“The tax ceiling will remain for now, and we’ve agreed it shall be a global practice. No citizen may be taxed more than twenty percent of her income, ever again, and whatever method of taxation is adopted by the various countries, the rate and method of enforcement must be the same for every citizen. It allows countries to differentiate based on their own regional assets, cultural preferences, and so on, but protects the citizen from uneven and excessive exploitation. Private property and privacy are two more common tenets already agreed upon as basic human rights that are not the purview of government.
“It will be a twenty-year, gradual, hopefully bump-free transition period. In America, free enterprise, affordable education and self-determination will be the cornerstones of this administration. It will also be an honorable government, an accountable government, without secrets, for the first time in at least a century. We must have and enforce those tenets above all else.”
“We’ve heard rumors that all armies are to be disbanded. Is that true?” asked a reporter.
Miller motioned to Gene Stickle, who turned from those he was conversing with on stage, and came to the podium to stand beside Miller. “Not completely,” responded Stickle. “We’ve agreed that each country will be permitted to retain an independent military, and to develop technological defense systems—excluding biological, chemical and radionuclides. Military expenditures may not exceed one percent of the country’s GDP. This really amounts to just local security forces. Anything excessive, such as a sudden massive buildup, will trigger a response from the machines, and censure from the world community. For America, it works out to be about a hundred-billion-dollar budget for the combined military services, about a fourth of what it was. We’re still human—we have to be eased into the idea of no armies, no wars, and from a survival perspective, we can’t afford not to develop and maintain both a national and global capacity for defense. Who knows when, or from where, a threat to human survival may come. It may eventually come from space. We have to continue learning and advancing technologically, even in weapons of destruction. From now on, though, the President will not have the authority to commit the military without a national vote. Neither will Congress. The only exception is when the United States is under immediate attack. Then, and only then, can the President act unilaterally. Even then, congressional and state controls come into play within twenty-four hours.”
“What about all the military personnel that have spent their careers in the service? What happens to them?” asked a military man. “When the services are down-sized, there will be a lot of jobs lost.”
“That’s true,” Stickle responded. “Right now, the public doesn’t have a lot of sympathy for the military. About half the personnel strength is gone, anyway—dead or in camps. Nevertheless, the IUS has agreed to a fair draw-down and dispersion, over a two-year period. The military will be restructured. There will be an Air Force and a Navy. The Marines will remain as assault troops under the command of the Navy. The Army, as a separate service, will be no more. As you can see, our purpose is to eliminate the capability of any nation to form a large invasion or occupational force.”
“There will be some demand for various military skills in the new United States Space Service,” said Patterson, stepping forward. “The Air Force Space Command, for example, will be absorbed by NASA. There will be no military involvement in space anymore, except for operation of reconnaissance satellites.
“I’ve gotten involved in this thing so recently that I’m not up to speed yet on projects and programs, but we’ve had a lot of scientific projects waiting in the wings for years, overlooked for lack of funding, or deferred due to misguided priorities. We’re dusting them off and reexamining them in light of new objectives. Earth and planetary sciences, and space exploration are worthy areas to apply all of that national investment in military training and equipment, and humanity will reap a remarkable harvest of advancements.
“We’re going to develop commercial interests in space—orbital factories and research facilities. We will need engineering and manufacturing skills in propulsion systems, avionics, radar, communications, aerospace systems, microgravity construction and maintenance, as well as jobs in administration. We will begin constructing an orbital research station next year, and permanent manned bases on the moon and Mars as soon as we can get there.
“As for the infantry and similar support skills, they will have to seek jobs in private enterprise, retrain, re-educate themselves. Pensions will be prorated in some fashion, and if they choose, they can roll them over into private retirement funds or draw them out. We don’t want to create another punished caste. We want to forget and go on with life in a better world. We’ve all earned the right to a new day, not just a new beginning of the same old world. This is a transition time in human history.
“Two teams of administrative and fiscal scientists are working out the economic and government fiscal parameters for the U.S. Without thirty percent of our national budget going into defense-related activities, we should have the funds to generate lots of productive jobs in health services, scientific agribusiness, scientific exploration, orbital space factories, alternative and renewable energy industries, green automobiles, etc.
“We have an ambitious agenda on the table, and we welcome input. There are going to be lots of town-hall meetings and national interactive discussion of issues in the future. You might not think so now, but I think you will all come around, and truly like what is ahead for us. It’s going to be exciting and productive times. We hope to have more specific answers shortly.”
“What happens to all the prisoners you’ve taken?”
“They will be isolated from society on island work farms,” Ortiz responded, ambling over to join the group at the podium. “They will produce their own food and clothing and shelter. They will have no rights or interactions with normal society, outside the boundaries of their farm communities. They will be allowed to trade, so as to diversify their lives. That’s more than they had in mind for us. Internally, they may operate as they like, within limits. They may not leave their island. They shall not be supported. Excepting the initial tools, educational materials, medicines and supplies they need to get started, they will be on their own. They will work, and make their living, build their own society, or starve. All work farms will be located in moderate climates in the tropics. They will have a far better beginning, and a far better chance than our pioneer ancestors had.”
