“Right. And even if we could find him—even find their secret base, which is certainly as well hidden as ours is—it would do us no present good, because we could take no positive action. We have, I think, learned the prime fact; that Towne is actually Murgatroyd’s superior.”
“That’s the way I see it. We can almost draw an organization chart now.”
“I wouldn’t say ‘almost’.” Samms smiled half-ruefully. “There are gaping holes, and
Isaacson is as yet a highly unknown quantity. I’ve tried to draw one a dozen times, but we haven’t got enough information. An incorrect chart, you know, would be worse than none at all. As soon as I can draw a correct one, I’ll show it to you. But in the meantime, the position of our friend James F. Towne is now clear. He is actually a Big Shot in both piracy and politics. That fact surprised me, even though it did clarify the picture tremendously.”
“Me, too. One good thing, we won’t have to hunt for him. You’ve been working on him right along, though, haven’t you?”
“Yes, but this new relationship throws light on a good many details which have been obscure. It also tends to strengthen our working hypothesis as to Isaacson—which we can’t prove yet, of course—that he is the actual working head of the drug syndicate. Vice-President in charge of Drugs, so to speak.”
“Hub? That’s a new one on me. I don’t see it.”
“There is very little doubt that at the top there is Morgan. He is, and has been for some time, the real boss of North America. Under him, probably taking orders direct, is President Witherspoon.”
“Undoubtedly. The Nationalist party is strictly a la machine, and Witherspoon is one of the world’s slimiest skinkers. Morgan is Chief Engineer of the Machine. Take it from there.”
“We know that Boss Jim is also in the top echelon—quite possibly the Commander-in-Chief-of the enemy’s Armed Forces. By analogy, and since Isaacson is apparently on the same level as Towne, immediately below Morgan . . .”
“Wouldn’t there be three? Witherspoon?”
“I doubt it. My present idea is that Witherspoon is at least one level lower.
Comparatively small fry.”
“Could be—I’ll buy it. A nice picture, Virge; and beautifully symmetrical. His Mightiness Morgan. Secretary of War Towne and Secretary of Drugs Isaacson; and each of them putting a heavy shoulder behind the political bandwagon. Very nice. That makes Operation Mateese tougher than ever—a triple-distilled toughie. Glad I told you it wasn’t my dish—saves me the trouble of backing out now.”
“Yes, I have noticed how prone you are to duck tough jobs.” Samms smiled quietly. “However, unless I am even more mistaken than usual, you will be in it up to your not-so-small ears, my friend, before it is over.”
“Huh? How?” Kinnison demanded.
“That will, I hope, become clear very shortly.” Samms stubbed out the butt of his cigarette and lit another. “The basic problem can be stated very simply. How are we going to persuade the sovereign countries of Earth—particularly the North American Continent—to grant the Galactic Patrol the tremendous power and authority it will have to have?”
“Nice phrasing, Virge, and studied. Not off the cuff. But aren’t you over-drawing a bit? Little if any conflict. The Patrol would be pretty largely inter-systemic in scope . . . with of course the necessary inter-planetary and intercontinental . . . and . . . um . . . m .
. :’
“Exactly.”
“But it’s logical enough, Virge, even at that, and has plenty of precedents, clear back to ancient history ‘Way back, before space-travel, when they first started to use atomic energy, and the only drugs they had to worry about were cocaine, morphine, heroin, and other purely Tellurian products. I was reading about it just the other day.”
Kinnison swung around, fingered a book out of a matched set, and riffled its leaves. “Russia was the world’s problem child then—put up what they called an iron curtain—wouldn’t play with the neighbors’ children, but picked up her marbles and went home. But yet—here it is. Original source unknown—some indications point to a report of somebody named Hoover, sometime in the nineteen forties or fifties, Gregorian calendar. Listen:
“This protocol’—he’s talking about the agreement on world-wide Narcotics Control—‘was signed by fifty-two nations, including the U.S.S.R.’—that was Russia—
‘and its satellite states. It was the only international agreement to which the Communist countries’—you know more about what Communism was, I suppose, than I do.”
