Robert Heinlein - The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress

Wolfgang Korsakov, to Stu's disgust, thought that theft speculations might do better if all stock exchanges were closed till it was over.

Finn wanted to go for broke--warn them to get those ships out of our sky, then hit them for real if they didn't. "Sheenie is wrong about Americans; I know them, too. N.A. is toughest part of F.N.; they're the ones to lick. They're already calling us murderers, so now we've got to hit them, hard! Hit American cities and we can call off the rest."

I slid out, talked with Mike, made notes. Went back in; they were still arguing. Prof looked up as I sat down. "Field Marshal, you have not expressed your opinion."

I said, "Prof, can't we lay off that 'field marshal' nonsense? Children are in bed, can afford to be honest."

"As you wish, Manuel."

"Been waiting to see if any agreement would be reached."

Was none. "Don't see why I should have opinion," I went on. "Am just errand boy, here because I know how to program ballistic computer." Said this looking straight at Wolfgang--a number-one comrade but a dirty-word intellectual. I'm just a mechanic whose grammar isn't much while Wolf graduated from a fancy school, Oxford, before they convicted him. He deferred to Prof but rarely to anybody else. Stu, da--but Stu had fancy credentials, too.

Wolf stirred uneasily and said, "Oh, come, Mannie, of course we want your opinions."

"Don't have any. Bombing plan was worked out carefully; everybody had chance to criticize. Haven't seen anything justify changing it."

Prof said, "Manuel, will you review the second bombardment of North America for the benefit of all of us?"

"Okay. Purpose of second smearing is to force them to use up interceptor rockets. Every shot is aimed at big cities--at null targets, I mean, close to big cities. Which we tell them, shortly before we hit them--how soon, Sheenie?"

"We're telling them now. But we can change it. And should."

"As may be. Propaganda isn't my pidgin. In most cases, to aim close enough to force them to intercept we have to use water targets--rough enough; besides killing fish and anybody who won't stay off water, it causes tremjous local storms and shore damage."

Glanced at watch, saw I would have to stall. "Seattle gets one in Puget Sound right in her lap. San Francisco is going to lose two bridges she's fond of. Los Angeles gets one between Long Beach and Catalina and another a few kilometers up coast. Mexico City is inland so we put one on Popocatepetl where they can see it. Salt Lake City gets one in her lake. Denver we ignore; they can see what's happening in Colorado Springs--for we smack Cheyenne Mountain again and keep it up, just as soon as we have it in line-of-sight. Saint Louis and Kansas City get shots in their rivers and so does New Orleans--probably flood New Orleans. All Great Lake cities get it, a long list--shall I read it?"

"Later perhaps," said Prof. "Go ahead."

"Boston gets one in her harbor, New York gets one in Long Island Sound and another midway between her two biggest bridges--think it will ruin those bridges but we promise to miss them and will. Going down their east coast, we give treatment to two Delaware Bay cities, then two on Chesapeake Bay, one being of max historical and sentimental importance. Farther south we catch three more big cities with sea shots, Going inland we smack Cincinnati, Birmingham, Chattanooga, Oklahoma City, all with river shots or nearby mountains. Oh, yes, Dallas--we destroy Dallas spaceport and should catch some ships, were six there last time I checked. Won't kill any people unless they insist on standing on target; Dallas is perfect place to bomb, that spaceport is big and flat and empty, yet maybe ten million people will see us hit it."

"If you hit it," said Sheenie.

"When, not 'if.' Each shot is backed up by one an hour later. If neither one gets through, we have shots farther back which can be diverted--for example easy to shift targets among Delaware-Bay-Chesapeake-Bay group. Same for Great Lakes group. But Dallas has its own string of backups and a long one--we expect it to be heavily defended. Backups run about six hours, as long as we can see North America--and last backups can be placed anywhere on continent... since farther out a load is when we divert it, farther we can shift it."

"I don't follow that," said Brody.

"A matter of vectors, Judge. A guidance rocket can give a load so many meters per second of side vector. Longer that vector has to work, farther from original point of aim load will land. If we signal a guidance rocket three hours before impact, we displace impact three times as much as if we waited till one hour before impact. Not quite that simple but our computer can figure it--if you give it time enough."

"How long is 'time enough'?" asked Wolfgang.

I carefully misunderstood. "Computer can solve that sort of problem almost instantaneously once you program it. But such decisions are pre-programmed. Something like this: If, out of target group A, B, C, and D, you find that you have failed to hit three targets on first and second salvoes, you reposition all group-one second backups so that you will be able to choose those three targets while distributing other second backups of that group for possible use on group two while repositioning third backups of supergroup Alpha such that--"

"Slow up!" said Wolfgang. "I'm not a computer. I just want to know how long before we have to make up our minds."

"Oh." I studied watch showily. "You now have... three minutes fifty-eight seconds in which to abort leading load for Kansas City. Abort program is set up and I have my best assistant--fellow named Mike--standing by. Shall I phone him?"

Sheenie said, "For heaven's sake, Man--abort!"

"Like hell!" said Finn. "What's matter, Terence? No guts?"

Prof said, "Comrades! Please!"

I said, "Look, I take orders from head of state--Prof over there. If he wants opinions, he'll ask. No use yelling at each other." I looked at watch. "Call it two and a half minutes. More margin, of course, for other targets; Kansas City is farthest from deep water. But some Great Lake cities are already past ocean abort; Lake Superior is best we can do. Salt Lake City maybe an extra minute. Then they pile up." I waited.

"Roll call," said Prof. "To carry-out the program. General Nielsen?"

"Da!"

"Gospazha Davis?"

Wyoh caught breath. "Da."

"Judge Brody?"

"Yes, of course. Necessary."

"Wolfgang?"

"Yes."

"Comte LaJoie?"

"Da."

"Gospodin Sheehan?"

"You're missing a bet. But I'll go along. Unanimous."

"One moment. Manuel?"

"Is up to you, Prof; always has been. Voting is silly."

"I am aware that it is up to me, Gospodin Minister. Carry out bombardment to plan."

Most targets we managed to hit by second salvo though all were defended except Mexico City. Seemed likely (98.3 percent by Mike's later calculation) that interceptors were exploding by radar fusing with set distances that incorrectly estimated vulnerability of solid cylinders of rock. Only three rocks were destroyed; others were pushed off course and thereby did more harm than if not fired at.

New York was tough; Dallas turned out to be very tough. Perhaps difference lay in local control of interception, for it seemed unlikely that command post in Cheyenne Mountain was still effective. Perhaps we had not cracked their hole in the ground (don't know how deep down it was) but I'll bet that neither men nor computers were still tracking.

Dallas blew up or pushed aside first five rocks, so I told Mike to take everything he could from Cheyenne Mountain and award it to Dallas... which he was able to do two salvoes later; those two targets are less than a thousand kilometers apart.

Dallas's defenses cracked on next salvo; Mike gave their spaceport three more (already committed) then shifted back to Cheyenne Mountain--later ones had never been nudged and were still earmarked "Cheyenne Mountain." He was still giving that battered mountain cosmic love pats when America rolled down and under Terra's eastern edge.