Heinlein, Robert A – Expanded Universe

the techniques necessary i main tam it. My best guess is that such a point woul be

reached when approximately three-quarters of tF world’s population were dead of

dust, disease, or hui gem, and culture reduced to the peasant-and-villa~ type.

“Where is your Constitution and your Bill of Righ if you let that happen?”

I’ve shortened it down, but that was the gist of it. can’t hope to record

every word of an argument th~ went on for days.

The Secretary of the Navy took a crack at him nex “Aren’t you getting a bit

hysterical, Colonel? After a] the world has seen a lot of weapons which were goir to

make war an impossibility too horrible to conten plate. Poison gas, and tanks, and

airplanes-even fir arms, if I remember my history.”

Manning smiled wryly. “You’ve made a point, M Secretary. ‘And when the wolf

really came, the liii boy shouted in vain.’ I imagine the Chamber of Con merce in

Pompeii presented the same reasonab argument to any early vulcanologist so timid as

to fe~ Vesuvius. I’ll try to justify my fears. The dust diffe] from every earlier

weapon in its deadliness and ease use, but most importantly in that we have develope

no defense against it. For a number of fairly technic~ reasons, I dont think we ever

will, at least not th century.”

“Why not?”

“Because there is no way to counteract radioactivil short of putting a lead

shield between yourself and i an airtight lead shield. People might survive by livir

in sealed underground cities, but our characterist American culture could not be

maintained.”

“Colonel Manning,” suggested the Secretary State, “I think you have

overlooked the obvious alte native.”

“Have I?”

”Vcsc_tn lroon t1n~. ru i ~ C ni ir nn;n ccsrrat ,yn ni ir nfl

way, and let the rest of the world look out for itself. That is the only program

that fits our traditions.” The Secretary of State was really a fine old gentleman,

and not stupid, but he was slow to assimilate new ideas.

“Mr. Secretary,” said Manning respectfully, “I wish we could afford to mind

our own business. I do wish we could. But it is the best opinion of all the experts

that we can’t maintain control of this secret except by rigid policing. The Germans

were close on our heels in nuclear research; it was sheer luck that we got there

first. I ask you to imagine Germany a year hence-with a supply of dust.”

The Secretary did not answer, but I saw his lips form the word Berlin.

They came around. The President had deliberately let Manning bear the brunt

of the argument, conserving his own stock of goodwill to coax the obdurate. He

decided against putting it up to Congress; the dusters would have been overhead

before each senator had finished his say. What he intended to do might be

unconstitutional, but if he failed to act there might not be any Constitution

shortly. There was precedent- the Emancipation Proclamation, the Monroe Doctrine,

the Louisiana Purchase, suspension of habeas corpus in the War between the States,

the Destroyer Deal.

On February 22nd the President declared a state of full emergency internally

and sent his Peace Proclamation to the head of every sovereign state. Divested of

its diplomatic surplusage, it said: The United States is prepared to defeat any

power, or combination of powers, in jig time. Accordingly, we are outlawing war and

are calling on every nation to disarm completely at once. In other words, “Throw

down your guns, boys; we’ve got the drop on you!”

A supplement set forth the procedure: All aircraft capable of flying the

Atlantic were to be delivered in one week’s time to a field, or rather a great

stretch of prairie, just west of Fort Riley, Kansas. For lesser aircraft, a spot

near Shanghai and a rendezvous in Wales were designated. Memoranda would be issued

lat with respect to other war equipment. Uranium and i ores were not mentioned; that

would come later.

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No excuses. Failure to disarm would be construe as an act of war against the

United States.

There were no cases of apoplexy in the Senate; wF not, I don’t know.