by Trent Reedy
—• The United States is doing its best to broadcast this important address throughout North America, and in particular to all rebel states. I am Vice President General Charles Jacobsen, speaking on behalf of President Laura Griffith. The end of the war is at hand. The leadership of all thirteen so-called independent countries must understand that you have exactly sixty minutes to unconditionally surrender to the United States. If you do not, all of your capital cities will suffer total nuclear annihilation. After that, you will be given an additional half hour before —”
“THIS IS A UNITED STATES EMERGENCY BROADCAST. PLEASE STAND BY. THIS IS A UNITED •—
—• of the food shortage made worse, now that war has broken out around the world and emergency relief supplies are no longer being brought into the Pan American area. Some experts believe that if something isn’t done soon, as many as 15 percent of children born this year will die or suffer serious health problems from malnutrition before the age of five. •—
—• STATES EMERGENCY BROADCAST. PLEASE STAND —”
“I am United States President Laura Griffith, and I freely admit to shooting General Charles Jacobsen just now. My loyalist forces have arrested the United States officials who were helping the late vice president circumvent my constitutional authority. Let the courts judge me for the general’s death. Let history judge me when I, as commander in chief, order the immediate and complete stand-down of all US nuclear forces. All pending nuclear attacks will be aborted immediately, and I will never authorize nuclear attacks here at home or anywhere in the world. •—
—• You’re listening to the Cliffhanger, broadcasting with five hundred thousand watts from the Northwest Alliance superstation here in Boise, Idaho, and streaming video via the Internet. I’m afraid we’ve had to ask Mr. Ellison to stop spewing his warmonger hate so that we could bring you a message of peace and hope. Today, I’m reunited with my friend Chris Stone. Chris will be recording this program for both my video and audio podcasts, because this is a show you don’t want to miss! This is history in the making. My friends, for many months the Cliffhanger has dared to shine a light on the darkness of deception, and right now, the propaganda lies of the Brotherhood of the White Eagle are about to be shattered against the solid rock of truth. My friends, here’s Private First Class Daniel Wright.”
“This is Danny Wright. Yes … um … that Daniel Wright. I’m still alive, and still in Idaho. For over a year now, I have found myself trapped. I’ve been, um, in the middle of the controversy that started at a protest here in Boise, and expanded into a civil war and World War III. Although I know nothing I can do or say can ever make up for the pain I’ve caused, I want to say, first of all, that I’m sorry. I’m sorry for the people I’ve killed, for the lives I’ve helped destroy by inspiring people to fight.
“A good teacher of mine once warned me about slogans in war. People talk about freedom. They say they have to beat tyranny. On the day my mother was killed, before this war really flared up, I was mad at the United States about her death, and I shouted, ‘We will give you a war.’ Those words were turned into a slogan. They were put on flags and T-shirts. People said them before they were killed. They were shouted as soldiers rushed to their deaths.”
“And what would you say to people now, Danny?”
“I’d say I want to give you all a new slogan. ‘No more. End the war.’ We have almost as many people dying now from starvation and exposure to the elements as from bullets. Some say that we’re free. But free to do what? Die? Scrounge around looking for a tiny bit of food?
“ ‘No more. End the war.’ I like that. From my travels around Pan America, I truly believe people are ready for this message.”
“I’m just a soldier. And I’m putting this call out to all the other soldiers around all the countries of Pan America and even the world. If you too are tired of fighting. If you’ve had to watch too many good people die. If you miss the old world we had, the food and the freedom from fear, then join me. Join me in saying, ‘End the war.’
“Our leaders may continue to order us to fight, but it’s time to stop obeying those orders from our chain of command. This time, let the order come from the bottom and work its way up to the top. Let’s tell them: ‘That’s it! We’re done. War’s over.’ We can demand peace. It’s not up to them. It’s up to us. Two Idaho soldiers, who were assigned to guard this radio station to prevent anyone from breaking in, have had machine guns pointed at me this whole time. But now they’ve chosen peace and lowered their weapons. All of us can choose to put down our guns.”