“What if they have children?”
“The prisoners will be segregated by sex until they can be sterilized, then they will be put together so that they can have a semblance of normal life. Any existing children shall be removed into normal society. It wouldn’t be right to punish them for their parents’ sins.
“For the present, that’s the best plan we’ve come up with. Their philosophy is not going to change, and they can’t be allowed to raise another generation of potential tyrants. The chain must be broken. Their philosophy must die out with them. It’s as humane as we can be, and still accomplish our purpose.”
“Some people are concerned that we will all be lumped together, just as the Euro-American Alliance had planned. Is that what is planned?” asked the first reporter.
“No,” said Miller. “The United States of America will still be an independent nation, as will all other countries. We believe that nationalism is a good thing, that different customs, traditions and cultures are what make life interesting. If the world were forced into a polyglot culture, most of the beauty of the world would be lost. We don’t have to have the same customs, or language, or religious beliefs in order to get along with one another. All we have to do is practice tolerance and honesty in our relations.
“In the past, the term ‘diversity’ was a cover for making everyone exactly the same, an ignorant robot reciting a politically correct mantra. The subterfuges of government and international business are largely responsible for every war ever fought. When greed and lust for power are allowe
d to flourish, a commonness of slavery is always the natural end product. How can it be otherwise? Who wants uniformity, especially at that price? It is not the common people who start these things. It is the ambition and greed of those in power.
“To that end, the nations of the world have agreed to become a little isolationist. We will trade and travel freely, even undertake joint ventures, but we will no longer permit foreign investment or interference in each other’s internal affairs, beyond the establishment of the basic human rights I’ve mentioned. When permitted, foreign influence is seldom in the interest of the penetrated nation. It becomes an influence that destroys cultures and makes enemies. Such activities shall be universally illegal. We think that the force of self-determination, by its very nature, can only propagate greater freedom and greater individual opportunity for everyone, no matter what other cultural traditions make up their society.”
“The banking community and foreign investors are really going to hate that idea,” said a businesswoman sitting in the front row. Several other voices echoed the sentiment.
Ortiz spoke up, “What we are trying to do is lay a common groundwork for a free society, based on principles that are common to humankind. To establish liberty throughout the world’s peoples. Beyond that, we will not interfere in each other’s affairs. The peoples of other nations can take the common substrate of freedom and shared knowledge, and build on it what they will. We want to elevate mankind as a whole. As an administrative body, we scientists agree that there are few political or commercial advantages consistent with universal liberty, that are derived from the capital investment of outside businesses in other countries. Investors want control of any resources they put money into. That foreign influence overruns local concerns and customs, and disenfranchises the natives. We want to live together on this planet, like brothers and sisters who live together in the same house, each with our own things and our own ways. We can find ways to communicate and work together in harmony, and to trade, and still retain our individuality. Only commercial greed and political ambition require the invasion of another’s territory, or acquisition of his resources. The citizenry of each country must learn to control their would-be despots and monopolistic enterprises. They will be held accountable.”
“What about the weapons?” another reporter asked. “Who controls them now that Dr. Somerset is gone?”
“They are controlled at present, by a five-member committee, and overseen by the IUS at large. Dr. Somerset programmed the weapons to operate automatically for a long period of time. At the end of that period, unless we interfere, they will self-destruct. All the committee can do is reset the program clocks every month. If anything happens to the committee, and the weapons are not reset, they will begin to destroy thousands of targets, all over the earth.”
“What are the targets?”
“Only the weapons know. They are smart systems, capable of reprogramming themselves within limits. They can analyze every square meter of the earth’s surface, monitor communications, compare global activities among themselves. If something is not right, they will override their reset instructions and fire. Only Leland Somerset knew their full capabilities. For a few decades though, no one had better try to raise an army. The machines won’t tolerate it.”
“What about news and entertainment programming? You’ve made it plain you don’t like the media. What happens now?”
“What we don’t like,” said Ortiz, his eyes black with anger, “is manipulative lying. Only absolutely factual reporting will be tolerated in the future. No anti-liberty political propaganda, and no media bias will be permitted. No monopoly of attitude, and no constant barrage of one social viewpoint. The crime for violating a public trust is treason, and the punishment will be life on an island work farm. You reporters will be given a transcript of this meeting at its conclusion. Make certain you do not alter its meaning or edit any information out of it. You will regret it if you do.”
XLVI
A Halloween party was in progress at the Townsends’ house. Ortiz’s faculty friends and a few people from Townsend’s company had brought their families. Small children, costumed as witches, fairies, rock stars, ghosts, skeletons and various mythical creatures were bobbing for apples, drinking Kool-Aid and playing pin the tail on the donkey amid squeals and shouts. The few teenagers present were talking, drinking cider, and listening to “The Monster Mash” and other classical Halloween music on the radio. Adults were talking and drinking in casual groups.
