Oh, no, said Ingra wearily. After all, we could trade with them, furs and minerals and so on, if ninety per cent of our production didnt have to go into defense. I only thought they might teach us how to be human.
I had assumed we were still classified Homo sapiens, said Rusch in a parched tone.
Oh, you know what I mean! She turned on him, violet eyes suddenly aflare. Sometimes I wonder if youre human, Margrave Hans von Thoma Rusch. I mean free, free to be something more than a robot, free to raise children knowing they wont have their lungs shoved out their mouths when a Kolreshite cruiser hulls one of our spaceships. What is our whole culture, Hans? A layer of brutalized farmhands and factory workersserfs! A top crust of heel-clattering aristocrats who live for nothing but war. A little folk art, folk music, folk saga, full of blood and treachery. Where are our symphonies, novels, cathedrals, research laboratorieswhere are people who can say what they wish and make what they will of their lives and be happy?
RUSCH DIDNT ANSWER for a moment. He looked at her, unblinking behind his monocle, till she dropped her gaze and twisted her hands together. Then he said only: You exaggerate.
Perhaps. Its still the basic truth. Rebellion rode in her voice. Its what all the other worlds think of us.
Even if the democratic assumptionthat the eternal verities can be discovered by counting enough noseswere true, said Rusch, you cannot repeal eight hundred years of history by decree.
No. But you could work toward it, she said. I think youre wrong in despising the common man, Hanswhen was he ever given a chance, in this kingdom? We could make a beginning now, and Earth could send psychotechnic advisors, and in two or three generations
What would Kolresh be doing while we experimented with forms of government? he laughed.
Always Kolresh. Her shoulders, slim behind the burning-red cloak, slumped. Kolresh turned a hundred hopeful towns into radioactive craters and left the gnawed bones of children in the fields. Kolresh killed my husband, like a score of kings before him. Kolresh blasted your family to ash, Hans, and scarred your face and your soul She whirled back on him, fists aloft, and almost screamed: Do you want to make an ally of Kolresh?
The Margrave took out his pipe and began filling it. The saffron sundown, reflected off the ocean to his face, gave him a metal look.
Well, he said, weve been at peace with them for all of ten years now. Almost a record.
Cant we find allies? Real ones? Im sick of being a figurehead! Id befriend Ahuramazda, New Mars, LagrangeWe could raise a crusade against Kolresh, wipe every last filthy one of them out of the universe!
Now whos a heel-clattering aristocrat? grinned Rusch.
He lit his pipe and strolled toward the beach. She stood for an angry moment, then sighed and followed him.
Do you think it hasnt been tried? he said patiently. For generations weve tried to build up a permanent alliance directed at Kolresh. What temporary ones we achieved have always fallen apart. Nobody loves us enoughand, since weve always taken the heaviest blows, nobody hates Kolresh enough.
He found a bench on the glistening edge of the strand, and sat down and looked across a steady march of surf, turned to molten gold by the low sun and the incandescent western clouds. Ingra joined him.
I cant really blame the others for not liking us, she said in a small voice. We are overmechanized and undercultured, arrogant, tactless, undemocratic, hard-boiledoh, yes. But their own self-interest
They dont imagine it can happen to them, replied Rusch contemptuously. And there are even pro-Kolresh elements, here and there. He raised his voice an octave: Oh, my dear sir, my dear Margrave, what are you saying? Why, of course Kolresh would never attack us! They made a treaty never to attack us!
Ingra sighed, forlornly. Rusch laid an arm across her shoulders. They sat for a while without speaking.
ANYWAY, SAID THE man finally, Kolresh is too strong for any combination of powers in this part of the galaxy. We and they are the only ones with a military strength worth mentioning. Even Earth would have a hard time defeating them, and Earth, of course, will lean backward before undertaking a major war. She has too much to lose; its so much more comfortable to regard the Kolreshite raids as mere piracies, the skirmishes as police actions. She just plain will not pay the stiff price of an army and a navy able to whip Kolresh and occupy the Kolreshite planets.
And so it is to be war again. Ingra looked out in desolation across the sea.
