“Earlier this evening it was reported that the Chinese and Afrab forces in northern India have begun using nuclear weapons on a limited scale in certain key areas. The Indians are retaliating in kind. Undoubtedly this will spread and escalate if things are left to run their course.
“It was agreed between myself and the heads of allied governments less than three hours ago that we would issue a joint ultimatum calling upon the invading forces to cease hostilities in all theaters and to withdraw immediately to the recognized international frontiers. This ultimatum will almost certainly be rejected, at which point it was our intention to proceed immediately with the first phase of our selective strategy I described—an instant J-bomb strike at their means of nuclear retaliation.
“Now, going back to our hypothetical situation, if you were free to use the weapon in the way that you visualize, would there be any reason for me to change my mind? Would there be any reason for me not to convey to the allied governments confirmation of my intent to endorse the ultimatum as planned?”
“No reason at all,” Clifford replied. “In fact, if that were the position, it would be important that you did.”
Chapter 23
TO
THE REPRESENTATIVES OF
THE GRAND ALLIANCE OF
PROGRESSIVE PEOPLES REPUBLICS
In a series of acts of internal subversion and overt aggression that has been perpetrated over many years, the consortium of powers to whom this message is addressed have repeatedly and blatantly interfered in the affairs of nation-states that have expressed neither the wish to affiliate themselves in any way, politically, militarily, or economically, with the objectives of that consortium, nor to accept the ideological creeds to which it subscribes. These acts have been committed in pursuit of the consortium’s declared goal of securing for itself the status of domination over all of the world’s peoples, races, and nations, without regard either for their wishes or for the policies of their freely elected representatives and governments.
Repeated attempts by the governments of the free world to establish a rational dialogue with the consortium nations and to achieve the peaceful coexistence of all nations have been met only with hostility and progressively higher levels of provocation. The continuing invasion by force of the territories of India and Russia marks the escalation of that provocation to a level that the free world finds itself unable to tolerate.
Accordingly, we, the appointed representatives of the governments of the nations that are signatory to the formal Alliance of Western Democratic States, give notice of our demands as follows:
1. That the military forces of all nations that are included in the alliance to whom this message is addressed cease forthwith their operations in all theaters of combat.
2. That the forces referred to in (1) above withdraw completely all personnel, armaments, munitions, and materiel to the appropriate internationally recognized frontiers.
3. That the illegally imposed regimes in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and South Korea be dissolved and that new governments be established by processes of freely conducted and internationally supervised elections.
4. That an international body be convened, composed of representatives of both the eastern and western alliances of nations, to explore ways of limiting and ultimately of terminating totally the development and deployment of strategic weapons systems of all types.
We hereby give notice also that if formal accession to these demands has not been received by 12:00 noon, local time in Washington, D.C., on the 27th day of November 2007, a state of war will be deemed to exist between all nations included in the Grand Alliance of Progressive Peoples Republics, and the nations that are signatory to the treaty of the Alliance of Western Democratic States.
Alexander George Sherman,
President of the United States of America
Wolfgang Klessenhauer,
President of the United States of Europe
Maxwell James Dominic,
President of the Republic of Canada
Yuri Josef Sashkavov,
President of the Republic of Euro-Russia
Martin Craig-Wilson,
Prime Minister of the Federation of Australia and New Zealand
Simil Kung Yo San,
President of the Malaysian and Indonesian Federation
Yashiro Mitsobaku,
President of Japan
Issued from Washington, D.C.
12:00 noon, 25 November 2007.
* * *
Aub stared once more at the copy of the ultimatum that lay on top of the console beside him. His eyes still registered a disbelief, even after two days, and kept straying back to the document as if hoping that some mystical agency might miraculously have changed the message carried in its words. All hopes were gone now, drowned in the dull sickness that lay in the pit of his stomach. So now, after everything, it had finally come to this. The nightmare that he had staunchly refused to believe for all that time was really happening. He felt bitter, betrayed, and confused.