Barry Longyear - Enemy Papers

A friend of mind had written a book and I had been sent a copy for blurb purposes. I finished it while I was at Windycon. What interested me the most about the story was a sort of thesis statement at the end that was conveyed by two of the characters conversing. It is this: the tribe comes first. Before rationality, before honor, before good sense, before self-interest, before mercy, love, or justice, the tribe comes first. That’s what you have to do, to be, in order to remain a member of the tribe.

I thought then that he had put his finger on the whole Middle East/ Northern Ireland/Bosnia/Rwanda mess. It’s the whole world of us-and-them thinking that has kept this planet blood-soaked for endless thousands of years.

There was a military sf panel I was on at Windycon, and we thoroughly discussed the premise and my friend’s new book. At the panel I made a point of remembering to suggest to my friend that he take this premise, stick it at the beginning of another book, and use it as a take-off point to solve the Middle East problem and the dilemma of self-perpetuating war and terrorism.

I met my friend at another convention, and he was interested not at all in my suggestion. As far as he was concerned, anyone who stood up in Israel and tried to make peace between Jews and Arabs would be killed within a minute after doing so. With all of the tools and magic of science fiction and fantasy at his command, he regarded peace as a lost cause before it began. I was stunned. It became clear to me for the first time that there are those who have no use for peace. Some find their meaning in having a perpetual enemy. Others want nothing to do with a peace that includes anyone being left alive on the other side. Us-and-them. The tribe comes first, and nothing comes in second. There is us, and then there is death.

Maybe it was too scary a challenge. As for myself, I couldn’t see any answers. Why should anyone else? In the Middle East, other than a sufficient number of Israelis and Palestinians to keep things at a boil, there are no real issues to resolve such as land, or rights, or money, or reparations. All those things could be solved to everyone’s satisfaction, and the fighting would continue to erupt. The wounds suffered by both sides are so numerous, so old, so cruel, senseless, and deep, there seems to be no healing to be had short of the complete and total annihilation of the other side. I could see no answers, but I couldn’t stop playing with the problem in my head.

What grafted the problem to me for life was remembering that the planet Amadeen in The Tomorrow Testament is very much an analogue of Middle East/Northern Ireland/Bosnia kinds of conflicts. That was why peace on the planet was impossible, and to achieve peace in the rest of the quadrant, the principals had to resort to radically unconventional means. Still, at the end of The Tomorrow Testament, although the rest of the quadrant is at peace, the problem of the war on Amadeen still exists. Taking the premise and Amadeen together, what about a third book? What about taking my own challenge and end the war on Amadeen? The title was obvious: The Last Enemy What was not so obvious was what to do with it.

Then word came to me that Stewart Wieck at White Wolf Publishing was expanding into science-fiction books, and maybe I ought to drop him a line. I suggested The Last Enemy and he wanted it.

The Last Enemy was not an easy book to write, First I had to make the war impossible to resolve, which was the easy part. All I had to do was look at the world around me. Then I had to come up with a believable way to achieve peace, and I think I did. No one has tried it yet, although it requires nothing in the way of technology that we don’t already have. The only thing this world might be lacking to implement it are the integrity, conviction, and singularity of purpose to go and do it. In any event, the manuscript was completed and I was very happy with it.

Will there be a fourth book in the series? Well, when I reached the end of The Last Enemy I looked at the situation and characters, where the characters were, and all of the possibilities about where they could go and what they could become, and a very familiar itch began working on me. I’m thinking on it.

Aakva— The god; fire; light; the star around which orbits Sindie.

Aakva Lua— Blue Light (PI firm on Planet Friendship).

Ae— Yes.

Adze— Do you know; can you speak?

Akava— To burn.

Asaam— Pilot.

Ashra— Criminal.

Ashzhab— Criminally insane.

Ay— Three.

Ayvida— Third; third person.

Benga— Hurry.

Bresha— Crash.

Cha— To be.

Chova— Move.

Chirn— Health (biological).

Chirn Kovah— Health college of the Talman (principal research institution).

Cudall— Cave.

Cueh— Horizon.

Custa— Halite; table salt.

Da— It.

Dasu— Get up; rise.

Daultha— Doubter.

Denvadar— Of the denve; warrior; soldier; fighter. Tsien Denvadah = Front Fighters; elite unit, shock troops of the Drac military; a tribe at war.

Denve— War; division-sized unit,

Dev— With.

Diea— Council; chamber; organization; political administrative unit.

Dos— Of the (emphatic: se ve).

Dracon Diea— Dracon Chamber; ruling body of the Dracon planets.

Dut— Low, short, small, insignificant

Dutshaat— Low-sexed (very disrespectful, referring not to the moral quality of the act hut to the physical height of the recipient. See: kiz ).

Echey— Here.

Ehdevva— Be with me.

Ehdevva sahn— Be with me always.

Enta va— Stand (verb).

Ess?— What?

Ess va…— What is…

Ess eh…— What about…

Estay (va)— Born of (formal).

Eh, ne— Oh, no.

Faanda— Tall, great, large, significant.

Fangen— Goal (social); future; friend; nefangen = enemy.

Fangan Kovah— College of goals (social sciences).

Gafu— Brat.

Gavey— (I, you) Understand.

Gefh— Die; death.

Gis— Where.

Gis nu cha?— Where are you?

Hada!— Hey!

Hasu— Get in.

Hame— Inside.

Hi— Six.

Hivida— Sixth.

Irkmaan— Earthman (including females and children).

Irkmaan vul— Human lover (disrespectful).

Istah— Door; opening; route of escape or hope.

Ith— Five.

Itheda— Fifth.

Je— To teach.