City at World's End, page 109 by Edmond Hamilton
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110
he stood but much larger, a communications room massive with control banks and screens.
Through the window of that room billions of miles across space, Kenniston could see the looming wall of a titanic building. And above it blazed the fiery limb of a diamond Sun, supernal, magnificent, shedding a blue-white blaze across the heavens.
Again the sharp voice from across the galaxy, flashing through the parsecs far faster than light by the magic of latter-day science.
"Varn Allan! Who is this man?"
"He's one of the Earth primitives, sir," she answered angrily, and turned again to Kenniston. "You have no right here! Leave at once."
"No," said Kenniston. "Not until I've had my say."
"Lund," said Varn Allan, "will you please call orderlies and have him removed?"
Kenniston moved a little. "I wouldn't," he said.
Lund considered. His eyes moved from Kenniston's knotted fist to Varn Allan's angry face, and there was a smile in them.
"After all," he said, "I suppose this man is a citizen of the Federation now. Can we deny him his right of speech?"
Varn Allan's blue eyes flashed hotly at him. Then she spoke to the images in the screen. "I'm sorry, gentlemen. But perhaps this will demonstrate the situation here more clearly. I have had no cooperation from the primitives, and my own subordinate is apparently trying to undermine my authority."
The dark younger man of the four said impatiently, "This is not the occasion to hear complaints of administrative wrangling!"
Kenniston was glaring upward at the quartet on Vega's faraway world who seemed to hold the fate of Middletown in their hands. He demanded, "Are you the executive committee responsible for the evacuation order?"
The oldest man said to him quietly, "There is no need for truculence. Yes, we are that committee." He glanced at Varn Allan. "I think, Allan, that since the interruption has been made, we may as well clear this thing up now."
Varn Allan shrugged, and Lund's smil