change all that, to say that if the
President was not to his liking, or the Congress would not give him
what he wanted, he could break away, and make war on his own. He has
done it. And to be sure that we will follow him, he has struck the
Soviets across the face, and challenged them to a duel to the death.

"Even now I cannot tell you how events will turn....." He paused,
looked down at the speech before him. Ten pages at least remained.
But his passion and energies were spent. He wondered then briefly if
he had done the right thing. He told himself the question was
irrelevant: he had done all he could.

"My Vice President will now tell you the details, and how we plan to
deal with this crisis." He stepped down, and strode out of the silent
room.

Plant, stunned but not yet daunted, stepped down from his seat beside
the Speaker of the House, and took up the papers left for him.
Omitting the passages and emotional phrases now rendered superfluous by
Stone's barrage, he read evenly, and after a time, calmly and clearly.
He relayed the pertinent facts behind the rift, including, in full, the
letters of Hayes to the President. He also spoke, as dispassionately
as he could, of the threat of war with the Soviets, hoping this added
danger would not tip the scales against them. He concluded with the
following:

"It seems to me that the last line of our National Anthem is especially
relevant now. For its undying question, asks not only IF we stand, but
how we stand, and why. To that we MUST answer yes: our flag still
waves, over the land of the FREE, and the home of the BRAVE. And not
just brave enough to die in a war that accomplishes nothing, but to
face up to our mistakes, and put an end to the bloodshed that neither
side wants. We must have the courage to cast aside folly and reckless
pride, and say NO to a would-be dictator, who would leave us no such
choice.

"As of this moment, and by direct order of the President and
Commander-in-Chief, Charles William Hayes is no longer Secretary of
State. He is no longer a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, nor a
ranking member of the military establishment. He is hereby ordered to
return at once with the forces he has commandeered; and any who choose
to further defy the Constitution of the United Commonwealth, Mr. Hayes
included, will be brought to trial for treason."

Here he felt the same trepidation that Stone had experienced. Had they
gone too far? O