The robant runner entered the room now, with Eric's instrument case.

Ignoring this, Freneksy continued, his voice harsh and insistent. 'I also point out, Secretary, that on Front Blue the Terran brigades have not performed well, no doubt due to a lack of proper equipment. Victory is of course inevitable for us – eventually. But right now we must see to it that our troops who hold the line against the reegs are not put in the position of facing the enemy deprived of adequate materiel. It is criminal to allow men to fight under those circumstances; don't you agree, Secretary?' Without pausing, Freneksy continued, 'Therefore you can see the urgency of increasing Terra's output of strategic war goods and weapons of all sorts.'

Molinari saw Eric's instrument case and nodded with relief. 'You have it,' he said. 'Good. Keep it ready, just in case. You know what I think these head noises are from? Hypertension.'

Cautiously, Eric said, 'Could be.'

Now Minister Freneksy had ceased; his expressionless face seemed to become more severe, more withdrawn into the vacuum of his own intensity, the nonBeing which seemed to be his major quality. Irritated by Molinari's lack of attention, Freneksy was drawing from this well of his own anti-existence, Eric decided. Casting his principle over the conference room and the people in it, as if forcing everyone away from each other step by step.

'Secretary,' Freneksy said, 'this now is most crucial. My generals in the field tell me that the new reeg offensive weapon, their—'

'Wait,' Molinari croaked. 'I wish to confer with my colleague, here beside me.' Bending so close to Eric that his soft, perspiration-dampened cheek pressed against his neck, Molinari whispered to him, 'And you know what else? I seem to be having trouble with my eyes. As if I'm going completely blind. Here's what I want you to do, doctor; give me a pressure reading right now. Just to be sure it's not dangerously high. I feel it is frankly.'

Eric opened his instrument case.

At the wall map Minister Freneksy said, 'Secretary, we must attend to this decisive detail before we can continue. Terran troops do not stand up well against the reegs' new homeostatic bomb, hence I would like to relieve a million and a half of my own factory workers and put them into uniform, replacing them in Empire factories with Terrans. This is an advantage for you, Secretary, in that Terrans will not be fighting and dying in the lines but will be safe inside Empire factories. However, this must be done soon or not at all.' He added, 'This explains my desire for an immediate conference at a superior level.'

Eric read, from the testing disc, a pressure of 290 for Molinari, an elevation unnaturally high and ominous.

'Bad, isn't it?' Molinari said, resting his head on his arms. 'Get Teagarden in here,' he instructed a robant. 'I want him to confer with Dr Sweetscent; tell him to be prepared to make a diagnosis on the spot.'

'Secretary,' Freneksy said, 'we cannot continue unless you turn attention to what I'm saying. My request for a million and a half Terran males and females to work in Empire factories – did you hear that? This crucial requisition must be honored at once; transport of these entities must begin no later than the end of this week, your time.'

'Um,' Molinari murmured. 'Yes, Minister, I heard; I'm pondering this request.'

'There is nothing to ponder,' Freneksy said. 'It must be achieved if we are to hold the line on Front C, where reeg pressure is now greatest. A breakthrough is imminent, and Terran brigades have not—'

'I'll have to consult with my Labor Secretary,' Molinari said, after a long pause. 'Get his approval.'

'We must have the one and a half million of your people!'

Reaching into his jacket, Molinari fished out his folded sheets of paper. 'Minister, this statement which I—'

'Do I have your promise?' Freneksy demanded. 'So that we can go on to other matters, now?'

'I'm sick,' Molinari said.

There was silence.

At last Freneksy said thoughtfully, 'I am aware. Secretary, that your health has not been good for years now. Therefore I took the liberty of bringing an Empire physician with me to this conference. This is Dr Gornel.' On the far side of the table a lank-faced 'Starman nodded curtly to the Mole. 'I would like him to examine you, with a view toward making a permanent correction of your physical problems.'

'Thank you, Minister,' Molinari said. 'Your kindness in bringing Dr Gornel is deeply appreciated. However, I have my own staff physician here, Dr Sweetscent. He and Dr Teagarden are about to perform an exploratory examination to determine the cause of my hypertension.'

'Now?' Freneksy said, and showed, for the first time, a trace of genuine emotion. Amazed anger.

'My blood pressure is dangerously high,' Molinari explained. 'If it continues I'll lose my eyesight. In fact already I'm suffering impaired vision.' In a low voice he said to Eric, 'Doctor, everything around me has become dim; I think I'm already blind. Where the hell's Teagarden?'

Eric said, 'I can seek for the source of the hypertension, Secretary; I have the necessary diagnostic instruments with me.' He reached into his case once more. 'Initially I'll give you an injection of radioactive salts which will carry through your bloodstream—'

'I know,' Molinari said. 'And collect at the source of the vasoconstriction. Go ahead.' He rolled up his sleeve and held out his furry arm; Eric pressed the self-cleansing head of the injecting tube against a vein near the elbow and pressed the tab.

Severely, Minister Freneksy said, 'What is taking place, Secretary? Can't we continue with the conference?'

'Yes, go ahead,' Molinari said, nodding. 'Dr Sweetscent is merely making an exploration to—'

'Medical matters bore me,' Freneksy interrupted. 'Secretary, there is a further proposal I wish to make to you now. First, I would like to have my physician, Dr Gornel, placed permanently on your staff to supervise your medical care. Secondly, I have been informed by the Empire counter-intelligence agency operating here on Terra that a group of malcontents, desiring an end to Terra's participation in the war, are planning your assassination; hence I wish, for your safety, to provide you with a perpetual armed guard of 'Starmen commando troops who will, by their extreme courage and determination and efficiency, protect your person at all times. They number twenty-five, an adequate number, given their unique quality.'

'What?' Molinari said. He shuddered. 'What do you find, doctor?' He seemed confused now, unable to keep his attention fixed on both Eric and the progess of the conference. 'Wait, Minister.' To Eric he murmured, 'What the hell do you find, doctor? Or did you just tell me? Sorry.' He rubbed his forehead. 'I'm blind!' His voice was filled with panic. 'Do something doctor!'

Eric, examining the sighting graph which traced the movement of the radioactive salts in Molinari's circulatory system, said, 'There appears to be a stricture of the renal artery which passes through your right kidney. A ring which—'

'I know,' Molinari said, nodding. 'I knew the stricture was in my right kidney; I've had it before. You'll have to operate, doctor, and cut the ring or it'll kill me.' He seemed too weak now to raise his head; he sat slumped over, face in his hands. 'God, I feel terrible,' he mumbled. Then he raised his head and said to Freneksy, 'Minister, I must undergo an immediate corrective operation to relieve this arterial stricture. We'll have to postpone this discussion.' He rose to his feet, swayed, and then fell noisily back; Eric and the man from the state caught him, helped him back into his chair. The Mole seemed incredibly heavy and inert; Eric could hardly support him, even with assistance.

Freneksy declared, The conference must continue.'