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selfishness. Theycould never see the scope of a larger plan unless they weredirected toward it. Even then,
their minds seemed unable toabsorb such a plan's completeness. They could, it seemed, seeparts but
never wholes. No wonder they were not fit togovern a single portion of the universe. As he replied to
Baltar, he continued to give his voice a human sound, so asnot to confuse the stupid, traitorous man.
"Count Baltar, there is no other side. You have missed theentire point of the war."
"I don't know what you mean," Baltar said. His voice"suddenly subdued, he cringed.
"What I mean is that there could be no dominion over thespecies so long as man remained a power with
the universe. There are no shades of meaning when it comes to this. Manor the Alliance, the answer is
obvious. Compromise is not atall acceptable."
A whining tone came into Baltar's voice when he spokenext:
"But you have what you want. The threat is gone, it nolongerexists. I delivered my end of the bargain.
On myworld, my reputation is firm-whatever Count Baltar sayshe'll do, gets done by him and him only. I
did what I wassupposed to! My dominion was to be spared, you said it wasto-"
"Dominion? There can be only one dominion, one power,one authority. There must be no exceptions."
"What are you, you think you're some kind of god?"
"Gods are one of the intellectual trivialities of your race."
"All right, forget I said that. But, believe me, I have no ambitions against you."
Imperious Leader blended a burst of laughter into thesarcasm of his voice-box mixture.
"You grow smaller as you stand there, Baltar. Could you think me so foolish as to trust a man who
would see his own race destroyed?"
"Notdestroyed- subjugated. Under me-"
"There can be no survivors. The Alliance is threatenedeven if one single human being remains alive on
one of thecolonies."
"Surely-surely, well, of course you don't mean me."
Urgent messages were being transmitted to him from hisaides all through the chamber. He had spent too
much timealready with this pitiful human representative. And hefancied himself aworthy survivor!
"We thank you for your help, Baltar. Your time is at anend."
Two Cylon centurions materialized out of the shadows inwhich the leader had positioned them. Each
took a fleshy arm and lifted Baltar off the floor.
"No!" Baltar shouted. "You can't! You still need me!"
"Need you. That is unlikely."
"I have-I have information. Please. My life for myinformation."
Always willing to bargain, Imperious Leader thought,this human would never stop desperately offering
trades.
"What is your information?"
Baltar pulled away from the centurions and approached the pedestal. There was a surprising arrogance
in his walk.
"My life?" Baltar said.
"Your life," the Leader said. An easy promise. Easybecause he had no intention of keeping it.
Baltar looked to each side as if he suspected he could beoverheard. By whom?
"At the spacedrome on Caprica... when your centurionswere collecting and exterminating survivors, one
of themgave me information."
"Oh? On what grounds?"
"That I save the man's life."
"Did you?"
"Of course not. I beheaded him myself."
"Oh. Interesting. Go on. What did he tell you?"
"Many humans escaped, he said."
"But how could that be?"
"They escaped in ships, anything they could find. Ahandful of survivors. And you haven't located them."
"Perhaps you are right. But they would have neither fuelnor food for a prolonged voyage."
"He told me they were heading for a rendezvous with a surviving battlestar."
"A battlestar!"
"Yes. He said it was theGalactica."
"That can't be! I will not allow it."
"I don't know what you can do about it."
"Make it my business to destroy those ships. And theirpreciousGalactica. As I will destroy you now."
"But my information... you promised... you said-"
"Dispose of him."
The centurions seized Baltar and began to drag him out ofthe chamber.
"You can't do this to me!" Baltar shouted.
"I would remind you that this is exactly what you did to your informant."
As he awaited his centurion's return with the announce-ment that Baltar's head had been separated from
his body, Imperious Leader contemplated the man's loathsomeness. By human standards, the trader was
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