ible forces of power now at your command. Once
unleashed, these forces may or may not destroy all that you have gained.
But we, the scientists of Venus, promise you this--that on the very day
your conflict deteriorates into heedless violence, we will not stand by
and let the ugly contagion spread. On that day, we of Venus will act
swiftly, mercilessly, and relentlessly--to destroy your world
completely."

Again, the meeting room exploded in a babble of languages.

"The vessel which brought me here came as a messenger of peace. But
envision it, men of Earth, as a messenger of war. Unstoppable,
inexorable, it may return, bearing a different Delegate from Venus--a
Delegate of Death, who speaks not in words, but in the explosion of
atoms. Think of thousands of such Delegates, fired from a vantage point
far beyond the reach of your retaliation. This is the promise and the
challenge that will hang in your night sky from this moment forward.
Look at the planet Venus, men of Earth, and see a Goddess of Vengeance,
poised to wreak its wrath upon those who betray the peace."

The Delegate sat down.

* * * * *

Four days later, a mysterious explosion rocked the quiet sands of Los
Alamos, and the Venus spacecraft was no more. Two hours after that, the
robot delegate, its message delivered, its mission fulfilled, requested
to be locked inside a bombproof chamber. When the door was opened, the
Delegate was an exploded ruin.

The news flashed with lightning speed over the world, and Jerry Bridges'
eyewitness accounts of the incredible event was syndicated throughout
the nation. But his sudden celebrity left him vaguely unsatisfied.

He tried to explain his feeling to Greta on his first night back in
Washington. They were in his apartment, and it was the first time Greta
had consented to pay him the visit.

"Well, what's _bothering_ you?" Greta pouted. "You've had the biggest
story of the year under your byline. I should think you'd be tickled
pink."

"It's not that," Jerry said moodily. "But ever since I heard the
Delegate speak, something's been nagging me."

"But don't you think he's done good? Don't you think they'll be
impressed by what he said?"

"I'm not worried about that. I think that damn robot did more for
peace than anything that's ever come along in this cockeyed world. But
still ..."

Greta snuggled up to him on the sofa. "You worry too much. Don't you
ever think of anything e