“No Sir,” Black Bear replied.
The doctor emitted a quiet, uncomfortable sounding cough and urged Black Bear to sit once more.
“I spent most of the time trying to figure out how the enemy knew we were there without us detecting any kind of active scanning on his part,” Black Bear said.
“If you have any ideas, I’d like to hear them, Billy,” Yuen replied. “But, first I need to know what you found out from the drone. We couldn’t do any downloading after your team took control of it, and the holographic memory on the flight yoke was destroyed in the crash of your shuttle.”
“We downloaded all the data and concentrated on the northwestern gate,” Black Bear said. “We didn’t find any damage at all…”
“They couldn’t have cleaned things up that quickly,” Yuen said. “Are you certain you scanned the correct area of the city?”
“Without question, General,” Black Bear answered. “I had Bravo confirm we were looking at the coordinates we got from God’s Eye. While we scanned the area something began to emerge from the shadow of the northwest security tower. We thought it might be a burned out fuel tank, at first. But, after a fireball that size, there should have been much less of it left. Not to mention, a petroleum fire would most likely still be burning.”
“What could it have been, then,” Yuen asked.
“I think it was nothing more than a huge flash pot,” Black Bear answered. “It was a pyrotechnic device intended to fool us into thinking that our team was dead. I think that my team is still alive and the natives captured them.”
“That’s absolutely ludicrous, Billy,” General Yuen said, almost laughing out loud. “Your first impression was probably the right one. It took out the team when it exploded.”
“Neither God’s Eye nor the drone found any damage,” Black Bear replied. “The explosion was a diversion and the shelling was done to chase us away. The missile afterward was a show of force. They want us to know they can surprise us, they are willing to do whatever is necessary to resist us, and they are easily capable of blowing us off the planet if need be. I’m dead sure of that now.”
Yuen’s expression showed his disbelief.
A frustrated Black Bear continued.
“They didn’t expect us back so soon or they would have been looking for the drone,” he told Yuen. “They were probably curious, but not concerned about my shuttle until the drone was discovered. That’s when they sent terrain-following missiles right at me. They weren’t trying to scare me off this time, General.”
“Some sort of subterfuge is involved here,” Black Bear continued after cursing under his breath when the doctor pulled another stitch tight. “I’m willing to bet if we hadn’t gotten back in there for another day or so, there would have been some manufactured debris lying around to do it up nice, and we’d have been none the wiser. It’s a damned good thing you broadcast in the clear that the crowd you sent after us was a rescue mission or the natives would have sent missiles after them, too.”
“That sounds like an awfully chancy and expensive gambit just to take six prisoners,” Yuen replied. “I believe you are over-thinking this, Billy. Sane people don’t blow shit up and fire nukes at the other side just to capture a few commandos.”
“Not unless taking prisoners, blowing shit up and firing nukes are the punctuations for a larger statement,” Black Bear replied, wincing periodically as the doctor continued to suture one of his deeper lacerations. “I still say the enemy is trying to communicate something gravely important to us, General. My guess is they are trying to inform us that they’ve had enough and can end it any time if they choose. They’re giving us a chance to talk.”
“We didn’t come all this way to settle for a few square miles of desert,” Yuen said. “What do you think the natives wanted with your team?”
“The obvious answer would be intelligence,” Black Bear said. “Troop numbers, weapon counts, locations of our strongholds… The usual.”
“That seems reasonable,” Yuen replied. “Do you think the enemy will be able to torture anything out of them?”
“I don’t know, General,” Black Bear said. “None of my kids have anything in their heads of tactical importance we couldn’t change starting right now. I can only guess whether the natives can get that out of them. You would know more about that than I would, General.”
Black Bear looked sternly at Yuen for a few seconds before he continued. Yuen didn’t acknowledge Black Bear’s allusion to his program of psychological studies on selected felines before the first assaults on the Terra Novan cities. It was one of the things that Black Bear and Yuen were diametrically opposed on.
Black Bear considered it to be torture and refused to participate. His opposition stopped just short of open interference but he had often warned Yuen that his loyalty to him and the benefactors was being greatly strained.
“I’m more concerned about the technology the enemy acquired today,” Black Bear continued. “Those phase rifles are as far advanced from chemical charge and pneumatic ballistics as muskets were from swords and spears. The team didn’t have any locators, although Alpha and Kilo both had homers on their chronometers that sync via nav-com. We can deactivate those from here. The chatter headsets aren’t anything to worry about. They aren’t directly tied into the nav-com grid. They only had simple encryption and it looks like the other side may have already broken it and were listening in.”
“So you think they can fully understand English, now,” Yuen asked.
“I’m almost sure of it,” Black Bear answered.
“But how,” Yuen asked. “They couldn’t have learned it today from your team’s chatter. All of our site-to-site voice and data communications are fully encrypted. They can’t have been listening in on that.”
“General, Sir,” Black Bear said grimly. “After today, I am convinced the enemy not only has been listening in to our nav-com network for some time, but may have broken in and learned how to use it against us.”
