Then he turned to the president. “You know what they say: ‘Consider the source.’ The advice you’ve been given may say more about your advisers’ concerns than your own. You really ought to think in terms of alignment of interests. Goes for you, too, Mr. Secretary.” He glanced at the now queasy-looking secretary of state and returned to Berquist. “As I said, as far as most of the people in this room are concerned, you’re just passing through. They’ve been around before you, they’ll be here after you. Your immediate, personal interests don’t really mean a whole lot to them. They want you to take the ‘long view.’”

Berquist was silent for half a minute. He was a pragmatist at heart, and used to making the cold, hard calculations that political survival depended upon. Everything else was secondary to that essential arithmetic. His forehead gleamed with sweat.

He forced a smile. “Paul,” he said, “I’m afraid this meeting got off to a bad start. I’d really like to hear you out.”

“Mr. President,” Douglas Albright protested. “This is entirely inappropriate. We’ve gone through this again and again, and—”

“Fine, Doug. Why don’t you tell me that you know how to nullify what Paul Janson’s gone and done? I haven’t heard anybody here bother to address that particular matter.”

“These aren’t comparables!” Albright stormed. “We’re talking about the long-term interests of this geopolitical entity, not the greater glory of the second Berquist administration! There’s no comparison! Mobius is bigger than all of us. There’s only one right decision.”

“And what about, oh, a looming political scandal?”

“Suck it up, Mr. President,” Albright said quietly. “I’m sorry, sir. You’ve got a decent chance of toughing it out. That’s what you politicians specialize in, isn’t it? Cut taxes, launch a decency campaign against Hollywood, go to war in Colombia—do whatever your pollsters say. Americans have the attention span of a gnat. But, if you’ll forgive my directness, you cannot sacrifice this program on the altar of political ambition.”

“Always interesting to hear what you think I can and cannot do, Doug,” Berquist said, leaning over and squeezing the analyst’s beefy shoulders, “But I’ve think you’ve said enough today.”

“Please, Mr. President—”

“Put a sock in it, Doug,” Berquist said. “I’m thinking here. Doing some deep presidential-level policy reevaluation.”

“I’m talking about the prospects of reengineering global polities.” Albright’s voice rose to a squawk of indignation. “You’re just talking about your reelection chances.”

“You got that one right. Call me a stick-in-the-mud. I kinda have a hankering for the scenario where I’m still president.” He turned to Janson. “Your game, your rules,” he said. “I can live with that.”

“Excellent choice, Mr. President,” Janson said neutrally.

Berquist gave him a smile that combined command and entreaty. “Now give me my goddamn presidency back.”