After less than half an hour, Schmidt returned. He bowed to Queek. “He agrees. He agrees to everything. You have won this war.”

“We did not begin it,” Queek said.

“Let us be glad it is over,” Molotov put in. “Let us be glad it is over, and let us begin to rebuild.” And to plot against one another again, he added, but only to himself.

About the Author

Harry Turtledove was born in Los Angeles in 1949. He has taught ancient and medieval history at UCLA, Cal State Fullerton, and Cal State L.A., and has published a translation of a ninth-century Byzantine chronicle, as well as several scholarly articles. He is also an award-winning full-time writer of science fiction and fantasy. His alternate history works have included several short stories and novels, including The Guns of the South, How Few Remain (winner of the Sidewise Award for Best Novel), the Great War epics: American Front and Walk in Hell, and the Colonization books: Second Contact and Down to Earth. His new novel is American Empire: The Center Cannot Hold. He is married to fellow novelist Laura Frankos. They have three daughters: Alison, Rachel, and Rebecca.