Then there was the caucus meeting of the Labour Party MPs yesterday while National didn't bother holding one. Word went around that maybe Labour had been given the heads up, as National was way back in 1996, to be on standby in the caucus room to wait for the knock on the door for the ministerial demands to be made?
The knock never came. The conspiracy, like most good conspiracies, and as appealing as it was, was just that and the wait continues.
Peters is putting on a brave but weary face but it would seem ground control does have a problem. National's desperate to hold on to Government and after nine years Labour is equally desperate to become Government.
They've no doubt both offered more than they had intended to but New Zealand First is obviously playing hard ball. Either that or there's trouble in the spaceship and they're arguing with each other over which side to go with. Now that's a conspiracy which is basically all we've got.
The board's gone home and the MPs will meet again today. The mysterious board will be contacted by phone to sign off the final deal, something Peters said only last week would be unsatisfactory given the gravity of the decision, it had to be face to face.
Labour will be hoping this ends better than the lyrics of Bowie's hit: "Planet Earth is blue, and there's nothing I can do!"