“Just that it was another form of dictatorship that didn’t work out.”
“. . . to which the Communist countries ever gave more than lip service. This adherence is all the more, surprising, in view of the political situation then obtaining, in that all signatory nations obligated themselves to surrender national sovereignty in five highly significant respects, as follows:
“First, to permit Narcotics agents of all other signatory nations free, secret, and unregistered entry into, unrestricted travel throughout, and exit from, all their lands and waters, wherever situate:
“Second, upon request, to allow known criminals and known contraband to enter and to leave their territories without interference:
“Third, to cooperate fully, and as a secondary and not as a prime mover, in any Narcotics Patrol program setup by any other signatory nation:
“’Fourth, upon request, to maintain complete secrecy concerning any Narcotics operation: and
“Fifth, to keep the Central Narcotics Authority fully and continuously informed upon all matters hereinbefore specified.”
“And apparently, Virge, it worked. If they could do that, ‘way back then, we certainly should be able to make the Patrol work now.”
“You talk as though the situations were comparable. They aren’t. Instead of giving up an insignificant fraction of their national sovereignty, all nations will have to give up practically all of it. They will have to change their thinking from a National to a Galactic viewpoint; will have 4 become units in a Galactic Civilization, just as counties used to be units of states, and states are units of the continents. The Galactic Patrol will not be able to stop at being the supreme and only authority in inter-systemic affairs. It is bound to become intra-systemic, intra-planetary, and intra-continental. Eventually, it must and it shall be the sole authority, except for such purely local organizations as city police.”
“What a program!” Kinnison thought silently for minutes. “But I’m still betting that you can bring it off.”
“We’ll keep on driving until we do. What gives us our chance is that the all-Lensman Solarian Council is already in existence and is functioning smoothly; and that the government of North America has no jurisdiction beyond the boundaries of its continent. Thus, and even though Morgan has extra-legal powers both as Boss of North America and as the head of an organization which is in fact inter-systemic in scope, he can do nothing whatever about the fact that the Solarian Council has been enlarged into the Galactic Council. As a matter of fact, he was and is very much in favor of that particular move—just as much so as we are.”
“You’re going too fast for me. How do you figure that?”
“Unlike our idea of the Patrol as a coordinator of free and independent races,
Morgan sees it as the perfect instrument of a Galactic dictatorship, thus: North America is the most powerful continent of Earth. The other continents will follow her lead—or else. Tellus can very easily dominate the other Solarian planets, and the Solar System can maintain dominance over all other systems as they are discovered and colonized. Therefore, whoever controls the North American Continent controls all space.”
“I see. Could be, at that. Throw the Lensmen out, put his own stooges in. Wonder how he’ll go about it? A tour de force? No. The next election, would be my guess. If so, that will be the most important election in history.”
“If they decide to wait for the election, yes. I’m not as sure as you seem to be that they will not act sooner.”
“They can’t,” Kinnison declared. “Name me one thing they think they can do, and I’ll shoot it fuller of holes than a target.”
“They can, and I am very much afraid that they will,” Samms replied, soberly. “At any time he cares to do so, Morgan—through the North American Government, of course—can abrogate the treaty and name his own Council.”
“Without my boys—the backbone and the guts of North America as well as of the Patrol? Don’t be stupid, Virge. They’re loyal.”
“Admitted—but at the same time they are being paid in North American currency.
Of course, we will soon have our own Galactic credit system worked out, but . . .”
“What the hell difference would that make?” Kinnison wanted savagely to know. “You think they’d last until the next pay-day if they start playing that kind of ball? What in hell do you think I’d be doing? And Clayton and Schweikert and the rest of the gang? Sitting on our fat rumps and crying into our beers?”