Maybe not, said Rusch. Maybe a different kind of war, at leastno more black ships coming out of our sky.
He blew smoke for a while, as if gathering courage, then spoke in a quick, impersonal manner: Look here. We Norrons are not a naval power. Its not in our tradition. Our navy has always been inadequate and always will be. But we can breed the toughest soldiers in the known galaxy, in unlimited numbers; we can condition them into fighting machines, and equip them with the most lethal weapons living flesh can wield.
Kolresh, of course, is just the opposite. Space nomads, small population, able to destroy anything their guns can reach but not able to dig in and hold it against us. For seven hundred years, we and they have been the elephant and the whale. Neither could ever win a real victory over the other; war became the normal state of affairs, peace a breathing spell. Because of the mutation, there will always be war, as long as one single Kolreshite lives. We cant kill them, we cant befriend themall we can do is to be bled white to stop them.
A wind sighed over the slow thunder on the beach. A line of sea birds crossed the sky, thin and black against glowing bronze.
I know, said Ingra. I know the history, and I know what youre leading up to. Kolresh will furnish transportation and naval escort; Norstad-Ostarik will furnish men. Between us, we may be able to take Earth.
We will, said Rusch flatly. Earth has grown plump and lazy. She cant possibly rearm enough in a few months to stop such a combination.
And all the galaxy will spit on our name.
All the galaxy will lie open to conquest, once Earth has fallen.
How long do you think we would last, riding the Kolresh tiger?
I have no illusions about them, my dear. But neither can I see any way to break this eternal deadlock. In a fluid situation, such as the collapse of Earth would produce, we might be able to create a navy as good as theirs. Theyve never yet given us a chance to build one, but perhaps
Perhaps not! I doubt very much it was a meteor which wrecked my husbands ship, five years ago. I think Kolresh knew of his hopes, of the shipyard he wanted to start, and murdered him.
Its probable, said Rusch.
And you would league us with them. Ingra turned a colorless face on him. Im still the queen. I forbid any further consideration of thisthis obscene alliance!
Rusch sighed. I was afraid of that, your highness. For a moment he looked gray, tired. You have a veto power, of course. But I dont think the Ministry would continue in office a regent who used it against the best interests of
She leaped to her feet. You wouldnt!
Oh, youd not be harmed, said Rusch with a crooked smile. Not even deposed. Youd be in a protective custody, shall we say. Of course, his majesty, your son, would have to be educated elsewhere, but if you wish
Her palm cracked on his face. He made no motion.
Iwont veto Ingra shook her head. Then her back grew stiff. Your ship will be ready to take you home, my lord. I do not think we shall require your presence here again.
As you will, your highness, mumbled the dictator of the Double Kingdom.
THOUGH HE RETURNED with a bitter word in his mouth, Unduma felt the joy, the biological rightness of being home, rise warm within him. He sat on a terrace under the mild sky of Earth, with the dear bright flow of the Zambezi River at his feet and the slim towers of Capital City rearing as far as he could see, each gracious, in its own green park. The people on the clean quiet streets wore airy blouses and colorful kiltsnot the trousers for men, ankle-length skirts for women, which muffled the sad folk of Norstad. And there was educated conversation in the gentle Tierrans language, music from an open window, laughter on the verandas and children playing in the parks: freedom, law, and leisure.
The thought that this might be rubbed out of history, that the robots of Norstad and the snake-souled monsters of Kolresh might tramp between broken spires where starved Earthmen hid, was a tearing in Unduma.
He managed to lift his drink and lean back with the proper casual elegance. No, sir, he said, they are not bluffing.
Ngu Chilongo, Premier of the Federation Parliament, blinked unhappy eyes. He was a small grizzled man, and a wise man, but this lay beyond everything he had known in a long lifetime and he was slow to grasp it.
But surely he began. Surely thisthis Rusch person is not insane. He cannot think that his two planets, with a population of, what is it, perhaps one billion, can overcome four billion Terrestrials!
