Mack Reynolds: The Space Barbarians

“But we Caledonians have no desire to join what you call the advanced worlds.”

DeRudder snorted. “More of you than you might think, John Hawk. You have been up in the hills with the malcontents and have no idea of how rapidly many Caledonians have been coming around. There is security here in our new cities—security and plenty and the opportunities to become educated and to advance.”

“But why me!”

Nadine Pond said, “John Hawk, from what you have told us, you were the youngest sachem in the whole Loch Confederation, not to mention that you also fought your way up to becoming supreme raid cacique. Obviously, you have leadership ability. You are also the highest ranking Caledonian who has ever come over to us.”

Harmon said, “Do not misunderstand the offer. We do not expect simply to put you in the office of mayor and maintain you there. It would be an interim position until political matters could be mapped out to fit local conditions; then elections would be held.”

“Elections?” John said. “How can you have elections? All in New Sidon are clannless.”

The anthropologist took over there. “In your Caledonian society, John, you were represented in your government body through the clann. Your phylum, or tribe, governed itself by a muster of sachems and caciques, each of whom were elected by the adults of the claims they represented. But in the new system, your family would make no difference at all. You would vote for your representatives from the city ward in which you live. New Sidon amounts to a city-state. Later, when we consolidate the planet a bit more, those who live outside the cities will vote in geographic areas we’ll call counties.”

She looked at DeRudder, and a sarcastic aspect came over her expression. “All this isn’t just altruism, of course. The fact is that United Interplanetary Mining and the planet Sidon have stuck their necks out a bit. Caledonia is rather far from the jurisdiction of the League, but it won’t be long before authorities will be turning up to see if League Canons are being observed. The fat will be in the fire, unless self-government is being observed.”

DeRudder said, “To quote a favorite phrase of Milt, here, that’s not exactly the way I’d put it. But it’s near enough. Well, John?” He looked up at the wall chronometer.

John Hawk was shaking his head. “I’d… I’d have to think about it. I know nothing of governing a city such as this. I am—or was—a simple sachem of a clann in the small town of Aberdeen.”

“You are as experienced as anyone else,” Milton Harmon told him. “And obviously a person of sincerity and integrity. The job is there to be done. Who would do it better?”

DeRudder came to his feet and said to Nadine Pond and Harmon, “We’ll have to get along to the company meeting. I suggest we leave John to his considerations and expect a reply from him in the morning.”

The other two stood as well, and shortly the three of them were gone.

John sat for a long time before finally leaving his own scat and making his way to the kitchenette. He stood over the autoserve and inserted his duplicate of DeRudder’s credit card into the slot and dialed Pharmacy.

He said into the screen. “Please let me have one dosage of antisoma.”

John of the Hawks left the apartment and descended the gravity lift to the street level. He turned right and, ignoring the public transportation, headed by foot toward the river front.

New Sidon’s defensive walls came down to the river edge, and John strolled along the inner side of them, attracting no particular attention. It was as DeRudder and the others had said—this was, or was rapidly becoming, a city of Caledonians.

He passed an alleyway, and a voice hissed, “John! John of the Hawks!”

Without immediately turning, he looked up and down the street. All seemed clear. He reversed his way and entered the darker passage.

“Don of the Clarks!”

They embraced in the manner of clannsmen who had taken the blood oath.

“How long have you waited?” John said.

“I but arrived.”

Don was attired in the same type coverall worn by John himself but was considerably soiled. He said sourly, “It is not the cleanest way in the world—through the sewers.” John said, “Your report?”

The other’s eyes gleamed excitement. “All is ready. The clannsmen have gathered there in the hills to the west, riding their fastest steeds. We filtered in, in small groups, and are hidden in the caves and rocks. There is no sign that we have been detected.”

“They have devices that can locate a man simply by his body heat.”

“So we know. However, we had herdsmen drive in large bodies of cattle before us, and now they graze in the same vicinity. Their devices do not detect a man , but animal heat. That of a cow, sheep or horse is no different than a man. It is our belief that thus far we have cozened them.”

John took a deep breath. “What else?”

“We have selected thirty to come through the sewers. All are armed with the weapons of Beyond which we have captured. All are our top clannsmen from the three confederations—sagamores, caciques and top raiders all. At whatever time you name, we will come through.” He brought forth charts of the immediate surroundings and of the town and stabbed with a large forefinger. “We will divide into three bodies. One will dominate the landing field where the vehicles of the sky are kept. All of these will be flamed down, so there will be no escape and no participation on their part in the fight.”

“The other two groups?”

“The two gun emplacements, on the towers at the corners of the town furthest from the river. These will be knocked out. Then we fire our signal into the air, and the clannsmen will ride at full speed from the hills. There will be no laser rifles available to be brought to bear on them before they have reached the walls. They will be up and over and in the streets with carbine, claidheammor and skean before the cursed Sidonians know what is about.”

John of the Hawks took another deep breath. “And then what, Don of the Clarks?”

“Why, then we will slay them. We will loot the city of nil that is worthy of looting. The women and children we will take to serve as clannless ones in our towns.”

“And the Caledonians here?”

They are slinks and traitors. They will share the fate ol the men from Beyond. This the supreme muster of the three united confederations has decided.”

“And then?” John pursued. “New Sidon is but one of the cities the men from Beyond have built.”

Don was scowling at him. “Why, then we’ll go on to the next. Probably to Berkeley. And we’ll sack it, in turn.”

John was shaking his head. “No. Once, we might succeed, though many will go down to black death in the attempt These from Beyond are not slinks Don of the Clarks. Many of their ways are not ours, but they are not slinks. They will fight and fight hard for their women and children, Their property and their lives. And the word will go out to their other cities, and once warned, they will not be cozened again.”

“You sound strange, John of the Hawks. This was basically your plan. It was you who devised the elaborate playacting in which you were supposedly stripped of your kilts, so that you could enter this city and spy upon the Sidonians. It was you who called for the union of confederations and the attack.”

“I have learned much in the past few days, Don. If we are successful, and admittedly, we have excellent chance, they will mount further, stronger reprisals against our phyla. Their skimmers will seek out the smallest hamlet and flame it down, as Aberdeen was flamed down. It is a battle that we cannot win, no matter how brave the clannsmen, no matter how staunchly our womenfolk back our efforts. It is a battle that cannot be won, for we are simple herdsmen and farmers, and they are advanced and as numerous as the blades of grass on the heath. In this League of theirs they have more planets than we have towns on all California.”