Jeffrey shook his head. “And revert to the primitive,” he pointed out. “If the world is ever to get away from that kind of war, this is the time to prove it.”

“And if we lose, we do so at the expense of a hemisphere.”

“That’s true,” Jeffrey said calmly. “But if we should win by using men and destroying lives, we would do so at the expense of a civilization. By the act of reverting to the use of human fighters, we would convince the world that war could not be fought electronically.”

They reached the door of the Chamber. The President shook hands with Iraola and with Hoshawk.

“Wish me luck,” he said lightly.

They inclined their heads, and when they looked up, the President was seated on a beryllium stool that traveled a three-quarter circle before the great bank of keys like the keyboard of a giant organ. He pulled on a glass helmet and adjusted the sonic amplifiers to his mastoids. He flicked the oxygen valve open and shut, and then looked at it and listened intently.

Hoshawk saw an instant’s doubt on the President’s face. Hoshawk wondered if the valve was leaking, and frowned. The Chamber had been tested exhaustively, but with hundreds of thousands of circuits, cutbacks, bypasses, and relays, it was possible the oxygen valve had been overlooked.

Jeffrey strapped himself into the chair. The chronometer showed five minutes before the Hour. The President looked at the huge curved map of the Atlantic, now aglow with light above the big keyboard. His eyes swept the thousands of ivory keys and he rubbed his hands together for a final limbering of his fingers.

He spoke, and his intent voice came to them through the amplifier: “ H.H.Q. ”