“If that were even remotely possible, what would they need with your commandos,” Yuen asked.
“I can’t tell you that,” Black Bear replied. “I also don’t know why they didn’t just blow us off this God-forsaken rock when they had the chance. It all smacks of theatrics. Either way the game has changed, Dennis.”
“I won’t fail here, Billy,” Yuen said. “If I can’t take those cities without destroying them, I’ll send in some nukes of my own.”
“That’s insane, Dennis,” Black Bear said. “Besides, the benefactors would have your ass.”
“They told me to take control of this planet,” Yuen yelled. He pounded his fist on a table tray and sent medical instruments flying through the room.
“They also said you’d need the resources that are available in those cities to prepare for further colonization,” Black Bear shouted back.
“They aren’t here and they haven’t seen the situation,” Yuen answered. “I’m sure that my status reports are useful. But, maybe they haven’t conveyed the complete gravity of our situation.”
“Or maybe the benefactors aren’t really concerned with our situation,” Black Bear replied. “Maybe John was right. Maybe they are using us as grunts to capture the cities for them. Maybe they know more about the cities than they are letting on. It’s time to consider contacting the natives and negotiating for some territory. If we’re lucky, they may even be open to some trading and cultural exchange.”
Black Bear became more acutely aware of the pain in his ribs as he yelled. He lowered his voice and pointed toward the door. “Unless you’re ready to listen to reason Dennis, I have nothing more to discuss,” he said.
Yuen really didn’t want to ask for Black Bear’s advice, but he couldn’t deny it was quickly coming to that. “Work out some sort of intell strategy to figure out what they are up to, Billy,” Yuen said. “We need to know what we are dealing with.”
Black Bear looked at Yuen and nodded in agreement. He was certain he wanted
to get to the bottom of this situation at least as much as the general did. “You can count on it,” he said.
Yuen turned to leave the infirmary. Halfway to the door, he turned and spoke. “We can’t fail here, Billy,” he said somberly. “God only knows what history will say about us if we do.”
Black Bear took a deep breath and cursed silently as his ribs complained.
“I’m not too awfully sure that history will be kind to us one way or the other, Dennis,” he said. “The worst thing we could do here is ignore any warnings we’ve been given and end up dead. Do something stupid now, like underestimate the enemy or his resolve, and history will probably just forget about us.”
“Better forgotten than branded a loser, or worse yet, a coward,” Yuen said as he turned and left the infirmary.
Black Bear’s gut tightened.
“Those sounded like famous last words,” he said to himself. “People always say stupid shit like that before they end up saying or doing shit that’s even more stupid.”
Chapter 19
7-October-2409
At this particular moment in time, Zheng would rather be talking to almost anyone in the universe but Pedersen, and he was showing it. His impatience was making it difficult for Pedersen to know where to start.
“Herb,” he finally said. “I know we don’t always see eye to eye on how the Central Government runs things, but I know we both agree that things could be worse and they’ve even gotten better over the last thirty years or so.”
Zheng motioned impatiently for Pedersen to continue.
“When the hot war was over and we were both ready to leave active duty,” he said. “I was happy just to have a pension and the means to raise a family. I was thankful I didn’t have to worry about whether or not the saurians or silicoids would be invading Earth or any other League territories. Once the saurians finally requested League member status and the silicoids signed the truce, I was relieved to know I would never have to fly off in the direction of Sirius or Zeta Reticuli to fight either of them in their own home systems again.”
“I’m sure that war must have been Hell for you, Len,” Zheng retorted. “Just imagine how relieved all the marine fighter pilots were when they found out they didn’t have to fly any more sorties against those silicoid dracs that were faster and armed twice as well.”
“I can’t tell you how happy we leathernecks were to learn we didn’t have to trudge around saurian jungles any longer,” he continued. “Praying that our goggles held together and kept the ammonia in the atmosphere from blinding us, or that our re-breathers didn’t fail and let us choke to death on methane. Of course, when the enemy outnumbered you three to one and attacked almost daily, there were plenty spares lying around.”
“But, I see your point,” Zheng said, finally. “I’m sure that you and my ex-wife had it much worse, being interstellar bus drivers.”
“I had your back plenty of times, Herb,” Pedersen replied. “Even though you might not have realized it.” He then looked down, closed his eyes and shook his head. “I’ve made all the apologies I ever will,” he said. “Now, I have something I need to give you, but I need to explain to you why it’s so important before I do.”
Zheng started to apologize for bringing up the past, but he stopped himself. He was still angry and Pedersen was imposing on him.
“The point I want to get across is this,” Pedersen said. “Although you were constantly upset the Central Government chose to black out certain news items or spin them for the greater good, it didn’t matter to me at that time because I thought that our lives were easy.”
“It didn’t bother me that certain inconvenient facts were being kept out of print,” he continued. “I believed what the politicians were saying was logical. If it didn’t add something positive to the argument or it only shone a bad light on the Central Government without offering a better solution, why say it?”
Zheng’s countenance softened. He saw that Pedersen was on the way to describing an epiphany.
