Ben Bova - Moonwar

Yet Doug could reach out and clasp Takai’s shoulder. Toshi, I need to know what Yamagata is going to do. It’s important for us. For both of us.”

“I know,” Takai admitted.

Nippon One was the only other lunar base still active. Its reason for existence, aside from scientific studies, was to extract helium-three from the Moon’s regolith and ship it to the nuclear fusion power plants that were springing up throughout Japan, China, and the Pacific Rim nations. Fusion power was not welcomed in Europe or North America, where anti-nuclear fears not only persisted, but were actively fanned by the nanoluddites.

The Europeans had closed down their base at Grimaldi when the nanotech treaty had gone into effect for the Euro-Russian consortium that managed the base. They still sent occasional maintenance crews to repair and refurbish the scientific gear that ran automated at Grimaldi, but even those visitors rode on Masterson LTVs or Yamagata’s.

“Are you going to shut down Nippon One?” Doug asked, half-dismayed that he had to be so direct with his Japanese friend.

“That is not in my instructions,” Takai replied.

Damn! thought Doug. He’s not just being roundabout; he’s being actually evasive.

“Toshi, I really need to know what Yamagata plans to do.”

For several moments Takai said nothing. He simply walked along the virtual crater floor and avoided looking at Doug.

“What do you plan to do?” Takai countered. “Surely you don’t expect to fight the Peacekeepers.”

“We’ve declared our independence,” Doug said. “Legally, the Peacekeepers have no right to bother us.”

“Only if the UN accepts your independence.”

Doug nodded.

“They won’t,” Takai predicted. “You know they won’t.”

“I’m not so sure. Time is on our side. If we can hold on and prevent the Peacekeepers from taking over the base, we could eventually get world opinion on our side and—”

“Time is on your side until the Peacekeepers land,” Takai pointed out.

“But if we can keep them from taking Moonbase,” Doug said earnestly,’then we can get through this. All we have to do is show the world that we can survive, that we can hang in there and take care of ourselves. Sooner or later they’ll recognize the fact that we are independent.”

Takai shook his head. “You’re dreaming, Doug.”

“No,” Doug insisted. “It’s like the situation in the American Civil War. All the Confederacy had to do was keep itself intact, not let the Union conquer it. In time, the nations of Europe would recognize it as a separate nation.”

“But that didn’t happen, did it?” Takai asked gently.

“We can make it happen here.”

“No, Doug. That isn’t going to be allowed to happen, believe me.”

Doug hesitated, digesting not only Takai’s words, but their tone. He knows more than he’s willing to tell me, Doug realized.

“Don’t you think Japan would recognize our independence if we drove off the Peacekeepers?”

“No, I don’t.”

“Is Yamagata against us? I need to know, Toshi. Lives depend on it.”

Takai said nothing.

“Well?” Doug demanded.

The pained expression on Takai’s face showed the tension he was feeling. “My instructions are to continue as usual. We will operate Nippon One as we normally do, despite your present … difficulties.”

They both knew that Nippon One carefully refrained from using nanotechnology. Instead of using nanomachines to extract helium-three from the ground, they used cumbersome bulldozers and old-fashioned mass spectrometers to separate the isotope from the other lunar ores. It kept the cost of helium-three at least ten times higher than it would have been if nanomachines had been employed to ferret out the helium-three nuclei, individually.

But Nippon One bought its water from Moonbase. Shut down Moonbase and the Japanese base dies, too.

“I don’t understand how that can be,” Doug said.

“Those are my instructions.”

Walking beside his virtual friend in silence, Doug thought, He wants to tell me what’s going on, but he can’t. His loyalty to Yamagata is preventing him from telling me the whole truth.

“We’ve already declared our independence, you know,” Doug said.

“Yes, you told me. I doubt that it’ll do you any good.”

“What was Tokyo’s reaction to that?”

“No reaction. The first I heard of it was just now, when you told me.”

“Your corporate superiors didn’t tell you about it?”

“Not one word.”

“We beamed the information to Yamagata headquarters and to every news agency on Earth.”

“I have not received any information about that,” Takai said, genuinely upset.

“That must mean that Faure intends to ignore our declaration and proceed as if it’s a non-starter.”

“Yes, of course.”

They took a few more paces across the crater floor, skirting a fresh-looking craterlet about the size of a beach ball’s indentation.

“Toshi, how are you going to get water if Moonbase is shut down? You can’t use nanomachines, and—”

“We will get our water the same way we do now.”

“But Moonbase will be closed. The Peacekeeper troops are on their way to shut us down.”

Takai grimaced, struggling inwardly. At last he said, The Peacekeepers are coming to remove you and your people from the management of Moonbase. That does not mean they intend to close the base entirely.”

Doug stopped in his tracks. “Not…” His mind started spinning. “Not close the base? Toshi, are you sure?”

“It could cost me my position if anyone learns that I told you. Yes, I am quite certain. Or I should say that Tokyo is quite certain.”

“They’re not going to close the base?”

“Faure spoke directly to the head of the Yamagata clan himself and assured him that Moonbase will continue to supply water to Nippon One—after the Peacekeeper troops remove you and your staff from the base.”

“Faure intends to continue running Moonbase,” Doug repeated, feeling hollow with surprise. “The little fur ball doesn’t care about the nanotech treaty; he wants to control Moonbase himself!”

“But don’t you understand what this means?” Joanna demanded.

“It means that Faure wants to take over Moonbase,” said Doug.

“It means we can do business with him!” his mother replied eagerly. “We can cut a deal.”

Doug stared at his mother. She was sitting bolt upright in the chaise longue she had brought from her home in Savannah as part of the elaborate furnishings for her two-room suite at Moonbase. Leaning toward her from the delicate little Sheraton sofa on which he sat, Doug shook his head unhappily.

“Faure won’t make any deals. He intends to use the Peacekeepers to toss us out of here and then have the UN itself run the base.”

Joanna gave her son a pitying smile. “Doug, he’ll need trained personnel to run this base. He’ll have to use the people who are here.”

“That doesn’t include thee and me.”

“Don’t be so sure,” Joanna said. She seemed actually happy with Doug’s news; pleased that Faure wanted to take over Moonbase.

“He’ll want to continue to manufacture Clipperships, of course,” Joanna mused. “That’s where the profits are. Every transportation line on Earth wants our Clipperships and he can pump the profits into the U.N.”

“Or his own pocket.”

“Maybe,” Joanna agreed. “Even better. The more venal he is, the easier it’ll be to deal with him.”

Doug shook his head again. “That’s what the German industrialists thought about Hitler.”

“Faure’s no Hitler. He’s not a fanatic. He isn’t even going to stop our nanomachines. He just wants to run them for his own profit.”