Withûr We

by Matthew Bruce Alexander

  “We decline your offer.”

  “Furthermore,” Alistair continued unperturbed, “I and my associates will defend the property of any… subscriber?…” he hesitated, his tongue tripping up with the language. “We will defend any member of our services and his property, even with weapons against the people who have come here.”

  “You are one of the people who have come here,” the chief declared, his condescending attitude having changed to disbelief.

  “I hitched a ride on a boat,” said Alistair in his native tongue. “I’m not one of them.”

  One of the guards surrounding the dais cocked his head in the direction of his chief and mumbled a translation.

  “You will fight with us?” the chief asked, his tone softer than before but still disbelieving. “You will join my tribe and fight?”

  Shaking his head, and looking the chief in the eye, Alistair said, “I am not joining a tribe. I am remaining a free man with no tribe. I am running a business. You are from Earth?”

  The chief nodded. “Laos.”

  “When you wished to buy a meal on Earth, you went to someone who made one and you gave him money for it. He did not have to join your nation or your tribe or anything at all, you just made an exchange. He gave you food; you gave him money. I am offering something similar. I offer protection and arbitration services. I am not joining the tribe, I am offering services.”

  There passed a good ten seconds before the confused look on the chief’s face retreated before a belated understanding.

  “A mercenary?”

  “I will fight for you if you purchase protection from me, but I am more than a mercenary.”

  “What are your terms?”

  “My terms are less important than my code.”

  “What is your code, then?”

  “Every man has a right to his own body and his own free will. Anything he makes with his body also belongs to him. A man may give away his property by passing the title to another. All who respect the property rights of others deserve to have their own property rights respected. By aggressing against another, a man is saying that such aggression is permissible against him. That is to say, he has given up this right. He is therefore liable to punishment in the form of whatever injustice he committed. Furthermore, he will be monetarily responsible for the pain and suffering and inconvenience he has caused the other.”

  “And prison?”

  “Unless a criminal proves to be a… unless we think he will not correct his ways, there is no reason to imprison him once retribution is delivered and restitution paid. If a man steals a loaf of bread from you, the first thing is that your loaf must be returned to you. If it has been eaten, a replacement must be purchased with the money of the thief. He will also pay a… an amount to compensate you for the time in which you did not have your loaf. The loaf now returned, restitution has been made. However, you will have the option of demanding retribution as well. Because he did not agree to respect your property, you may now treat his property without respect… but to the same degree, no further. The thief must now provide an additional loaf of bread to you, his victim. The criminal will also be made to pay me and my associates for our labor in settling the issue.”

  “Crime is expensive with you around,” the chief chuckled. “What if this thief attacks me?”

  “He will pay restitution for the damage he has done to you. He will pay me for my services to you. And then, if you choose, you may demand retribution and you may beat him to the same extent he beat you. Or you both may come to an agreement for more monetary damages in exchange for skipping the beating. Or you may hire me to administer the beating on your behalf.”

  The chief nodded, thoughtful, rubbing his hirsute chin. “And if he murders me?”

  “If he murders you, he will spend the rest of his days paying restitution to your heirs, whoever you choose to name as your heirs.”

  “Not executed?”

  “No… not executed. There is too much killing already. He will be made to pay for his crimes. Maybe beaten, but there will be no executions.”

  The chief frowned but it quickly passed from his face. “That is an interesting code. I will consider it. But mostly I would like to hire you to fight for me.”

  “I need to be clearer,” said Alistair. “I am offering these services to anyone who wishes to pay for them. If someone does not want my services, they need not pay for them. But if someone decides they want my services they shall have my protection.” The chief squirmed in his chair but before he could voice his protest Alistair hurried on, “And if you hire me you shall have the greatest warrior of Srillium to protect you, along with the other great warriors who work for me.”

  “Greatest warrior of Srillium?” asked the chief, his eyebrow raised in skepticism.

  In response, Alistair pulled aside his animal skin shirt and revealed his tattoo.

  Chapter 59

  “My main concern is this: there are thousands of people here. How are you going to protect me from all of them if I desert?” It was an older man who asked the question, old at least by the standards of Srillium. He leaned against a tree on the edge of the beach, his arms folded across his chest in an uninviting pose touched by a skeptical frown.

  “I don’t have to protect you against all of them,” Alistair replied. “I don’t imagine I’ll have to protect you against very many at all. You go off and determine your own future. Do what you wish. If you have property you want protected – your body, your land, your home… whatever – then you register it with me. You may also remain in Odin’s tribe and pay Odin’s taxes and obey Odin’s rules… the choice is yours. Let me ask you this: how do you think a leader is going to be determined?”

  “That’s yet to be settled. I think we should vote on it.”

  “And that’s exactly what I am offering you. A vote. Only, no one else determines the outcome of your vote. If you wish to hire me, you can hire me. Or you can hire someone else. Or you can accede to Odin’s demands. Or you can hire no one and accede to no one. By what right would Odin force you to remain in his tribe?”

  “I took a loyalty oath.”

  “We all took a loyalty oath!” exclaimed another man, one of several who trickled into the discussion. In his incomprehension, he was easily nudged into anger.

