urs..... It is in His name that we are now asked to go to war." His
voice grew stronger, though again he could not have said why.

"And yet this same truth He spoke of, and that many so-called patriots
now trumpet so loudly, has been denied us, buried beneath a flood of
half-truths and propaganda. You..... WE have been deceived, and made
to commit murder in the name of the things we hold most dear."

A murmur of astonishment ran through the crowd, and those who watched
from every corner of the Commonwealth, whether live or distance
delayed, felt strange and conflicting emotions stir inside them.

"This very night, July 15, the time of our self-deception, our imagined
safety, is over. A dreadful choice lies before us." Again the murmur
started, but Stone cut it short, fearing at any moment to lose his
courage.

"The Secretary of State of the United Commonwealth, Charles William
Hayes, has attempted to blackmail his President, and force us all into
a war that can only result in the loss of millions of lives, if not the
utter collapse of galactic civilization as we know it." He forced
himself to go on. "And there are some within the military
establishment. . .within this very room, who may stand behind him in
the attempt.....

"I did not order the attack on Athena. I did not authorize, and flatly
condemn, the ruthless slaughter at the Battle of Schiller."

At this point Stone grew angry, and felt a deep swelling of the heart
that astonished him: the throb of genuine righteousness. Or so it
seemed to him then. He glared at the assembly, placed his hands firmly
on the lip of
the podium, and continued in a voice he could hardly believe was his
own.

"This - is - the UNITED COMMONWEALTH OF AMERICA, created by some of the
ablest minds in history, founded in courage, and dedicated to the dream
of freedom for ALL. This - is - MY HOME! This is NOT Nazi Germany.
And so help me God, I will not let it become a slaughter-house for the
obsessions of a madman! This is not a nation run by generals, or ruled
at the point of a gun." He realized he had strayed from the speech,
and he felt himself waver. But stubbornly he pushed on.

"The Constitution established three branches of government, to insure a
system of check and balances: to insure that no man, or group of men,
became so powerful as to override all others, and manipulate or destroy
the common decency of the people.

"And yet FORMER General Hayes would