"The Ecological Infestation Advisory Board has also made a second recommendation.

"As you know, our nation's capital is uncomfortably close to one of the largest reservoirs of infestation. While there is no immediate danger to the city of Denver, it is not practical to keep so many of this nation's key officials in continual proximity to such danger. The Advisory Board has recommended that the nation's capital again be moved.

"I have given much consideration to the difficulty of such an action, as well as the consequences if it were not taken and later proved to be necessary. We cannot afford the risk. Your leaders in the Senate and House of Representatives concur.

"Therefore, acting on the further recommendations of the Advisory Board, I am tonight authorizing the temporary reassignment of the nation's capital to the one state still unaffected by the infestation. That state is Hawaii.

"The city of Honolulu has graciously offered to provide the necessary resources. The bulk of the United States government will be transferred to the island of Oahu within thirty days. This necessary step will guarantee the continued functioning of all government services throughout the difficult days ahead."

She took off her glasses and stared into the camera. This was the part she must have rehearsed. She wouldn't be reading this. "My fellow Americans. Let me conclude on this note. This administration has tonight recommitted itself to victory. Let these difficult choices be seen as evidence of that commitment to do whatever is necessary to guarantee not only our survival, but our eventual victory over this alien invasion. That we take these steps now, by choice, rather than later, by necessity, is clear and certain proof of our willingness to win. We are tonight giving ourselves again to the battles ahead. We are rolling up our sleeves and saying, 'We will fight.'

"With your support, your partnership, and your prayers, we shall inevitably triumph.

"I thank you, and good night."

I sat there, staring at the screen. An announcer came on and said something, then the president's announcement began to repeat. "Scan," I commanded.

The President was on all the other channels too-and probably would be all night.

I started pulling on a jumpsuit. Tonight could get very crazy. I started looking for my boots.

Let's see, Lizard was probably at the airport already. Probably she was already in the air.

The Rocky Mountain Infestation was about four hundred kilometers north. If she flew at a thousand kilometers an hour . . . I walked out onto the balcony and looked off toward the mountains. The flash should be visible from here. I leaned over the edge of the railing and looked down. I was not the only person waiting on the balcony. I could hear the president's voice coming from many other apartments, Every TV in the hotel must have been on. Her words echoed and reechoed across the plaza below. "It should be seen as a sign," she was saying again, "not of our desperation, but of our commitment."

She had ordered the use of nuclear weapons against the Chtorrans and was evacuating the government to Hawaii-and she wanted us to believe that it was evidence of commitment? It was as desperate an act as anyone could possibly think of! She couldn't possibly hope to sell it to the public.

I knew this lady. She was a shrewd politician. We were lucky to have her as president. But this time, it looked as if she'd misplayed her hand.

I sat down on the balcony and tried to think. I hollered for the robot, "Eye-gor!" It rolled up quickly, its eyestalks swiveling, and announced its presence with a three-note whistle that sounded like a question mark.

"Scotch. Straight up. A double-no, make it a triple. And stand by for refills."

It beeped affirmatively and rolled away. Apparently, Lizard didn't like her robots to talk. Some people did. My father had once said you could tell how emotionally starved a person was by the degree to which they anthropomorphized their robots.

I studied the looming mountains. They were black against the starlit sky. Where was Lizard now, I wondered? How long until the mountains burned?

How long until the nuclear wrath devoured the night?

I wondered, what had the president really unleashed tonight? With this single irrevocable action, what was she actually saying about the invasion and our ability to resist it?

It was more than just a statement of commitment. It was an acknowledgment of the scale of our enemy. It was an acknowledgment of the size of the war.

The robot returned with my drink riding on its "head," one clawlike hand holding it steady. It looked like a little Portuguese washer woman.

I took it and turned back to the mountains. I felt like I was waiting for the end of the world.

I didn't want to believe it.

And I was impatient for it to happen.

I wondered, how will the people react? And what happens next?

What will I do? I had no place to go. I was looking for my death when Lizard found me.

Would I go with her now? Lizard. Oh, God.

I remembered what I'd said to her. "It'll take a nuclear weapon get me out of your bed."

I remembered the look on her face. Ashen.

That's what she was afraid of. Would I still love her? Oh, God

I thought about the target site. There were human beings there. Probably children.

And worms. Lots of worms.

They'd be incinerated. All of them. Blinded, blasted, and burned. The sky would flame. I knew what would happen. I'd seen the pictures. Everyone had. We'd been reliving the Apocalypse war for twenty years. That was supposed to remind us what would happen if we failed to keep the peace.

I knew the horror.

The light. The blast. The firestorm. The radiation. The death.

I thought about the land we'd flown over.

A hundred thousand worms would die tonight. And how many human beings?

I remembered Marcie. And Delandro. And Alec and Tommy and Holly.

Fuck the renegades. They deserved what they were going to get.

No responsible human being should be in a worm camp anyway.

Kill them all. Let God sort them out.

The sky to the west turned white. Bright white. It could have been lightning, but it wasn't.

I stood up.

There was silence for the longest time.

And then the sound came rolling down from the mountains. It was a sudden soft thump, and then a rumble that rolled forever. It rattled the windows and grabbed you by the bones. It shook the floor and turned your knees to jelly.

Somewhere below, I heard cheering. I sank back into my chair.

I was still sitting there when Lizard returned. The sky to the west was pink. Somewhere on the other side of those mountains, a forest was burning. It looked like dawn.