  “The oath is not valid,” declared Santiago, his arms also folded, as he stood at Alistair’s side. His voice was stronger than Alistair’s. “When you arrived here you were given the choice of a tribe or a grave. Odin has grown wealthy and powerful off an unjust system. You owe him nothing. If you decide to be your own master… then you have the right to be your own master.”

  “Odin deserves our loyalty for what he done,” said another.

  “What Odin did, for many years, was exactly what every other murdering tribal chief did. He took warriors, he took slaves, and he killed new arrivals. Killed them, skinned them, and ate them.”

  “We’ve all done that!”

  Said another, “We done we had to do. Planet won’t hold as many as they send. Circumstances are what they are.”

  “If circumstances can excuse Odin for what he’s done,” said Santiago with a voice that cut through the angry shouts, “those same circumstances can excuse you from a loyalty oath you took for your own safety, a safety that was compromised, in part, by Odin himself.

  “This is what is going to happen next. Odin will either declare himself king or be elected dictator… the details don’t matter. He will then begin to rule you. He’ll claim the island and dole out parts of it as favors. The people who get the land will be loyal to him, and they will dole out the small favors they can afford to others who will be loyal to them. The rest will be kept in subservience. Then he will tax you. Any man who replaces Odin will tax you. Any dispute you have with Odin, Odin will arbitrate. Who do you think is going to come out on top?”

  “How are you guys any different?”

  Santiago did not reply, but cast a sidelong glance at Alistair.
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  “I require no loyalty oath,” Alistair began and the men, growing in number, leaned in to hear him. “You can hire me or not. Any dispute you have with me will be solved by a neutral third party we agree on. If you don’t hire me, you don’t pay me. It’s not a tax, it’s a membership fee. If you don’t like how I do things, you are free to offer the same services and charge for them. And I don’t claim to own this island. There is a lot of free, open land out there. You can wait for Odin or Duke to give it to you, if you’re that lucky, or you can take land for yourselves, in freedom. A monopoly is when one man, or one company, or one organization is the sole provider of something. He faces no competition nor any prospect of competition. Those who study the Economic Sciences will tell you a monopoly is characterized by decreased output, so the price can be raised, and deteriorating quality of service. Does that not describe every government you ever heard of? Short supply of what matters and poor quality. It describes government because government is a monopoly. I propose to provide you with police and judicial services, but not as a monopoly. My services will be better because they have to be, because if they aren’t satisfactory, no one will pay me. I propose we have laws and law enforcement, but that no one be a monopolist. Everything will be based on one simple, unavoidable fact: you are the sole owner of your own person, in perfect equality with every other man and woman in the colonized galaxy.”

  When he was done speaking, there was a period when the men and handful of women quietly considered his words. A moment later, some of them were slinking away from the gathering, casting furtive and guilty glances. Others remained, but an uneasy whispering arose among them and the space between Alistair and Santiago and their audience widened. Turning, Alistair saw Duke, surrounded by a number of his lieutenants, approaching them with determined steps and a grim expression. Santiago and Alistair faced the imminent assault, standing shoulder to shoulder, their weapons in easy reach.

  “Last chance to bow out,” muttered Alistair.

  Santiago glanced at his friend and one corner of his mouth turned up in a faint smile. “I was exiled to this moon for something much like this,” he said, his accent only barely perceptible when he spoke low. “What do you call a man who permits hope to continue to blind him from experience?”

  “A sucker.”

  “I will be a sucker one last time.”

  Alistair could see Gregory on the outskirts of the crowd, and Giselle and Layla were with him. The young physician regarded him with a disbelieving and worried expression. Giselle and Layla, less concerned for his well being, presented merely skeptical looks. He turned his attention back to Duke as the diminutive commander reached the gathered throng.

  “Alistair, you had better have a hell of a good explanation for this.”

  Though his throat felt parched and his pulse throbbed in his ears, Alistair managed, in a steady voice, to say, “I am selling my services. You are welcome to subscribe if you like.”

  Duke’s mustache jittered as the muscles underneath it trembled in suppressed rage. “I have it from some of my men here that you are planning a mutiny.”

  “You have it wrong.”

  “I’m glad to hear it.”

  “I am offering protection and arbitration services for a fee.”

  Duke glowered. “What does the word mutiny mean to you?”

  “Deposing the captain of a ship. In a metaphorical way it could be used for any sort of rebellion against authority.”

  “And how exactly is what you’re doing not mutiny?”

  “I’m selling my services like any businessman.”

  Duke held out a beckoning hand to Alistair. “Could I have a word with you in private?”

  “We prefer the discussion be public,” said Santiago.

  “Damn it, Alistair! If you want to be a policeman you could have any post you want. With your training? You could have anything just by asking. What the hell is this for?”

  “I’m going into business for myself. I don’t want to beg for anything. No one has to do business with me if they don’t like, and I don’t have to do business with anyone if I don’t like. I have no intention of doing anyone any harm. I am merely going to arbitrate disputes and provide protection.”