“Thank you, Danny. And now the Cliffhanger has a special message for United States President Laura Griffith, from her son, Second Lieutenant Douglas Griffith.”
“Madame President? Mom? We believe we’re getting a comm video out over the Internet, but in case it isn’t working and you’re only listening, it’s really me, Doug. I had a rough time of it for a while, but Danny Wright and his friends saved my life. In case you think this is some kind of trick, that this isn’t me, do you remember that time I was maybe six, and you’d made that big birthday cake for me, but when you came inside, I’d dug into the whole thing with my hands and had cake and blue frosting all over the living room couch? Or maybe you remember when I was ten and you took me to that peace rally. You talked about how terrible war is, how we have to work hard to avoid it. It’s time to end this war, Mom. We saw your broadcast. We know you’re in control again. Please. Call a cease-fire. Here’s Wright again.”
“I’m asking all the leadership and all the soldiers everywhere to end the war. End the war. I … had a girl. I loved her very much. We grew up together, been dating for years. Me and JoBell were going to get married. I spent most of my money from basic training on a ring, and we’d found a white dress in an abandoned house. She died in a battle to free Lieutenant Griffith and a lot of other innocent people from a slave camp run by a militia group, the Brotherhood of the White Eagle. But before this war killed her, she reminded me that it’s our job to decide what will one day go in the history books. When the next generation asks us what we did in the war, let’s make sure we can look them in the eye and tell them that we did our best to end it. •—
“I hate this stupid shirt.” I pulled at my buttoned-up collar and the dumb tie. Sweat rolled down the middle of my back. “It’s too hot for this anyway.”
Jaclyn pushed my hand away. “Would you leave it alone? This is an important day. You don’t want to look like a slob.”
“Yeah, you convinced everyone to stop killing each other long enough to have this meeting,” Cal said. “But mostly people just heard you on the radio. Be a shame if they saw how nasty you look and started the war again.”
I was with Sweeney, Becca, Cal, TJ, and Jaclyn in the hallway behind the Idaho legislative chamber, which was lit only by a few dim emergency lanterns. In a few minutes, I would have to go into the chamber itself and stand at the central podium in the round room with its white columns and balconies. After a lot of arguing, it had been decided that nobody would occupy that high central desk in the room during the meeting. It would be used only for speeches, and everyone else would sit on an equal level on the floor.
The colonel I’d seen on my comm the other day approached. Colonel Kidd was a good man. He’d found a way to have some ammunition and a lot more food flown up to Alice Marshall via helicopter. Sergeant Kemp and everybody else there were still doing just fine. Colonel Kidd had even promised to order the Idaho military to do something about the Brotherhood, as long as the cease-fire held. “Private Wright?” He shook my hand. “I’m sorry it’s taken so long for me to get here. As you can imagine, things have been very hectic at Idaho CentCom.”
“Where’s Montaine?” Sweeney asked.
The colonel looked down. “President Montaine is … not well. He couldn’t handle his troops refusing to obey his orders and giving up the fight. He’s resting comfortably in a secure location. I’ve been appointed to negotiate in his place.” He
nodded at me. “It’s almost time.”
Sweeney and Becca moved aside as two people stepped out of the shadows, approaching me.
“President Griffith,” I said. Her son was right behind her, back in Air Force dress blues and promoted to captain. I didn’t know the rules here. Should I shake her hand? Should I salute?
“Daniel Wright,” Laura Griffith said. She kept her hands tight at her sides. “We meet in person at last.”
“Hey, Danny.” The captain shook my hand. “It’s good to see you again.”
President Griffith looked so much older than she had before the war. Her suit-dress-type thing was frayed a little at one shoulder. Her eyes looked tired, and tears welled in them. “I wish now that I’d pardoned you a long time ago. Maybe then —”
“I wish I had surrendered myself to the FBI right at the beginning,” I said.
She nodded. “Thank you for bringing my son back to me.”
