erra had waited a long time. The attack
on Proxima Centaurus had to come--and the sooner the better. The
ancient Centauran Empire hemmed in Terra, bottled the human race up in
its one system. A vast, suffocating net draped across the heavens,
cutting Terra off from the bright diamonds beyond.... And it had to
end.

The SRB machines whirred, the visible combination disappearing. For a
time no ratio showed. Reinhart tensed, his body rigid. He waited.

The new ratio appeared.

Reinhart gasped. 7-6. Toward Terra!

Within five minutes the emergency mobilization alert had been flashed
to all Government departments. The Council and President Duffe had
been called to immediate session. Everything was happening fast.

But there was no doubt. 7-6. In Terra's favor. Reinhart hurried
frantically to get his papers in order, in time for the Council
session.

At histo-research the message plate was quickly pulled from the
confidential slot and rushed across the central lab to the chief
official.

"Look at this!" Fredman dropped the plate on his superior's desk.
"Look at it!"

Harper picked up the plate, scanning it rapidly. "Sounds like the real
thing. I didn't think we'd live to see it."

Fredman left the room, hurrying down the hall. He entered the time
bubble office. "Where's the bubble?" he demanded, looking around.

One of the technicians looked slowly up. "Back about two hundred
years. We're coming up with interesting data on the War of 1914.
According to material the bubble has already brought up--"

"Cut it. We're through with routine work. Get the bubble back to the
present. From now on all equipment has to be free for Military work."

"But--the bubble is regulated automatically."

"You can bring it back manually."

"It's risky." The technician hedged. "If the emergency requires it, I
suppose we could take a chance and cut the automatic."

"The emergency requires _everything_," Fredman said feelingly.

"But the odds might change back," Margaret Duffe, President of the
Council, said nervously. "Any minute they can revert."

"This is our chance!" Reinhart snapped, his temper rising. "What the
hell's the matter with you? We've waited years for this."

The Council buzzed with excitement. Margaret Duffe hesitated
uncertainly, her blue eyes clouded with worry. "I realize the
opportunity is here. At least, statistically. But the new odds have
just appeared. How do we know they'll last? They stand on the basis