  “It’s purely voluntary,” Santiago assured him, raising his voice so it carried over the mob. “Law and its enforcement are too important to leave in any one man’s hands. There should be competition—”

  “Will you drop this harebrained scheme this instant before I’m forced to do something about it?” Duke was furious enough that he spat as he spoke.

  “We have already spoken with the other occupants of the island,” Santiago continued. “They were claiming the entirety of it; we dissuaded them from the claim. They have hired us and recognize there are many square miles of unclaimed land here. Our firm will recognize—”

  “Your firm?”

  “— any homesteaders who want to take land for their own.” Santiago turned in a circle now to address every onlooker. “You don’t have to wait for scraps from the master’s table. You don’t have to be a pawn for a tribal leader. You can be free men, free like you’ve never been before. No taxes, no government, no tyranny. Every thing you do, every relationship you have will be consensual. No one will be forced to do anything, nor prohibited from living how he wants. Answer me honestly: what man or woman would not want to live in such a society?”

  “This is enough,” said Duke, a finger pointed at the Argentinean. “Another word and you will both be hung for sedition.”

  “You’d have to take us first,” said Alistair, and he hefted his ax with a terrible confidence. “You’ll lose the first forty you send my way.”

  “This is exactly why we need what Alistair offers,” proclaimed Santiago. “Look how he reacts to any challenge to his power. Alistair offers you a choice; Duke demands fealty. If you stand with us now you will be free. No laws but the simple few you feel already in your gut. No laws but the ones they taught you as a child: mind your own business and keep your hands to yourself.”

  At that decisive moment, another broad and muscled form stepped into the open space at the center of the maelstrom. Mordecai, armed and imposing, raised his voice to be heard. There were a number of men with him, men who took to him in the short time he had been there, men who were naturally drawn to the service of bigger, stronger men. “The last thing we need is to live under a tyrant! We have all suffered here on Srillium.” He switched to his native Mandarin then. “I say we live free. No one is bound to serve this man!” He pointed an accusing finger at Duke.

  “There is no need for any violence,” said Alistair quickly, for the insistent call of Mordecai rippled through the crowd and provoked a great stir.

  “Enough!” yelled Duke as men and women alike took up the argument in a chaotic cacophony, and he, supported by his loyal guards, advanced on Alistair, calling for the rest to join him.

  There followed in the breast of every exile a conflict fully as violent and uncertain as what was about to transpire on the beach. Most had been with Odin a short time, and though their esteem of him was high, their first knowledge of him had been as a brutal tribal chief. The serfs who flocked to his banner when he offered them a scrap of dignity felt a passion in defense of the man who delivered them from their servitude, from their slavery. But the same passion was aroused at the thought of owning their own land, forging their own life. Odin was a leader, perhaps, but a leader without the trappings of authority that so impress men. For those who had grown up with and been dazzled by Parliaments, parades, statues, uniforms and every inventible accoutrement of power, Odin could manage only a spear and a headdress. Thus, when Duke called for Alistair’s head, and Alistair and Santiago called for freedom, the result was indecision. Most waited to discover which way the wind blew.

  They did not have long to find out. Mordecai and his collected band of thugs crashed into the side of Duke’s charge and engaged in a furious melee. A few from the crowd joined the fray,
but it was not clear whether more joined to protect Duke or to assist Mordecai. One brave man rushed Alistair with a spear, but the Aldran marine soon had the spear out of his hands and, with a moderate blow to the head, sent him sprawling on his back, blinking at the sky. For a few minutes there were grunts of men expending a great physical effort and a yelp or two of agony. Blood spurted into the air on two occasions, speckling those nearby when it came down. Then the battle was over, Duke having retreated to his command center. Three bodies lay unmoving on the sand, dark stains expanding about them. Several others were hobbling or crawling away and Gregory was already taking charge of them.

  When Alistair moved to help with the wounded the doctor fixed a disapproving gaze on him. “You saw your chance I guess,” he accused. “You finally got a government small enough to take down.”

  “Where are we taking them?” Alistair tonelessly asked as he hefted the ankles of a man moaning deliriously.

  “Where all the others are,” muttered Greg, and he lifted at the shoulders.

  In the temporary fort, only recently erected, many men milled about. Others gave voice to their passions with whoops and yells and proclamations both cheered and derided. Men came up to Alistair, asking for an audience. One even launched an ill-conceived attack which the Aldran rebuffed in a perfunctory way. When the first was put down with a kick to the chest, two others set upon the assailant and beat him. A restraining hand from Santiago held Alistair back from intervening.

  “He tried to kill you,” said the Argentinean. “Don’t curtail the passions of your supporters when you have only just won them.” Alistair hesitated, watching the beating with uncertainty before turning away.

  A few intrepid souls needed no more encouragement, and they quickly gathered a few things and trickled out of the fort under cover of confusion. Others would have preferred some time to think it over, but realized a window of opportunity might soon close. They followed closely behind the first group. Yet another group wanting only the safety of numbers took their chance to leave. The fort’s wall was disassembled, though not without a number of skirmishes which accounted for two more deaths. There was a great scramble for property, as men gathered to themselves everything they could find. Some set out with what burdens they could manage, many stopping to check with Alistair before they left. He assured them he would be around to register them.