rate will drop off tremendously. People will stop working, because Qui Dor can give them anything they want.