"Mr. Secretary-General, members of the Assembly, friends: I'm very grateful for this chance to come before you on my own behalf. It's my understanding that you are to choose a permanent successor to Mr. FitzMaugham today. I offer myself as a candidate for that post." He had planned a long, impassioned, semantically loaded speech to sway them, but the happenings thus far this morning convinced him it was unnecessary. The kaleidowhirl had done the work for him. "My qualifications for the post should be apparent to all. I worked with the late Director FitzMaugham during the formative days of Popeek. Upon his death I succeeded to his post and have efficiently maintained the operation of the Bureau during the eight days since his assassination. "There are special circumstances which dictate my continuation in office. Perhaps you know of the failure of our terraforming experiments--the destruction of our outpost on Venus, and the permanent damage done to that planet. The failure of this project makes it imperative that we move outward to the stars to relieve our population crisis." He took a deep breath. "In exactly four hours," he said, "a representative of an alien race will land on Earth to confer with the director of Popeek. I cannot stress too greatly the importance of maintaining a continuity of thought and action within our Bureau. Bluntly, it is essential that _I_ be the one who deals with this alien. I ask for your support. Thank you." He took his seat again. Ludwig was staring at him, aghast. "Roy! What kind of a speech was that? You can't just _demand_ the job! You've got to give reasons! You have to--" "Hush," Walton said. "Don't worry about it. Were you watching the kaleidowhirls last night?" "Me? Of course not!" Walton grinned. "_They_ were," he said, gesturing at the other delegates. "I'm not worried." XVIII Walton left the Assembly meeting about 1215, pleading urgent Popeek business. The voting began at 1300, and half an hour later the result was officially released. The 1400 _Citizen_ was the first to carry the report. _WALTON ELECTED POPEEK HEAD_ _The General Assembly of the United Nations gave Roy Walton a healthy vote of confidence today. By a 95-0 vote, three abstaining, he was picked to succeed the late D. F. FitzMaugham as Popeek czar. He has held the post on a temporary basis for the past eight days._ Walton rang up Percy. "Who wrote that _Citizen_ piece on me?" he asked. "I did, chief. Why?" "Nicely done, but not enough sock. Get all those three-syllable words out of it by the next edition. Get back to the old _Citizen_ style of jazzy writing." "We thought we'd brush it up a little now that you're in," Percy said. "No. That's dangerous. Keep to the old style, but revamp the content. We're rolling along, now. What's new from the pollsters?"