At a newsstand he saw the massive, thick-black headlines.

So she did get that, Johnny thought. They did, the two of them; they got what they’re after exactly. And now—all they have to do is defeat Kent Margrave. And that thing out there, a light-week away; it’s still yammering. And will be for months.

They’ll win, he realized.

At a drugstore he found a phone booth; entering it he put money into the slot and dialed Sarah Belle, his own home phone number.

The phone clicked in his ear. And then the familiar monotonous voice chanted, “Gam in November, Gam in November; win with Gam, President Alfonse Gam, our man—I am for Gam. I am for Gam. For GAM!” He rang off, then, and left the phone booth. It was hopeless.

At the counter of the drugstore he ordered a sandwich and coffee; he sat eating mechanically, filling the requirements of his body without pleasure or desire, eating by reflex until the food was gone and it was time to pay the bill. What can I do? he asked himself. What can anyone do? All the means of communication are gone; the media have been taken over. They have the radio, TV, newspapers, phone, wire services… everything that depends on microwave transmission or open-gap electric circuitry. They’ve captured it all, left nothing for us, the opposition, by which to fight back.

Defeat, he thought. That’s the dreary reality that lies ahead for us. And then, when they enter office, it’ll be our-death.

“That’ll be a dollar ten,” the counter girl said.

He paid for his meal and left the drugstore.

When a ‘copter marked TAXI came spiralingby, he hailed it.

“Take me home,” he said.

“Okay,” the driver said amiably. “Where is home, buddy?”

He gave him the address in Chicago and then settled back for the long ride. He was giving up; he was quitting, going back to Sarah Belle, to his wife and children. The fight—for him—apparently was over.

When she saw him standing in the doorway, Sarah Belle said, “Good God, Johnny—you look terrible.” She kissed him, led him inside, into the warm, familiar living room. “I thought you’d be out celebrating.”

“Celebrating?” he said hoarsely.

“Your man won the nomination.” She went to put the coffee pot on for him.

“Oh yeah,” he said, nodding. “That’s right. I was his P.R. man; I forgot.”

“Better lie down,” Sarah Belle said. “Johnny, I’ve never seen you look so beaten; I can’t understand it. What happened to you?”

He sat down on the couch and lit a cigarette.

“What can I do for you?” she asked, with anxiety.

“Nothing,” he said.

“Is that Louis Sarapis on all the TV and phones? It sounds like him. I was talking with the Nelsons and they said it’s Louis’s exact voice.”

“No,” he said. “It’s not Louis. Louis is dead.”

“But his period of half-life—”

“No,” he said. “He’s dead. Forget about it.”

“You know who the Nelsons are, don’t you? They’re the new people who moved into the apartment that—”

“I don’t want to talk,” he said. “Or be talked at.”

Sarah Belle was silent, for a minute. And then she said, “One thing they said—you won’t like to hear it, I guess. The Nelsons are plain, quite commonplace people… they said even if Alfonse Gam got the nomination they wouldn’t vote for him. They just don’t like him.”

He grunted.

“Does that made you feel bad?” Sarah Belle asked. “I think they’re reacting to the pressure, Louis’s pressure on the TV and phones; they just don’t care for it. I think you’ve been excessive in your campaign, Johnny.” She glanced at him hesitantly. “That’s the truth; I have to say it.”

Rising to his feet, he said, “I’m going to visit Phil Harvey. I’ll be back later on.”

She watched him go out the door, her eyes darkened with concern.

When he was admitted to Phil Harvey’s house he found Phil and Gertrude Harvey and Claude St. Cyr sitting together in the living room, each with a glass in hand, but no one speaking. Harvey glanced up briefly, saw him, and then looked away.

“Are we going to give up?” he asked Harvey.

Harvey said, “I’m in touch with Kent Margrave. We’re going to try to knock out the transmitter. But it’s a million to one shot, at that distance. And with even the fastest missile it’ll take a month.”

“But that’s at least something,” Johnny said. It would at least be before the election; it would give them several weeks in which to campaign. “Does Margrave understand the situation?”

“Yes,” Claude St. Cyr said. “We told him virtually everything.”

“But that’s not enough,” Phil Harvey said. “There’s one more thing we must do. You want to be in on it? Draw for the shortest match?” He pointed to the coffee table; on it Johnny saw three matches, one of them broken in half. Now Phil Harvey added a fourth match, a whole one.

St. Cyr said, “Her first. Her right away, as soon as possible. And then later on if necessary, Alfonse Gam.”

Weary, cold fright filled Johnny Barefoot.

“Take a match,” Harvey said, picking up the four matches, arranging and rearranging them in his hand and then holding out the four even tops to the people in the room. “Go ahead, Johnny. You got here last so I’ll have you go first.”

“Not me,” he said.

“Then we’ll draw without you,” Gertrude Harvey said, and picked a match. Phil held the remaining ones out to St. Cyr and he drew one also. Two remained in Phil Harvey’s hand.

“I was in love with her,” Johnny said. “I still am.”

Nodding, Phil Harvey said, “Yes, I know.”

His heart leaden, Johnny said, “Okay. I’ll draw.” Reaching, he selected one of the two matches.

It was the broken one.

“I got it,” he said. “It’s me.”

“Can you do it?” Claude St. Cyr asked him.

He was silent for a time. And then he shrugged and said, “Sure. I can do it. Why not?” Why not indeed? he asked himself. A woman that I was falling in love with; certainly I can murder her. Because it has to be done. There is no other way out for us.

“It may not be as difficult as we think,” St. Cyr said. “We’ve consulted some of Phil’s technicians and we picked up some interesting advice. Most of their transmissions are coming from nearby, not a light-week away by any means. I’ll tell you how we know. Their transmissions have kept up with changing events. For example, your suicide-attempt at the Antler Hotel. There was no time-lapse there or anywhere else!’

“And they’re not supernatural, Johnny,” Gertrude Harvey said.

“So the first thing to do,” St. Cyr continued, “is to find their base here on Earth or at least here in the solar system. It could be Gam’s guinea fowl ranch on Io. Try there, if you find she’s left the hospital.”

“Okay,” Johnny said, nodding slightly.

“How about a drink?” Phil Harvey said to him.

Johnny nodded.

The four of them, seated in a circle, drank, slowly and in silence.

“Do you have a gun?” St. Cyr asked.

“Yes.” Rising to his feet he set his glass down.

“Good luck,” Gertrude said, after him.

Johnny opened the front door and stepped outside alone, out into the dark, cold evening.