‘It is the dinosaurs who are spoilt,’ said Kachika. ‘If the ant world had put the brakes on sooner, the dinosaur world would not have spiralled so far out of control nor become this mad and arrogant.’

The hall fell quiet once more, but this time the air was charged with a frighteningly explosive energy. Again, Dodomi was the first to break the silence.

Glancing round the room, he said rather cryptically, ‘Hmm, I think I require a moment alone with the ants.’

He heaved himself up onto the roundtable, crouched down in front of the crystal platter, prised it off the table, picked it up and carried the ants away, out of earshot of the other dinosaurs.

He withdrew a compact translator device from his jacket pocket and addressed Kachika directly.

‘Madam Supreme Consul, the Ant Federation’s declaration is not entirely unreasonable. Everyone can see that civilisation on Earth is facing a crisis. The Laurasian Republic is keen to solve this crisis too, only we haven’t found the right moment. But it occurs to me now that there’s an obvious shortcut we could take…’

He paused, partly to check that Kachika’s antennae were twitching in his direction, and partly for dramatic effect.

‘You ants could go on strike’ – Dodomi bared the full set of his terrifyingly sharp fangs in a ghoulish grin – ‘but only in the Gondwanan Empire. When the Gondwanan economy collapses and social chaos ensues, the Laurasian Republic will launch an all-out offensive and crush the Gondwanans in one fell swoop. They will be vulnerable and we will have no need to resort to nuclear war. We will then occupy Gondwana and shut down every last one of their industrial plants. As for the population problem, the war will wipe out at least a third of the dinosaurs in Gondwana, and the survivors will not be permitted to procreate for a century.’

He exhaled forcefully, undeniably pleased with himself. ‘Now, does that not meet the Federation’s demands?’

‘No, Mr President,’ said Kachika from the centre of the crystal platter. The other ant officials around her shook their heads. ‘That will not change the nature of the dinosaur world, and sooner or later we will be back to where we are now. A world war on the scale you envision will certainly have unforeseen consequences. More importantly, the Ant Federation has always extended the same treatment to all dinosaurs, regardless of ethnicity or nationality. In all parts of the dinosaur world we perform the same work for the same compensation, and we never involve ourselves in your politics or wars. This is a principle the ant world has honoured since ancient times, and it is essential to safeguarding the inviolable independence of the Ant Federation.’

The secretary-general chose this moment to shout across at them from the roundtable. ‘Mr President,’ he boomed, ‘please return the platter so we can continue the meeting.’