There would also be several million Kolreshites to help, reminded Unduma. However, they would handle the naval end of it entirelyand their navy is considerably stronger than ours. The Norron forces would be the ones which actually landed, to fight the air and ground battles. And out of those paltry one billion, Rusch can raise approximately one hundred million soldiers.
Chilongos glass crashed to the terrace. What!
Its true, sir. The third man present, Mustafa Lefarge, Minister of Defense, spoke in a miserable tone. Its a question of every able-bodied citizen, male and female, being a trained member of the armed forces. In time of war, virtually everyone not in actual combat is directly contributing to some phase of the efforta civilian economy virtually ceases to exist. Theyre used to getting along for years at a stretch with no comforts and a bare minimum of necessities. His voice grew sardonic. By necessities, they mean things like food and ammunitionnot, say, entertainment or cultural activity, as we assume.
A hundred million, whispered Chilongo. He stared at his hands. Why, thats ten times our total forces!
Which are ill-trained, ill-equipped, and ill-regarded by our own civilians, pointed out Lefarge bitterly.
In short, sir, said Unduma, while we could defeat either Kolresh or Norstad-Ostarik in an all-out warthough with considerable difficultybetween them they can defeat us.
Chilongo shivered. Unduma felt a certain pity for him. You had to get used to it in small doses, this fact which Civilization screened from Earth: that the depths of hell are found in the human soul. That no law of nature guards the upright innocent from malice.
But they wouldnt dare! protested the Premier. Our friendseverywhere
All the human-colonized galaxy will wring its hands and send stiff notes of protest, said Lefarge. Then theyll pull the blankets back over their heads and assure themselves that now the big bad aggressor has been sated.
This noteof Ruschs. Chilongo seemed to be grabbing out after support while the world dropped from beneath his feet. Sweat glistened on his wrinkled brown forehead. Their termssurely we can make some agreement?
Their terms are impossible, as youll see for yourself when you read, said Unduma flatly. They want us to declare war on Kolresh, accept a joint command under Norron leadership, foot the bill andNo!
But if we have to fight anyway, began Chilongo, it would seem better to have at least one ally
Has Earth changed that much since I was gone? asked Unduma in astonishment. Would our people really consent to thisthis extortionletting those hairy barbarians write our foreign policy for usWhy, jumping into war, making the first declaration ourselves, its unconstitutional! Its un-Civilized!
Chilongo seemed to shrink a little. No, he said. No, I dont mean that. Of course its impossible; better to be honestly defeated in battle. I only thought, perhaps we could bargain
We can try, said Unduma skeptically, but I never heard of Hans Rusch yielding an angstrom without a pistol at his head.
Lefarge struck a cigar, inhaled deeply, and took another sip from his glass. I hardly imagine an alliance with Kolresh would please his own people, he mused.
Scarcely! said Unduma. But theyll accept it if they must.
Oh? No chance for us to get him overthrownassassinated, even?
Not to speak of. Let me explain. Hes only a petty aristocrat by birth, but during the last war with Kolresh he gained high rank and a personal following of fanatically loyal young officers. For the past few years, since the king died, hes been the dictator. Hes filled the key posts with his men: hard, able, and unquestioning. Everyone else is either admiring or cowed. Give him credit, hes no megalomaniache shuns publicitybut that simply divorces his power all the more from responsibility. You can measure it by pointing out that everyone knows he will probably ally with Kolresh, and everyone has a nearly physical loathing of the ideabut there is not a word of criticism for Rusch himself, and when he orders it they will embark on Kolreshite ships to ruin the Earth they love.
It could almost make you believe in the old myths, whispered Chilongo. About the Devil incarnate.
Well, said Unduma, this sort of thing has happened before, you know.
Hm-m-m? Lefarge sat up.
Unduma smiled sadly. Historical examples, he said. Theyre of no practical value today, except for giving the cold consolation that were not uniquely betrayed.
What do you mean? asked Chilongo.
Well, said Unduma, consider the astropolitics of the situation. Around Polaris and beyond lies Kolresh territory, where for a long time they sharpened their teeth preying on backward autochthones. At last they started expanding toward the richer human-settled planets. Norstad happened to lie directly on their path, so Norstad took the first blowand stopped them.
