Charles Sheffield - Aftermath

“The Eye of God,” Lopez said at once. “The Legion of Argos.”

“But not anymore.” Sarah Mander’s perfect brow wrinkled. “Wasn’t she sentenced years ago to perpetual judicial sleep?”

Saul nodded. “She was. Not perpetual in principle, but in practice you’re quite right. She was sentenced to serve over six hundred years. But the supernova got into the act. Control of the syncope facility where she was stored broke down, and her followers came in and rescued her. Now she’s promising a ’holy cleansing’ of the whole country — starting with Washington. They apparently have over a hundred thousand people under arms, and they’re all set to march this way. My question is, how do you think we ought to handle the situation?”

Nick Lopez spoke at once. “Delicately. You can stop them easily with the Army. But the PR would be terrible.”

“So you have to use a small specialized team, and take out the leader.” Sarah Mander went on as though she was continuing Lopez’s remark. It confirmed Saul’s impression. Regardless of what the House Minority and Senate Majority Leaders thought of each other personally, when it came to political instincts they were identical twins.

“Without her the rest of the organization is nothing,” Lopez said. “Capture her, but whatever you do don’t kill her. Otherwise you’ll have a martyr on your hands.”

“And bad trouble. All of which I’m sure is obvious to you.” Sarah Mander arched her eyebrows at Saul. “Leaving only the question, why are you asking us?”

“I want to be sure that we all agree on the approach to small things, before we go on to large ones. I believe that the three of us are going to be working together extremely closely over the next few years. Perhaps the next few decades. We have to understand each other.” Saul spoke again partly to keep them off balance, but they were professionals. Little could be read from their faces. He doubted that was true of the two secret observers.

He went on, “By the way, I have instructed General Mackay to do exactly what you propose. Pearl Lazenby is to be captured by a minimal strike team. Deaths and injuries within the Legion of Argos are to be avoided wherever possible, and the life of Pearl Lazenby herself is not to be taken, no matter what the circumstances.

“But now, to the larger issue. I said that I wished to follow through on your suggestion of a Pax Americana. That may be the wrong term. A better one might be a dux Americana. We have to lead the world in an unprecedented global effort. If we fail, then nothing else that anyone does for the next half century will make any difference. Humans are likely to become extinct. We have not seen the last of Supernova Alpha. What we have experienced so far is a small first wave of what will hit us later.

“I don’t expect you to believe this without proof. In the next several days, if you are willing, I will arrange for that proof to be presented to you. Nor do I expect you to make an instant decision to cooperate completely with me. I will tell you only one thing. In this matter, anyone who is not with me is by definition against me. That will have several consequences. In your case, Nick, it will mean that Auden Travis will no longer be working on my staff. He is an extraordinarily dedicated and competent aide. But from now on, you and I must share a common goal. Otherwise he cannot stay.”

Nick Lopez opened his mouth, and closed it again without speaking.

“And you, Sarah. I know about General Mackay and Secretary Munce, and I am sure there are many others. You will no longer seek to recruit or suborn members of my administration.”

“Yes, sir.” Sarah Mander stared at him. “Mr. President — Saul — something major has happened to you. And I don’t mean the loss of your mother, which is something I’ve been through myself and I know how hard it is.”

“It has indeed, Sarah. I’m hoping that it will happen to you, too, and to Nick as well.”

“What is it?”

“It’s this.” Saul walked over to the side table and came back carrying decanter, glasses, and ice. Without asking, he poured three drinks. “I listened yesterday to somebody who told me that unless there is an all-out global industrial effort — my words, not his, he doesn’t think geopolitically — unless that happens, our civilization will at best come crashing down to the Dark Ages. At worst, no one will be around to worry about that or anything else. Humans will go the way of the dinosaurs, and our nemesis, like theirs, will come from beyond the Earth. I believed what he told me. And I decided that I had a choice. I could either sit back and be remembered, if there’s anybody left to remember anything, as the man who had a chance to save humanity from destruction and did nothing. Or I might be remembered as the totally unreasonable, obsessive, remorseless single-issue bastard who tried to force the whole world to share his point of view. I asked myself, What was I in politics for? Comfort and privilege, or immortality?

“I am asking you the same question. I made my decision. I’m hoping you’ll make yours. There has to be more to life than patronage and pensions. If you’re with me, you’ll get everything that I can give you. Power, and trust, and more work than you thought the world contained. But if I find you’re in this for the wrong reasons, I’ll break you. I’ll destroy anyone, House or Senate, man or woman, citizen or foreigner, who gets in the way. We’re going to rule the world, but only because we have to rule the world. We have no choice.”

“ Ich kann nicht anders. Like Martin Luther,” Nick Lopez said, then glanced at Sarah Mander. “Don’t tell anyone I speak German, it would ruin my image.” He turned to Saul. “I don’t know if this makes sense, Mr. President, but it’s the absolute truth. I think I’m frightened of you.”

Saul looked into Lopez’s brown eyes, and knew that he was not lying. He nodded. “I’m frightened of myself, Nick. I have brought myself by long meditation to the conviction that a human being with a settled purpose must accomplish it, and that nothing can resist a will which will stake even existence upon its fulfillment. That’s not me speaking, that’s Benjamin Disraeli. But for the first time in my life, I understand what he meant. I’m going to do this, or I’m going to die trying. Sarah?”

“I want to hear the evidence — a person can be absolutely sure of something, and still be wrong. But I agree with Nick on one thing. You’ve changed, Saul Steinmetz. You scare me, too. And I’m the original dragon lady; I don’t scare easily.”

“You’ll hear the evidence, Sarah, anytime you’re ready for it. If you can see a reason why it’s wrong, you come and tell me. I’ll be glad to hear it.”

Saul held out his hand. It was perfectly steady. “I’ve said what I wanted to say. I respect greatly the political skills and abilities of both of you. In the past I do not think that they have been exercised to the full. I hope that they will be in the future.”

The farewell handshakes were brief and formal, but Saul sensed a difference in them. He could not analyze it, and he did not try to do so. Instead, after the two had left he turned off most of the office lights and went to stand at the window. It was ten o’clock, and the last evening flights were arriving at National Airport. There were more of them every night. Slowly, little by little, the country was edging back to normal.

But it was his job to make the country and the world believe that normal was no longer good enough.

How well did people do, facing a threat still fifty years in the future? Did they say, not my problem, it’s going to happen after my time? In fifty years, he would be dead or over a hundred years old.