The man in red robes, whose name was Mr. Simon, cleared a piece of phlegm from his throat and then reminded everyone that the candidates were under oath to tell the truth and the whole truth or else they would be locked up in a most unpleasant jail. Jacob stood smugly behind his lectern while Mick checked out his hair in a small mirror. There was no way Mick could beat him at a debate where honesty was a requirement.

Jacob looked out into the crowd and saw Sarah Daisy, and he narrowed his eyes at her. She narrowed her eyes back. He was even more motivated to win the debate.

“Now then,” Mr. Simon said. “What do you feel are the most important issues in the campaign? Let’s start with Candidate Wonderbar.”

Jacob turned to the audience and cameras and said, “Thank you, Mr. Simon. Let’s start with time, which is completely confusing. I don’t know how anyone can tell their zoomecs from their parcelticks from their starweeks. Different planets have different time systems, and that doesn’t make sense. When I’m president I’ll start an initiative to fix that. One Galaxy, One Time. It’s time”—Jacob smiled at his pun—“for a change.”

The audience clapped politely. Mick yawned.

“Candidate Cracken?” Mr. Simon prompted.

“Wouldn’t some say that the biggest issue in the campaign is that my opponent is deranged and possibly a former mental patient?” Mick asked.

Jacob smiled and stuck a finger out at Mick. “That’s a lie! Arrest him!”

The audience stirred and chattered, and Mr. Simon called for order.

Mick raised his hands in innocence. “Oh, I wouldn’t say that my opponent is a deranged psychopath. I believe Candidate Wonderbar is an upstanding citizen who knows how to tie his shoes. I’m just asking a question, and a question isn’t a lie. Should people be worried that Jacob Wonderbar could be completely crazy and mentally imbalanced? Should they be terrified of his secret agenda? Those are just questions, understand.”

Jacob felt his ears burning. Mick had found a loophole.

“Should people be worried that my opponent is a liar who can’t tell the truth?” Jacob asked.

“No, they shouldn’t,” Mick said. “Because we’re on a planet where I am legally bound to tell the truth. If I lied, I would be imprisoned.”

Jacob fumed. He had thought that Mick would be slowed down on Planet Veritas, but he realized Mick was just using the planet against him. Still, he knew the worst thing he could do would be to fall into Mick’s plot. He needed to stick to his game plan.

“Let’s get back to the issues,” Jacob said. “There is not nearly enough pizza in outer space, and if I were president—”

“Did you see how Candidate Wonderbar just interrupted me?” Mick asked.

“But…” Jacob sputtered. “You just interrupted me! I was trying to—”

“Sad, isn’t it?” Mick asked. “Makes you wonder…”

Jacob turned back to Mr. Simon in exasperation and waited for him to ask another question.

“Why do you want to be president?” Mr. Simon asked. “Candidate Cracken, you first.”

Mick rested his chin on a fist, appearing deep in thought, and then said, “This election was my idea. I convinced the king, my father, that the people deserved to choose their own leader. That is why you now have the right to vote. I think having a monarchy is lazy”—he looked up as he said this, and Jacob knew he was making a point of looking at Catalina—“and I think this election is the best thing to ever happen to the Astral people. We can decide our future together. I know I’m the right person to lead us into this new era.”

As the audience applauded, Jacob waited a moment for police to swoop in to arrest Mick, but he realized he must not have been lying.

“Candidate Wonderbar?” Mr. Simon asked. “Why do you want to be president?”

Jacob wanted to come up with something just as eloquent as Mick’s response, to give the people the answer they wanted to hear, something that sounded even more impressive. But he knew he couldn’t so much as stretch the truth, or else he’d land in jail. And the truth wasn’t impressive at all.

He looked down at the lectern and said, “I think I’d do a good job. And… well, the king asked me to.”

And with that, Jacob knew that the truth had just cost him the debate.