Since then, its been seven hundred years of stalemated war. Oh, naturally Kolresh outflanks Norstad from time to time, seizes this planet in the galactic west and raids that one to the north, fights a war with one to the south and makes an alliance with one to the east. But it has never amounted to anything important. It cant, with Norstad astride the most direct line between the heart of Kolresh and the heart of Civilization. If Kolresh made a serious effort to by-pass Norstad, the Norrons couldand woulddisrupt everything with an attack in the rear.
In short, despite the fact that interstellar space is three-dimensional and enormous, Norstad guards the northern marches of Civilization.
He paused for another sip. It was cool and subtle on his tongue, a benediction after the outworld rotgut.
Hm-m-m, I never thought of it just that way, said Lefarge. I assumed it was just a matter of barbarians fighting each other for the usual barbarian reasons.
Oh, it is, I imagine, said Unduma, but the result is that Norstad acts as the shield of Earth.
Now if you examine early Terrestrial historyand Rusch, who has a remarkable knowledge of it, stimulated me to do soyoull find that this is a common thing. A small semicivilized state, out on the marches, holds off the enemy while the true civilization prospers behind it. Assyria warded Mesopotamia, Rome defended Greece, the Welsh border lords kept England safe, the Transoxanian Tartars were the shield of Persia, Prussia blocked the approaches to western Europeoh, I could add a good many examples. In every instance, a somewhat backward people on the distant frontier of a civilization receive the worst hammer-blows of the really alien races beyond, the wild men who would leave nothing standing if they could get at the protected cities of the inner society.
He paused for breath. And so? asked Chilongo.
Well, of course, suffering isnt good for people, shrugged Unduma. It tends to make them rather nasty. The marchmen react to incessant war by becoming a warrior race, uncouth peasants with an absolute government of ruthless militarists. Nobody loves them, neither the outer savages nor the inner polite nations.
And in the end, theyre all too apt to turn inward. Their military skill and vigor need a more promising outlet than this grim business of always fighting off an enemy who always comes back and who has even less to steal than the sentry culture.
So Assyria sacks Babylon; Rome conquers Greece; Percy rises against King Henry; Tamerlane overthrows Bajazet; Prussia clanks into France
And Norstad-Ostarik falls on Earth, finished Lefarge.
Exactly, said Unduma. Its not even unprecedented for the border state to join hands with the very tribes it fought so long. Percy and Owen Glendower, for instancethough in that case, I imagine both parties were considerably more attractive than Hans Rusch or Klerak Belug.
What are we going to do? Chilongo whispered it toward the blue sky of Earth, from which no bombs had fallen for a thousand years.
Then he shook himself, jumped to his feet, and faced the other two. Im sorry, gentlemen. This has taken me rather by surprise, and Ill naturally require time to look at this Norron protocol and evaluate the other data. But if it turns out youre righthe bowed urbanelyas Im sure it will
Yes? said Unduma in a tautening voice.
Why, then, we appear to have some months, at least, before anything drastic happens. We can try to gain more time by negotiation. We do have the largest industrial complex in the known universe, and four billion people who have surely not had courage bred out of them. Well build up our armed forces, and if those barbarians attack well whip them back into their own kennels and kick them through the rear walls thereof!
I hoped youd say that, breathed Unduma.
I hope well be granted time, Lefarge scowled. I assume Rusch is not a fool. We cannot rearm in anything less than a glare of publicity. When he learns of it, whats to prevent him from cementing the Kolresh alliance and attacking at once, before were ready?
Their mutual suspiciousness ought to help, said Unduma. Ill go back there, of course, and do what I can to stir up trouble between them.
He sat still for a moment, then added as if to himself: Till we do finish preparing, we have no resources but hope.
THE KOLRESHITE MUTATION was a subtle thing. It did not show on the surface: physically, they were a handsome people, running to white skin and orange hair. Over the centuries, thousands of Norron spies had infiltrated them, and frequently gotten back alive; what made such work unusually difficult was not the normal hazards of impersonation, but an ingrained reluctance to practice cannibalism and worse.
