The field marshal dipped her antennae. ‘I do. This sort of operation is on a par with a nuclear-missile strike. It will have been designed with an extremely complex system of security locks. The command to detonate the antimatter will only be valid if issued by a dinosaur at the highest level, and the dinosaurs with that degree of authority will certainly have been eliminated by now. Therefore, the order will never be given. Regarding malfunctions or breaks in the chain of command, those won’t be a problem either. The slightest anomaly will send the system into lockdown.’

Kachika turned to the professor. ‘How long can the magnetic fields within the containment vessels be maintained?’

‘For a considerable period,’ Joya replied. ‘The magnetic fields are produced by a circulating current in a superconductor, which decays very slowly. In addition, Leviathan and Luna are both equipped with nuclear batteries capable of supplying power for a long time, so the systems can replenish the charge lost without outside interference. According to the dinosaurs, the confining magnetic fields can be maintained for at least twenty years.’

‘Then it’s obvious what we should do,’ Kachika said firmly. ‘We must immediately find Luna and Leviathan, build shields around the containment vessels and insulate them from all external electromagnetic signals, thereby eliminating the possibility of a signal from the outside world detonating either weapon.’

‘And then,’ said Field Marshal Jolie, ‘we must think of a way to launch the vessels into space. Although it will be difficult, we have time on our side. With the spaceships and rockets the dinosaurs left behind, we should be able to do it.’

Now that victory was potentially in their sights once more, the ants broke into animated discussion about operational details.

But Professor Joya was having none of it. ‘If we follow the supreme consul’s plan, Earth is doomed,’ she said.

The ants turned to stare at her, incomprehension on every face.