Jolyon Hallows - The Collapse

Baxter tapped her right hand. She examined a slip of paper and said, “Jerry. You’re first.”

A man in his thirties wearing a plaid shirt strode to the front of the room and acknowledged the applause from his side. “You all know my opinions of where we should be going with this town, so I’ll be brief.” He looked around as if seeking support. “We have an enemy. The government and its tool of oppression, the Peaks. We’re here because somehow each of us has been targeted as a subversive slated for some kind of punishment. That pisses me off. I’m a subversive? Because I don’t agree with the government? Because I hate where this country that I love is going? If that makes me a subversive, bring it on.”

Another round of applause rose from Jerry’s side of the room. “So what do we do about this? We have two choices. Either we hunker down here and hope that enough people out there come to their senses and overthrow these bastards in Ottawa, or we earn the label subversive and take on the job ourselves.”

More applause and a few hear-hears came from his supporters.

“I know that many of you are afraid of the Peaks and what they would do if we fought them. Believe me, I’m as afraid of them as anyone in this room. But I can’t stand on the sidelines and let other people fight that battle. Or worse, have nobody fight it. We need to lead a resistance. We can recruit people who are as mad at the government as we are. We can train saboteurs. We can launch attacks against the Peaks. Once people understand we’re fighting for them, we’ll have people lining up to join us.”

Jerry looked around the room, half the people nodding, half scowling. “Now I know the argument against this. The Peaks will attack and destroy us. But that’s not so easy. We can prepare defences. The road in here is treacherous as it is. We can undermine it. Plant explosives so any military force would collapse if they tried to invade us. And we can get weapons. They’re still available out there. We can arm ourselves and make it clear to the Peaks that any force that tries to attack us won’t return. People, I know you’re scared of the Peaks. So am I. So what? I’d rather die in a battle for my country than cower in some wilderness until it’s safe to come out. What about you?”

He sat down amid cheers and applause from one side of the room, silence from the other. Sangster said, “Alan, you’re up.”

A man, his face obscured by a graying beard, faced the audience. “Okay, let me get this off my chest. Jerry, I resent the implication I’m a coward. Anytime you want to take it outside, bring it on.”

Sangster interrupted. “Alan, if you can’t present your side of the argument rationally, sit down. We don’t have the time or inclination to listen to a personal attack. What’s it going to be?”

Alan glared at her. The room hushed. He nodded. His posture eased. “You’re right, Ellen. I got carried away. It won’t happen again, okay?”

“Okay.”

“First, let me say I hate the Peaks and the government every bit as much as anyone here. I’m also on the subversive list, and it’s hard for me even to talk about it without going into a rage. But we can’t make long-term decisions based on emotions. We have to be realistic, and the reality is that if the Peaks decide we’re a nuisance, they’ll squash us without raising a sweat.”

A man from Jerry’s side of the room shouted, “Bring it on. We’ll give better than we get.”

Sangster said, “George, if you can’t listen to Alan’s side with respect, you can leave. Otherwise, sit down and let him finish.”

Alan said, “If I thought we could do some good, if we could disrupt the government’s power, if we could lead a revolution, I’d be at the ramparts in an instant. But I don’t see it. I see a population that is either cowed by the authorities or worse, supports them. And in this room, I see a tiny handful of desperate people who are angry and frustrated, but who have no ability to do anything except annoy the people with the power to just swat them away.”

A few claps from Alan’s side of the room. “You want me to state my opinion of what we should do. Okay, here it is. I know most of you won’t like it because I don’t like it. We should concentrate on our own survival, on our own lives. This place will be tough enough on all of us without adding a war. We haven’t even lived through one winter, and this part of the world is not hospitable. My suggestion, and that of those who have named me spokesman, is to create a home that will sustain us. Once we have done that, maybe we can revisit this question. But for now, just staying alive will be hard enough.”

He paused as if debating with himself. “I’d finish there, but I do need to make one more point. Jerry, you talked of setting up defences, of undermining the road in. I agree with you. We should do that just in case the Peaks get bored one day and decide to call. But attack them? Invite them to attack us? No way. Could we hold them off? Forget it. One helicopter gunship would reduce this town to ashes and a pile of dead bodies before we could even load our rifles. No. I want to live. That’s not cowardice, that’s logic.”

He sat down to applause from his side of the room. Candale surveyed the audience. “I know we’re divided over this, but I also know we have to make a choice. I thank Jerry and Alan for their statements. I doubt anyone else could have been more concise and clear. Now it’s time to choose.”

The idea slammed into Baxter like a jolt of electricity. He jumped up. “There may be a third option, one that will satisfy both groups. Ross, Ellen, I may have an idea, but I’ll need time and help to develop it. Can we get together?”

Candale said, “What are you thinking?”

“I’d rather not say until I’ve got it figured out, but you guys can help me do that.” He faced the audience. “Look, I’m a visitor here. You don’t know me, and the only people I know are Ross and Ellen. But they’ll vouch for me. I can see you all care passionately about this. So do I, but what I have in mind is unformed. I need time and help to develop it, but it may give a way for you, for us, to follow Alan’s path and build a community here and at the same time to support Jerry and become a threat to the government and the Peaks. Would you be willing to hold off making any decisions until I can hash this out with Ross and Ellen?”

Jerry said, “Ross, do you trust this guy?”

Candale said, “We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for— Ivan. Ellen and I would both be dead, and so would many of you. I’m not going to tell you how or why because I don’t want to put him at risk, but I will say I trust him more than I trust anyone else in this room. Except maybe you, Ellen.”

Sangster said, “Seconded.”

Alan said, “So you want us to sit by while the three of you, one who isn’t even one of us, decide our futures for us? Forget it.”

Jerry said, “On this, I’m with Alan. You might think this guy walks on water, but it’s our lives we’re talking about. You try to make any plans, you’d better include us.”

Sangster turned to Baxter. “T— Ivan, I know you and trust you, but this is now my community. Are you willing to talk about this with Alan and Jerry?”

Baxter said, “You people are at risk. But it’s nothing compared to the risk I’m under. I’m not going to tell you what that is because except for these two, I don’t trust anyone else with my life. Here’s my problem. Talking about what I have in mind means I have to disclose things about myself I’m not willing to discuss, so if anyone else wants to be in on the initial conversation, it won’t happen.”

He took a deep breath. “But here’s what I am willing to do. I will work with Ross and Ellen to develop my idea. Assuming we can get it nailed down and can figure out a way for it to work without compromising my safety or that of this community, I’ll present it to Jerry and Alan. If they approve, I’ll have someone present it to all of you. I won’t.”