eign Office building and began crossing its lobby.
Flannery glanced up at the big seal on the wall with its motto in
twisted Latin--_Per Astra ad Aspera_--and his eyes turned back to
Duke's, but he made no comment. He led the way to a private elevator
that dropped them a dozen levels below the street, to a small room,
littered with things from every conceivable planet. One wall was
covered with what seemed to be the control panel of a spaceship,
apparently now used for a desk. The director dropped into a chair and
motioned Duke to another.

He looked tired, and his voice seemed older as he bent to pull a small
projector and screen from a drawer and set them up. "The latest chapter
of the film," he said bitterly, throwing the switch.

It was a picture of the breakup of the Outer Federation, and in some
ways worse than the other wars. Chumkt rebelled against Kel's
leadership and joined the aliens, while a civil war sprang up on her
surface. Two alien planets went over to Kel. The original war was
forgotten in a struggle for new combinations, and a thousand smaller
wars replaced it. The Federation was dead and the two dozen races were
dying.

"When everything else fails, the fools try federation," Flannery said
as the film ended. "We tried it on Earth. Another race discovered the
interstellar drive before we did and used it to build an empire. We've
found the dead and sterile remains of their civilization. It's always
the same. When one group unites its power, those nearby must ally for
protection. Then there's a scramble for more power, while jealousies
and fears breed new hatreds, internally and externally. And finally,
there's ruin--because at the technological level of interstellar
travel, victory in war is absolutely, totally impossible!"

He sat back, and Duke waited for him to resume, until it was obvious he
had finished. At last, the younger man gave up waiting. "All right," he
said. "Earth won't fight! Am I supposed to turn handsprings? I figured
that much out myself. And I learned a long time ago about the blessed
meek who were to inherit the Earth--but I can't remember anything being
said about the stars!"

"You think peace won't work?" Flannery asked mildly.

"I know it won't!" Duke fumbled for a cigarette, trying to organize his
thoughts. "You've been lucky so far. You've counted on the fact that
war powers have to attack other powers nearby before they can safely
strike against Earth, and you've buffer