The mutation was a psychic twist, probably originating in some obscure gene related to the endocrine system. It was extraordinarily hard to describeevery categorical statement about it had the usual quota of exceptions and qualifications. But one might, to a first approximation, call it extreme xenophobia. It is normal for Homo sapiens to be somewhat wary of outsiders till he has established their bona fides; it was normal for Homo Kolreshi to hate all outsiders, from first glimpse to final destruction.
Naturally, such an instinct produced a tendency to inbreeding, which lowered fertility, but systematic execution of the unfit had so far kept the stock vigorous. The instinct also led to strongarm rule within the nation; to nomadism, where a planet was only a base like the oasis of the ancient Bedouin, essential to life but rarely seen; to a cult of secrecy and cruelty, a religion of abominations; to an ultimate goal of conquering the accessible universe and wiping out all other races.
Of course, it was not so simple, nor so blatant. Among themselves, the Kolreshites doubtless found a degree of tenderness and fidelity. Visiting on neutral planetsi.e., planets which it was not yet expedient to attackthey were very courteous and had an account of defending themselves against one unprovoked aggression after another, which some found plausible. Even their enemies stood in awe of their personal heroism.
Nevertheless, few in the galaxy would have wept if the Kolreshites all died one rainy night.
Hans von Thoma Rusch brought his speedster to the great whaleback of the battleship. It lay a light-year from his sun, hidden by cold emptiness; the co-ordinates had been given him secretly, together with an invitation which was more like a summons.
He glided into the landing cradle, under the turrets of guns that could pound a moon apart, and let the mechanism suck him down below decks. When he stepped out into the high, coldly lit debarkation chamber, an honor guard in red presented arms and pipes twittered for him.
He walked slowly forward, a big man in black and silver, to meet his counterpart, Klerak Belug, the Overman of Kolresh, who waited rigid in a blood-colored tunic. The cabin bristled around him with secret police and guns.
Rusch clicked heels. Good day, your dominance, he said. A faint echo followed his voice. For some unknown reason, this folk liked echoes and always built walls to resonate.
Belug, an aging giant who topped him by a head, raised shaggy brows. Are you alone, your lordship? he asked in atrociously accented Norron. It was understood that you could bring a personal bodyguard.
Rusch shrugged. I would have needed a personal dreadnought to be quite safe, he replied in fluent Kolra, so I decided to trust your safe conduct. I assume you realize that any harm done to me means instant war with my kingdom.
The broad, wrinkled lion-face before him split into a grin. My representatives did not misjudge you, your lordship. I think we can indeed do business. Come.
The Overman turned and led the way down a ramp toward the guts of the ship. Rusch followed, enclosed by guards and bayonets. He kept a hand on his own sidearmnot that it would do him much good, if matters came to that.
Events were approaching their climax, he thought in a cold layer of his brain. For more than a year now, negotiations had dragged on, hemmed in by the requirement of secrecy, weighted down by mutual suspicion. There were only two points of disagreement remaining, but discussion had been so thoroughly snagged on those that the two absolute rulers must meet to settle it personally. It was Belug who had issued the contemptuous invitation.
And he, Rusch, had come. Tonight the old kings of Norstad wept worms in their graves.
The party entered a small, luxuriously chaired room. There were the usual robots, for transcription and reference purposes, and there were guards, but Overman and Margrave were essentially alone.
Belug wheezed his bulk into a seat. Smoke? Drink?
I have my own, thank you. Rusch took out his pipe and a hip flask.
That is scarcely diplomatic, rumbled Belug.
Rusch laughed. Id always understood that your dominance had no use for the mannerisms of Civilization. I daresay wed both like to finish our business as quickly as possible.
The Overman snapped his fingers. Someone glided up with wine in a glass. He sipped for a while before answering: Yes. By all means. Let us reach an executive agreement now and wait for our hirelings to draw up a formal treaty. But it seems odd, sir, that after all these months of delay, you are suddenly so eager to complete the work.
