Jolyon Hallows - The Collapse

Baxter said, “Hold on. I want to make this work, so I’m willing to tell you something about myself. But first, I need your assurances that nothing I say, nothing, leaves this room. No exceptions. Do you agree?”

Candale added, “And if this leaks out, both of you will be expelled from this community. Permanently. That’s the deal. You give your commitment that everything said in here stays in here, or this meeting really is over. What’s your response?”

Jerry and Alan studied Candale and looked at one another before Jerry said, “I can make that promise. I won’t talk.”

Alan said, “Agreed. I won’t reveal anything said in here unless the three of you approve it.”

Baxter nodded. “I’ll accept that. Because Ross and Ellen have recommended both of you, and I trust them, I’m willing to disclose this.” He paused. “I have a contact within the National Peacekeeping Force.”

Alan and Jerry powered up from their chairs. “Someone you know works for these bastards?”

“Yes. And if they ever find out about her, she’ll be dead. So would I. So there you have it. All it would take to get rid of me would be one call to NPF headquarters. By telling you this, I’m putting my life on the line.”

Alan said, “Not quite. We still don’t know your real name.”

Sangster leaped up from her chair, her face red. “What the hell is the matter with you two? Our friend has just risked his life, and you want more? Well, you can both go to hell. Get out. This meeting is over. Ross, this community is ours. We founded it. We will decide how it goes. If either of these jerks and their hangers-on want to stay, it will be on our terms. I’ve had it.” She stormed from the room.

Candale said, “The only reason I didn’t say what Ellen just did is that she’s a faster thinker.” He stood. “Look, Ivan said he wants to make this work. So do I. You can bet he’s sincere, otherwise, he wouldn’t have told you what he just did. You guys have a choice. You can accept that you’re going to be in the dark about Ivan, or you can refuse to work with him. In that case, Ellen and I will decide which way this community is going. You won’t have any input and one of you, maybe both, will no longer be welcome here. Ivan and I are leaving the room. We’ll be back in ten minutes. Figure it out.”

Ten minutes later, the three of them returned, Sangster’s face still etched with anger. Candale said, “Well, what’s it to be?”

Jerry said, “We’re agreed. We’ll do it your way. Let’s hear your plan.”

Baxter said, “Let me start by saying that what I’m about to propose isn’t so much a plan as it is an outline. There are a massive number of details that need to be worked out, and frankly, any one of those could kill what I have in mind. So I’ll give the outline. If you agree, it’s up to all of you to figure out how to make it work. Okay?”

Alan said, “I’m willing to listen.”

Jerry said, “Ditto.”

“Good. I said this was more an outline than a plan, but it does have one goal: to make life hard for the Peaks. To weaken them. To make them vulnerable.”

“How?”

“One thing we can do is offer refuge to anyone the Peaks identify as subversives. People like Ross and Ellen here. And you. The list is growing. There are thousands of people who need to get away from the Peaks’ grasp. We can provide that. At least for a few of them.”

Jerry said, “Two problems. No, make it three. First, how do we find out who these people are? Second, how do we get them here? Third, you said thousands. We can’t accommodate that many people.”

Alan said, “And fourth, once the Peaks figure out what we’re doing, they’ll just swat us out of existence. We’d be putting ourselves and this community at risk. That’s what I want to avoid.”

Baxter said, “Okay. How do we find out who these people are? My contact in the NPF can identify anyone who has been added to the subversives list and funnel that information to me.”

“How do you get it to us?”

“I’ll come to that in a minute. You also asked how we get these people here. We’d need a team of intervenors. Allies in the communities who could get to the targets before the Peaks can and help them travel here.”

“These people would be living out in the cities. How do we get them to join us? How do we trust them?”

“We find people the Peaks are targeting and recruit them. Most of them will already hate the Peaks and would be willing to help. We can give them the choice of joining us here or staying in the cities to help us.”

“But if the Peaks are targeting them, they wouldn’t last long. They’d want to get out. I would.”

“That’s where my contact comes in. She can change the database so these people are no longer on it.”

Jerry said, “Hold on. What if these people on the subversives list don’t want to cooperate or don’t even believe they’re on the list? Are you going to force them?”

“I don’t propose forcing anyone. There’s enough of that as it is.”

“Yeah, but they could still turn us in.”

“How? Until they join us, they won’t know who we are or how to reach us. Even then, we organize them into independent cells so that no one person has enough information to betray us or the others.”

“Yeah, that is a well-used strategy for revolutionary groups. You figure you can recruit enough people to help us?”

“Yes. I’m betting that most people will recognize the danger and will be angry enough to join us, either by coming here or by acting as intervenors. For those who come here, as far as their friends and associates are concerned, they will just vanish.”

“Once these intervenors have contacted new subversives, how do you propose to stop those people from blabbing to the Peaks? They might figure that would save them.”

“What could they tell? You’ll need to work out the details, but ideally, even the intervenors wouldn’t know anything about Wishbone. Not its name, where it is, or who is involved. Nobody would have anything to say that could harm us.”

“How would these people get here? We’re not exactly on the bus line.”

“The same way the Second World War resistance smuggled soldiers and spies, or the underground railroad helped slaves escape from the States into Canada. Through a network of contacts, particularly in the smaller towns where the Peaks have a minimal presence.”

“What about after these people arrive here? Even the World War II resistance had traitors.”

“Isolation. Look around. How does anyone get out of this place? You all drove here, but in the absence of cars, it’s a long trek. They won’t have access to electronic communications. Anyone wanting to report about this place would have to walk out. Sentries should take care of that.”

Jerry said, “I’m not convinced. There are just too many holes in what you’re proposing.”

“Holes? More like caverns. But remember I said this is just an outline. The four of you will have to figure out how to plug those holes. I can help, but this is your community, and you’ll have to figure out what’s best. If you can’t make it work, well, at least we tried.”

Jerry nodded. “Okay, I’ll go along with you for now, but what about my third question, numbers? We can’t accommodate thousands of people here. We’ll be hard-pressed to handle a few hundred. Hell, I’m not sure we can feed the people we already have.”

“This is where it gets nasty. You’re right. We can’t accommodate all the people who will be placed on the list, and we do need to be selective in who we choose. Some of the ones who don’t come here will remain in their communities as intervenors, but even with those, there will be too many for us to handle. That means we will have to pick who we rescue and who we don’t.”