"I said I'm going down there. I am going. But not before I convince you." He spoke long and persuasively. He told her about other lovers, everywhere, about the men and women of Earth, the five billion helpless people who had a right to live their own lives too and fall in love and marry, about the hundreds of millions of Outworlders whose minds and hearts would be fettered by Bennett Keifer if he had his way, about how a man had this double allegiance all his life, to the people he loved and to freedom and democracy and the ideas in which he believed. How the one allegiance might make a man think of an island somewhere or a small asteroid where the rest of the world wouldn't matter but how the other allegiance always brought him back to the crowded places, the dangerous places. Laura kissed him again, sobbing, clinging to him. When finally he let her go, she whispered so low he hardly could hear the words: "You are right, Alan. It's your duty to go." "Whatever happens, Laura, I love you." "Keep telling me that all the time, Alan. I don't want to hear anything else. I'm going with you." He smiled, then shook his head. "You're going to Earth all right. But you're going where you'll be safe." Then Alan took the ship down, watching the great green globe of Earth swelling up toward them and then the wondrous sight of the continents swimming into view and the vast blue-green seas and the white cottony puffs of cloud formations and wondering if he soon would be saying goodbye to Laura for the last time. * * * * * It was night in New Washington. Outside, you could hear the familiar street sounds, the jet-cars rushing by, the muted talk of people after the theater down the street closed for the night, the gentle sighing of wind in the trees which spanned the avenue. Inside the fraternity lodge, everything was quiet. New Washington students were studying in their small rooms; some of them had already retired. Bill Graham, who had been Alan's room-mate in the good days, said: "You know I want to believe you, Alan. We've been friends ever since we started through college together." "All I want you to do is watch Laura. Don't let her out of your sight." "But everyone says you gave Earth the ultimatum." "Would I be here now if I did? I'm trying to prevent it, Bill. You've got to believe me." "All I have to do is watch her?" "Yes. I'm going straight to the President if I can. Something's been bothering me about this ultimatum of Keifer's all along. Now I think I know what it is. I think we have a chance to stop him, Bill. Just a chance, but we can try." "What about your ship? How did you get through the radar net?" Alan smiled grimly. "I remembered your registration number, Bill. I had to give it to them. They'll think it was your ship." "Holy Mac!" Bill Graham cried. "Then they'll think I--" "If Keifer wins, we'll all be dead tomorrow night anyway. It was the only thing I could do Bill. I had to get through."