“Yes, even then. You underestimate the hold that MS has on the ‘public imagination. The American people have come to take it for granted that the Norris Doctrine is the only alternative to thermo-nuclear war. And the Norris Doctrine does logically require that there be an MS.”
“You see,” Gannoway put in, “no matter how well your scheme works out, it does not much alter the Protectorate. Does it, now?”
“Not overnight,” Trembecki admitted. “But under all circumstances, the United States will have exclusive possession of the shields for a number of years. Remember, an entire new concept of physics underlies the effect, based largely on extraterrestrial ideas that don’t come easily to the human mind. It’ll take quite a while for any foreign worker to duplicate, unaided by the Martians.
“So there will be a decade or better in which this country is not only supreme but safe. The fear will ease off. Reason will have a chance to operate again. You Egalitarians will be heard with respect. I think I can promise that my boss will throw his influence behind your political campaigns. And that amounts to a lot more than his personal fortune. Quite a few powerful men have a high regard for Nathan Abrams’s opinions.”
“Considering what you’ve seen and done in your own life,” Gannoway said, “I’m astonished at how high you rate human rationality.”
Trembecki’s laugh held scant humor. “I rate it lower than you, I suspect. But as for rationality per se, yes, I do have a high opinion of it, and I believe it should be encouraged whenever there’s a chance. This is such a chance. No more than that; events could go completely awry; but who was ever guaranteed anything in this life?”
The councillors looked at each other. Finally Gannoway lit a fresh cigarette, drew deeply on it, and trickled smoke between his lips as he answered:
“You’re right, any course of action is hazardous. The problem is how to minimize the hazard. As you ought to know, Jan, one way is to reduce the number of unknowns you have to deal with. Now I have a pretty fair understanding of myself and of my friends here, and you two fellows, and Nat. But I’ve never met the President, and you’re no intimate of his yourself. Nor have we met the thousands of Congressmen, bureaucrats, military officers, business and labor officials, and so on, who constitute the power structure in this country. We certainly have not met every one of a quarter billion Americans, whose hopes and fears and hates and loves and beliefs and prejudices form the general environment within which the power structure must operate. Put so many unknowns together, let them interact freely, and we can’t possibly predict what will happen. Yet that’s what you propose to do—merely hoping for the best!”
Trembecki gave him a squint-eyed stare. “You’re arguing that force is the only predictable factor,” he said.
”Yes,” Gannoway replied. “Isn’t it? If I asked a stranger to do something for me, he might or might not. But if I pulled a gun on him, I’d know damn well he would.”
“Mm, I could name you some exceptions. But let that go. Precisely how do you want us to act?”
“I can’t give you any details. We’ve had no time to think them out. But I do say we should keep the shield in our own hands, where we can know how it’s going to be used. Proceed with development work and production of improved models——”
“Wait a minute,” Koskinen objected. “That’ll take a long time. What about my shipmates?”
“There’s that,” Gannoway agreed. “Also, Nat won’t stand for his boy being kept locked away indefinitely, and he’ll have to be persuaded not to contact the President. . . . Okay. Given a few shields of the present model—they could be turned out rather fast, couldn’t they?—we can spring our friends. Including some Equals now in MS jails, too.”
“Get them out by actual attack?” Washburn asked. He doubled a fist. “Sure, I see how. A shield unit protecting a small, armed flitter, or something like that. First we nab some MS men and PI out of them where the prisoners are being held. Then we hit.”