“I didn’t do much.”
She reached out her hand. “Nevertheless, I am grateful.”
We shook hands, and then she moved past me into the chamber.
“Private Wright?” the colonel said again.
I was about to address the leadership of the thirteen countries who had come here to negotiate with the leaders of the United States. The goal wasn’t to remake the old USA, but to work out a lasting peace. Maybe later there could be trade negotiations and defense pacts. But for now, it was all about recognizing the borders of all fourteen countries and ending the war.
I turned to follow Colonel Kidd into the legislative chamber. Sweeney stepped up to me on his cane and patted my shoulder. Becca squeezed my hand. TJ offered a fist bump. Cal gave me a little salute. I took one more look at my friends, these people I’d gone through hell with, who’d saved my life. My family. I stopped in front of Jaclyn and nodded. She’d wanted me to tell her when I started the long process of letting go of a war’s worth of guilt. “Jackie, the time has come. I’m ready.”
She smiled. She knew what I meant.
I entered the hot chamber on shaky legs, climbing the steps to the podium. Like the hall, the room was dimly lit. Every chair was full, and camera operators stood in the back. Joe Woodson, the Cliffhanger, was back there with a camera and microphone. He nodded to me.
I looked down for a moment, thinking of all the good people we’d lost to get to this point. Then I tapped my comm to open the file for the speech that Becca and Sweeney had helped me write. I held my head up and met the crowd’s gaze to begin my talk.
“I am Private First Class Daniel Christopher Wright, and I fired the shot that ended the United States of America.
“At least, it set off a chain of events that led to the end of the United States as we knew it. What’s left of the United States has gathered itself at its new capital in Colorado, the most powerful single military in Pan America. And a couple weeks ago, we saw the danger posed by a madman who had too much control over that military, as we were moments away from nuclear annihilation. But courageous citizens of the United States, led by President Laura Griffith, were able to stop the nuclear attack. In the same way, brave citizens of Atlantica ended the rule of the Atlantican dictator, General Jonathan Vogel. And all over the Pan American territory, people began to realize that even if victory were still possible, it was no longer worth the cost.”
I looked out over the room. The air-conditioning didn’t work, and sweat pooled on everyone’s brows and ran down their cheeks. My words seemed to be swallowed by the dark heat. I found my place in my script and read on.
“I looked up the list of the dead yesterday. With the cease-fire in effect, we finally have time to begin to add up some of that cost. It is estimated that about thirteen-point-seven million people died as a result of the nuclear attacks on New York and Washington, DC. Some estimates project deaths related to any combat, whether official fighting among the fourteen countries or in smaller, gang or militia warfare, at over two million. Those who have died from disease, starvation, or exposure? Perhaps another half a million. Over sixteen million dead. And the true number is likely much higher.”
I wiped the sweat from my upper lip and read on. “But … I think the problem is that after a while, that’s what it becomes. Numbers. A horrible, massive number. I never saw sixteen million anything. I don’t even know what one million looks like. But I know the look on the face of this redheaded girl, dead on the ground at the Battle of Boise. I see her every night in my nightmares. I also dream of my mother, and I still hear her screaming like she did as she bled out from US bullets. I remember the pool of blood around Staff Sergeant Kirklin, the first man I ever killed, and I wonder every day if there was any way out of that situation without having to shoot him.” I sighed. “I will never wash away the guilt from the dozens, maybe hundreds of soldiers and militiamen that I’ve killed in combat. I can never apologize enough to their families.
“I remember Lieutenant McFee, who killed himself because he couldn’t handle the grief and guilt after the Battle of Boise. I remember Staff Sergeant Shane Donshel, First Sergeant Scott Herbokowitz, Sergeant Adam Ribbon, and PFC Henry Nelson. I think of Specialist Will Danning, who slowly died of an infected wound he received the night the US invaded Idaho. I miss PFC Nick Luchen, who sacrificed himself to save me and Specialist Shawna Sparrow from torture at the hands of United States Army Major Federico Alsovar. I remember how hard Major Alsovar fought until the very end. There was Captain Peterson, who helped me and Shawna Sparrow escape those torture cells. The Brotherhood of the White Eagle hung him. I remember my friend Jaclyn Martinez’s parents, who were also lynched by the Brotherhood of the White Eagle — how Jackie screamed and tried to save their lives even though it was too late.”