Not odd, said Rusch. Earth is rearming at a considerable rate. Shes had almost a year now. We can still whip her, but in another six months well no longer be able to; give her automated factories half a year beyond that, and shell destroy us!
It must have been clear to you, sir, that after the Earth Ambassadorwhats his name, Undumaafter he returned to your planets last year, he was doing all he could to gain time.
Oh, yes, said Rusch. Making offers to me, and then haggling over thembrewing trouble elsewhere to divert our attentiona gallant effort. But it didnt work. Frankly, your dominance, youve only yourself to blame for the delays. For example, your insisting that Earth be administered as Kolreshite territory
My dear sir! exploded Belug. It was a talking point. Only a talking point. Any diplomatist would have understood. But you took six weeks to study it, then offered that preposterous counter-proposal that everything should revert to you, loot and territory bothWhy, if you had been truly willing to co-operate, we could have settled the terms in a month!
As you like, your dominance, said Rusch carelessly. Its all past now. There are only these questions of troop transport and prisoners, then were in total agreement.
Klerak Belug narrowed his eyes and rubbed his chin with one outsize hand. I do not comprehend, he said, and neither do my naval officers. We have regular transports for your men, nothing extraordinary in the way of comfort, to be sure, but infinitely more suitable for so long a voyage thanthan the naval units you insist we use. Dont you understand? A transport is for carrying men or cargo; a ship of the line is to fight or convoy. You do not mix the functions!
I do, your dominance, said Rusch. As many of my soldiers as possible are going to travel on regular warships furnished by Kolresh, and there are going to be Double Kingdom naval personnel with them for liaison.
But Belugs fist closed on his wineglass as if to splinter it. Why? he roared.
My representatives have explained it a hundred times, said Rusch wearily. In blunt language, I dont trust you. Ifoh, let us say there should be disagreement between us while the armada is en routewell, a transport ship is easily replaced, after its convoy vessels have blown it up. The fighting craft of Kolresh are a better hostage for your good behavior. He struck a light to his pipe. Naturally, you cant take our whole fifty-million-man expeditionary force on your battle wagons; but I want soldiers on every warship as well as in the transports.
Belug shook his ginger head. No.
Come now, said Rusch. Your spies have been active enough on Norstad and Ostarik. Have you found any reason to doubt my intentions? Bearing in mind that an army the size of ours cannot be alerted for a given operation without a great many people knowing the fact
Yes, yes, grumbled Belug. Granted. He smiled, a sharp flash of teeth. But the upper hand is mine, your lordship. I can wait indefinitely to attack Earth. You cant.
Eh? Rusch drew hard on his pipe.
In the last analysis, even dictators rely on popular support. My Intelligence tells me you are rapidly losing yours. The queen has not spoken to you for a year, has she? And there are many Norrons whose first loyalty is to the Crown. As the thought of war with Earth seeps in, as men have time to comprehend how little they like the idea, time to see through your present anti-Terrestrial propagandathey grow angry. Already they mutter about you in the beer halls and the officers clubs, they whisper in ministry cloakrooms. My agents have heard.
Your personal cadre of young key officers are the only ones left with unquestioning loyalty to you. Let discontent grow just a little more, let open revolt break out, and your followers will be hanged from the lamp posts.
You cant delay much longer.
Rusch made no reply for a while. Then he sat up, his monocle glittering like a cold round window on winter.
I can always call off this plan and resume the normal state of affairs, he snapped.
Belug flushed red. War with Kolresh again? It would take you too long to shift gearsto reorganize.
It would not. Our war college, like any other, has prepared military plans for all foreseeable combinations of circumstances. If I cannot come to terms with you, Plan No. So-and-So goes into effect. And obviously it will have popular enthusiasm behind it!
He nailed the Overman with a fish-pale eye and continued in frozen tones: After all, your dominance, I would prefer to fight you. The only thing I would enjoy more would be to hunt you with hounds. Seven hundred years have shown this to be impossible. I opened negotiations to make the best of an evil bargainsince you cannot be conquered, it will pay better to join with you on a course of mutually profitable imperialism.