He cleared his throat and hurried on. “If it is a society, it is a society in flagrant violation of the law, hostile, unruly—”
She stopped him by raising a hand. “If you please, senor, let’s just go over this point by point. What are the Lunarians and quite a few Terran Moondwelters hostile and unruly for? Mind you, I don’t claim they are always in the right. For openers, I admit what’s obvious, that they are not a solid bloc, most especially not the Lunarians. But their grudge curve is Gaussian, so to speak. It does have a maximum.
“Officially, or what passes for officially in the Council, I’m here to discuss with you, in a preliminary and informal way, a petition we’re drawing up to present to the World Federation and world opinion. You see, we don’t want to spring it on you as a surprise, as if we had no use for you and everything you stand for.” Surely she had taken, the lead in evoking that attitude, Wahl thought. “Maybe you can convince us that such-and-such a demand is out of line. Well, no, you won’t, you can’t, on certain of them, any more than you can yield on others. But maybe between us we can work out a document that explains the Moondwellers’ position in a sensible way. Then maybe real, honest dickering can begin.”
Wahl doubted it. The important differences were irreconcilable. The. larger good required that some practices, some beliefs, be suppressed, as the Conquis-tadores had suppressed the human sacrifices of the Aztecs.
Too strong a metaphor. By all means, give the Selenites—not the Selenarchs, the Selenites— whatever legitimate rights they were being denied. The problem was to find precisely what those were, and how to make the populace accept that the rest were illegitimate. . “Pray proceed, madame.”
Beynac sighed. “You’ve heard it before, over and over. Bear with me. I promised them I’d spell it out for you.” The tone of apology gave place to confidence. “Besides, it can’t hurt for you to hear it fromacross the fence. That might make it more real, bring it closer to home.”
He felt himself stiffen at the underlying condescension.
No. That was wrong. She was simply aware of her capabilities. “I listen,” he said.
“Do interrupt,” she urged. “I’ve doubtless heard every argument you can raise, but I’ll be interested to know how you, Jaime Wahl y Medina, go about the job.
“I won’t say much about the biggest issue of the lot, because it’s been talked over aplenty. I’ll just warn you that we’ve decided it is the biggest. The right to own real property. ‘Common heritage’ is an anachronism. It has to go, on the Moon and throughout the Solar System.”
“You will not find substantial agreement to this on Earth,” Wahl said. “There most people don’t look on it as an anachronism, but as a foundation stone of a more hopeful future.”
“I know. If individuals can own pieces of celestial bodies, that means jurisdiction gets carved up among the countries they’re citizens of, and nationalism gains a new lease on life. Look, the details can be adjusted. Federation law could be the sole law off Earth, provided it recognizes and guarantees private property rights. Besides, we’re not convinced the average Earthdweller cares about common heritage any longer. We know for a fact that a lot of them would like it abolished; and they don’t all work for Fireball, either. When will your politicians have the guts to admit it’s become a shibboleth?”
Wahl arranged his expression as well as his words with care. “Frankly, Mrs. Beynac, the conduct of many Selenites is not helping toward that end. You speak of Federation law for the planets, satellites, asteroids. It already applies, and is being systematically flouted. That is done by everyone from the great baron or mine operator who occupies his leasehold as though it were his freehold, to the ordinary person not only evading his taxes but cooperating in a network of organized, data-falsifying evaders. How much confidence does this give those politicians you seem to consider so venal?”
She nodded. “Well put, sir. But the taxes are another of our main grievances. They’re excessive.”