I was wondering if I was being too hard on Hubbard, if maybe scientists during the 1980s were legitimately concerned that the planet might be running out of oxygen, but I can find nothing to suggest that anyone else took the issue seriously. Then again, this is the guy who thinks you can wash radiation away with enough water.
So everyone in the Grand Council is quaking at the prospect of the sacred Invasion Timetables being disrupted by those stupid Earthlings flooding and/or burning their planet before it can be conquered, while Gris expects that the Apparatus is about to get crushed for their role in keeping this information from coming out sooner. But Hisst prompts Endow to ask if the combat engineer who'd made the report to the crown had anything else to add besides atmospheric readings.
Captain Roke relays the scout's notes that Earth's satellite network is mostly broadcasting entertainment programs, and isn't geared towards detecting approaches from outer space - I guess NASA and whatnot was just screwing around during the 80s instead of keeping an eye on the skies. The combat engineer (it's Jettero Heller) also remarked what a nice planet we had, and it was a shame we aren't taking better care of it. Since Earth doesn't contain any space-time anomalies, I'll have to agree.
Hisst whispers into his blackmailed puppet's ear and gets Endow to make a speech lamenting how awful these reconnaissance findings are and how much damage they could do to the various government sections, which gets all the other chief bureaucrats in a tizzy imagining the extra work coming their way. Someone proposes invading Earth early, but the Voltar military is undermanned thanks to that rebellious Prince Mortiiy (foreshadowing!) while the fleet hasn't made up losses from its recent campaigns. Plus, we might get spooked at the sight of aliens and use our nukes to "blow the remaining oxygen cover off [our] planet." The head diplomat suggests a peace mission and technological aid to help clean up our planet, so we can survive long enough for them to backstab us during the scheduled invasion. I guess some sort of mutual exchange treaty or cultural assimilation is out of the question, then.
But then Hisst-through-Endow suggests that a covert solution might be best. The Exterior Division could sneak an agent onto Earth and leak technological data that would help reduce pollution, all without anyone realizing aliens were involved. Though this would be a long-term project run by the Exterior Division without much in the way of oversight, it would only cost three million credits or so. This is such a paltry sum that no other department head considers it an attempt at graft, so therefore the plan must be legit. They agree, and Gris sags in relief. "I didn't at all anticipate, when we left that glittering hall, that within twenty-four hours I would be in a pit of blackest despair."
He's in despair a lot. In contrast, we're done with Part One, so I'm in fairly good spirits.
Back to Chapter Seven
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