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The story opens with a description of a statue on the grounds of the United Worlds organization raised to
Richard "Dick" Altmayer. It displays a quote and three dates, which correspond to the three days upon which he was arrested for crimes motivated by his beliefs. The first is in the year 2755 of
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Ultimately, Altmayer's desire for a united humanity is achieved after a war against the
Diaboli. This unity, however, has been realised only through Stock's political manipulations rather than Altmayer's idealistic actions. Stock asks his one-time friend to be one of the delegates from Earth to a
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The book begins with the description of a statue containing three dates and an epigram: "In a good cause, there are no failures. There are only delayed successes." This is followed by a section for each of the three dates.
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peace conference, but realizes that history will not record his own participation in the unification of humanity, but will instead vilify him as a cruel and short-sighted politician.
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the "Atomic Era" (corresponding to 4700 AD in
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Asimov said that although stories usually depict their authors' opinions, "this particular story ... doesn't quite reflect my own feelings.
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Over a 45-year period, Stock reaches high military rank and then political office, whilst
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that also occupies several planetary systems in the galaxy.
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into military service for a war between human-occupied
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