The Ganymede Takeover

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At three in the morning the vidphone rang on the bedtable of Rudolph Balkani, Chief of the Bureau of Psychedelic Research. It rang for a long time before Balkani answered it, though—as so often of late—he had been awake for hours.

“Yes, this is Balkani.”

“I want some information,” a worried voice on the other end of the line said. Balkani recognized the voice of the Chairman of the United Nations Security Council. “I thought we could have a little talk.

“Make it brief,” Balkani said. “I’m a sick man.”

“Did you hear the ’cast?”

“What ’cast?” He scratched his bearded chin.

“The alien ultimatum. It came over all the TV and radio—”

“I don’t waste my time with the entertainment media,” Balkani said. “What did they have to offer?”

“ ‘We bring you peace. We bring you unity.’ ”

“Spare me the propaganda. I gather they demand the unconditional surrender of Earth.”

“That’s right. But aren’t you involved in developing some sort of new mind-gadget, Doctor? Won’t that stop them?”

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