Pedersen kept his head down. Zheng couldn’t tell if he still had his eyes closed or was looking at the floor. It was plain that he was searching for words, but Zheng fought the desire to give him any. It would be better if he found them himself. When Pedersen seemed to have found the exact wording he wanted he looked up and spoke again.
“Do you really think it makes any difference whether the League has either a socialist or laissez faire economic philosophy,” Pedersen asked. “I mean, as long as everyone has what they need to survive and the freedom to pursue, within reason, whatever makes them happy; does it matter if we buy our bread and milk from a government cooperative instead of the private sector?”
“I’ve always maintained that a healthy and stable economy is a combination of both,” Zheng said. “I tend to favor a more capitalistic form of economy but, what we currently have in the League suffices, in my opinion.”
“I’m not sure what my economic philosophy has to do with anything,” Zheng continued. “The Bureau hasn’t ever taken issue with that. We have only clashed over the concept of government control of information and whether or not officials have the right to censor educators and the press.”
Pedersen smiled.
“But hasn’t your chosen battlefield always been proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that John Chamberlain and all his capitalist buddies were persecuted by the socialist Earth government,” he asked.
Zheng flushed.
“Don’t misinterpret my intentions regarding Chamberlain, Len,” he grumbled. “My theories about Chamberlain and why I feel he was persecuted have nothing to do with the fact the Earth government nationalized everything and put draconian measures in place to redistribute all personal wealth. Even so, I’m willing to go on record as saying that was a mistake they took too long to correct. Don’t paint me with the seditionist’s colors, though. I have no desire to start a revolution.”
“I know, Herb,” Pedersen said in a reassuring manner. “Have you ever read Nineteen Eighty-Four,” he asked.
“Of course,” Zheng answered. “I’ve read it a few times. It’s depressing and overly fatalistic, but the message is an important one. How does it apply here other than the fact it involves another man’s fight against revisionism?”
“I’m not all that certain that Big Brother is concerned with my committing any thoughtcrimes anyway,” Zheng said. “Other than my open criticism about certain practices, that is. Even though I’ve found a Hell of a lot of monitoring devices in my office that don’t belong there, I couldn’t truthfully tell you he is watching me all that closely.”
“Do you know,” Pedersen asked next, in a slow deliberate manner. “It’s believed the tone of the book was so dark because Orwell was disillusioned to the point of despair after seeing how the form of socialism as practiced at that time was failing to end class distinction and even artificially perpetuating it? Personally, I think that Orwell was in such despair because he could see that no matter what type of government came to power, the human condition would remain the same. There was something wrong that couldn’t be eliminated by laws, philosophies or religions.”
“I’m not sure that I follow you, Len,” Zheng admitted.
“I never really gave it much thought until recently,” Pedersen mused. “But, every human culture in the League has gone through a similar period in its history where wars were fought for planetary domination between two competing philosophies.”
“The struggle always started at the time the civilization began to move from an agrarian to an industrial stage and carried on through the informational age. Hot wars between factions were never really over until after each planet moved into its space age and formed a global government. Even then the debate continued.”
“It isn’t only the human civilizations. All the races in the League have histories of wars fought between oligarchies with competing philosophies.”
“And, I know it wasn’t always economics. There are plenty examples of global con
flicts fought over competing religions, disputed homelands and ownership of natural resources. But they all had one thing in common. They were waged by elitists sitting in comfort, moving armies made up of the poor around like pawns on a chess board. And the poor had no problem fighting those wars even though the same elitists treated them like cattle during times of peace.”
“The truth is humanity can’t rise above class distinction. Tribal societies had chieftains and priests. Feudal societies had lords and kings. The fact industrial societies could not eschew elitism, even after the masses became educated well above the level of serfdom, is a disappointing truth.”
Zheng stood in amazement of what he was hearing. Pedersen was having an epiphany indeed.
“You have my attention, Len,” he said. “Please continue.”
“Are you also aware,” Pedersen asked. “That during that time in each planet’s history, novels and other treatises abounded covering the same basic themes Orwell did? Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 for example? Or Zamyatin’s We? Being from Stockholm, I’m quite familiar with Boye’s Kallocain, and growing up on Terra Nova, I’m sure you must have read They Come at Night in the original Zunnuki?”
“As well as the Sino translation,” Zheng said.
“Of course, the dystopia being described in each is a projection of the deepest fears of those living at that time and in that culture,” Pedersen stated. “I’m sure there is something lost in the translation of most of them from one planet to the next.”
“One could make that assumption,” Zheng replied. “But, I believe repression and loss of self-determination are universally frightening concepts.”
“I read one just recently that scared the Devil out of me,” Pedersen admitted.
Zheng wondered if Pedersen was finally coming around to his salient point in the story.
“It was written almost a thousand years ago on Ekkida,” Pedersen said. “It’s called Gold, Silver and Paper. It begins with a young boy and his father travelling to a foreign land to visit the home of the boy’s grandfather for the last time. The grandfather had just died and the boy’s father was there to settle the old man’s estate.”
Chamberlain's Folly (The Terra Nova Chronicles) Page 17