The Townsends, Teller, Ortiz and Haas stood apart from the other guests for a few moments, sipping their drinks and watching the children play.
“Is everybody back from Chile, now?” Townsend asked.
“Yes,” said Ortiz. “We had almost three hundred people in all. The last bunch came back through Mexico by train.”
“How did they all take it? And how did you manage such a big camp without the government becoming suspicious?”
“Actually, everybody did quite well. Had fun, in fact. You and Eve should have come. We excavated a pre-Columbian tomb of at least moderate significance, and it was a lark for almost everyone. A few complained about living in tents and showering outside at first, but when news of the killing and plundering started coming in, they suddenly saw things in a different light.
“As for the government finding out, it’s not that much out of the ordinary for universities to have summer camps. It would be impossible to track what all of the various institutions do, or where they go. They didn’t consider us that important, anyway.
“That has been our single, greatest advantage throughout all of this. Universities are generally treated as being somehow apart from mainstream life. That’s really the only reason we were able to accomplish what we did. The general public think of colleges as if they were on another planet that you send your kids to for four years. The government treats them as databanks that they consult occasionally, and not much more.
“Our camps in Alaska, Canada and the Caribbean seem to have enjoyed similar experiences. It was much more difficult for our European people. They’ve always had tighter controls, over there.”
“Where did they hole up?” asked Townsend.
“In the Austrian Alps and the French Pyrenees,” answered Teller. “They trickled into staging points by rail, bus and car over a period of several weeks, then guides took them on to camp. One group was at eleven thousand feet, in a glacial cave. Conrad had his hands full with logistics. He spent a year stockpiling canned rations, blankets and fuel at four different sites. Got to hand it to him, though. He did a first-rate job. Only one small group got caught, before they ever left town. An alpine patrolman found one site and had to be killed. Other than that, all the sites were remote, and didn’t interact with the locals. With the world in a state of chaos, they were essentially forgotten. I guess you had it pretty bad here, huh buddy?”
Townsend hugged Eve to his side as he answered. “It was bad enough. San Francisco and L.A. really got the worst of it. The suburbs didn’t put up as much resistance, so the retaliation wasn’t what it was in the cities.”
“Where were you and Eve?” asked Ortiz.
“We stayed in the hills above here, most of the time,” said Townsend. “There’s a water reservoir back over that hill.” He pointed southward. “It’s off the beaten path, and no one bothered. Inside two weeks, their subjugation of the local population was over. They herded everyone into school auditoriums and public parks, and laid down the rules.
“Eve and I holed up inside one of an array of big concrete pipes that form an overflow system for the water reservoir. We did a little sniping. We blew up a supply area in Palo Alto ten days before Damocles fired.
“After that, we formed citizens’ groups armed with confiscated weapons. Those occupation forces left alive after Damocles fired were rounded up in short order. We have thirty-six holding compounds full of prisoners, being held by civilian guards. That’s in addition to the jails. Almost ten thousand prisone
rs in all. We’re preparing tent camps at Fort Irwin, near Barstow, to receive them. They don’t have a lot of fight left in them, right now, but we’ve got to get them moved to places where they can be contained. After a while, they’ll get restless, and we need to be prepared.
“They had a big encampment near San Jose that was destroyed, and all the major Army, Navy and Air Force strategic and tactical combat bases in California are gone, of course. I guess it’s the same across the rest of the country, isn’t it?”
“Pretty much so,” said Ortiz. “Leland was thorough. He didn’t want the government of any country to have the military capacity left to recover. All tactical and strategic bases were destroyed.”
“I still don’t see why Leland had to die,” said Haas, his eyes tearing for his lost friend. “He didn’t have to shoulder all the blame. We should admit to our share of the responsibility, Hector.”
Haas and Ortiz had viewed a computer file the evening before—a file that Somerset had left for them. It contained Somerset’s good-byes, the reset control codes for the weapons, and some final suggestions. For the most part, he tried to absolve them of any guilt for the destruction, and shouldered the responsibility for creating and firing Damocles and his siblings.
“I think that would be a grievous mistake,” said Ortiz. “If all of us involved in the conspiracy were to come out of the closet and admit to the public that Leland wasn’t alone, that there are several dozen people who cold-bloodedly planned the deaths of millions of people over a period of several years, we would be looked upon as war criminals. That’s okay for you, if you are just so full of remorse that you need to be punished for your sins so that you can die at peace, but what about this new world we’re trying to build? It will lose all its leadership just when it needs it the most. All the planning and dying will have been for nothing. No one will want to be led by, or want to follow the mapped-out plans of a bunch of mass murderers. They won’t be able to admit that they had to be forced into action under a lash, and that their new leaders are the people who whipped them without mercy. It would drive them into festering resentment—not creativity and hope for the future.
Operation Damocles Page 31