My hands shook as I gripped my comm, and I fought to keep from crying. “I think of the Brotherhood slave camp and the men there, chained together and forced to work. The women and girls there who were used for far worse. I remember how hard they fought to break out of that place. And every second of every day, I miss JoBell Marie Linder. We were going to be married, but instead she died along with others in the fight to free the people from that camp. She was my … She was everything.
“Each of us who has survived this long carries our own personal list of the dead. It is for those people, for the people on your list, that these talks must succeed. It is for the people left in our lives who we can’t live without that you all agreed to meet here to bring about peace.
“I’m not asking for your pity, or your forgiveness. If all the nations in Pan America insist that I be arrested and punished, I won’t run. I won’t put up a fight.
“I am Private First Class Daniel Christopher Wright. I have had too much of war. It’s time to end the fighting. We must enter earnestly into the long process of healing and forgiveness, both for ourselves and for others. It’s up to all of us to work for peace.”
—• The cease-fire seems to be holding, for the most part. We have reports of some clashes among various militia groups, but these appear to be small and isolated. It’s too early to tell how long this relative peace will last, but medical professionals and other relief organizations no doubt welcome this break in the fighting, an opportunity to better assist many who have suffered for so long through the war. •—
—• WGN. Liberum’s Very Own. While isolated sniper activity and ongoing militia violence hampered early efforts to protect communities from the dangerous flooding of the Illinois River, more and more citizens have joined sandbagging crews to protect homes and reinforce dikes. People who helped supply food to the work crews have now expanded their cooperative endeavor to feed others in need. This effort has become a much-needed symbol of hope in these challenging times. •—
—• Peace has allowed the restoration of electricity to some areas of northern Cascadia that have been without power for several months. Graham Keefer, the Cascadian secretary for restoration and regrowth, made a statement today in •—
—• We are live via
satellite link with Captain Clarence Benedict, the commander of Rogue Fleet, in his first interview since Carrier Strike Groups 9 and 11 left the United States Navy. Shortly thereafter, Rogue Fleet was recognized as a full nation-state by Japan and Korea, and it has since been active in World War III, helping those two countries in their fight against China. Captain, thank you for joining us. I’ll get right to the question on the minds of many people in the former United States. The civil war is over, and the Pan American countries have, for the most part, been able to stay out of World War III. Why hasn’t Rogue Fleet come home?”
“That’s an excellent question. There has been a lot of discussion in Rogue Fleet’s parliament about returning, but simply put, we cannot decide to which nation we should return. We do not entirely trust the new peace, with thirteen countries spread out on the fringes of a very well armed United States. Moreover, the sailors, Marines, and civilian personnel of our fleet have been through a lot together. Pan America’s war is over, but World War III has not ended, and the Allies have finally begun to make some difficult gains in Europe and Israel. The Koreans and Japanese are still holding off the Chinese invasion. Rogue Fleet has been able to make a difference for the better in the war. So for the foreseeable future, we will sail on. •—
—• Today Jake Rickingson became the fourth member of the Brotherhood of the White Eagle to be convicted in a Northwest Alliance court on charges including theft, extortion, murder, human trafficking, and crimes against humanity. Despite the testimony of hundreds of people who were liberated from Brotherhood-operated slave camps by the Northwest Alliance Army, Rickingson denied the camps even existed. He justified his other criminal activities by arguing that he was merely following orders from former Idaho President James P. Montaine and the Brotherhood chain of command. While Montaine himself remains in treatment and is not mentally fit to serve as a competent witness, a number of senior Idaho officers have denied prior knowledge of the Brotherhood’s crimes.