President,” Barghin told the telephone. “We’ve brought down all the four missiles that have been launched from Jacksonville since that salvo yesterday, and Operation Mechanical Shovel was a pretty fair success.” He listened. “Yes, I still want UN permission to build that nuclear missile. The risk is that so far the monster may merely have been underestimating us, and has tricks he hasn’t used yet. I don’t know about the biological warfare proposal. I’m expecting a report in a short while and a summary of the progress to date will come to you anyway.” He said goodbye and hung up. Then he sat back in his chair. They’d taken the command headquarters out from under canvas and put it in one of the vehicles that had come back from Mechanical Shovel. The trick wouldn’t work twice. It was a decided improvement not to be squelching in wet earth. “Dr. Gordon and Mrs. Trant, sir,” said an orderly, poking his head around the door. The general nodded and got up to receive his visitors.
