A Rage for Revenge

66 It Looked Like Dawn

What the bloody hell?

I padded back to the bed and switched on the TV.

The president's face filled half the wall. She looked old.

". . . clear and certain proof of our willingness to win. We arc tonight giving ourselves again to the battles ahead. We are rolling, up our sleeves and saying, 'We will fight.'

"With your support, your partnership, and your prayers, we shall inevitably triumph.

"I thank you, and good night."

Her image faded, and an announcer came on. "That was the statement released by the president of the United States just fifteen minutes ago. For those of you who may have just joined us, we will be repeating the president's statement throughout the evening."

I picked up the phone, and stopped. I didn't have anyone to call.

I put the phone down again.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the president of the United States." The presidential seal dissolved to the president herself.

"My fellow Americans, twenty-eight months ago, when I assumed this office-under tragic circumstances-I knew that I was assuming a great responsibility. This is the greatest nation on this Earth-and this is the most perilous moment of our history.

"The human race is caught in a war we barely understand. Even our best advisors are stunned at the scope of this invasion, this ecological infestation. This nation, the United States of America, is perhaps humanity's last best hope for victory in that war. "When I accepted this responsibility, I knew that the size of the lusk confronting me-and all of us-was an awesome one. I did not shrink from that responsibility. Nor do I think that any American shrinks from the responsibilities ahead. We are all together committed. Whatever must be done, will be done.

"Since I took the oath of office, not a day has passed that I have not realized anew the sacred trust that has been placed in me. There are difficult decisions to be made. I must choose the course nf action that will best serve not only this nation, but all of humanity.

"l know that I act in your name and on your behalf. That trust is not lightly taken. At this time of crisis, I know that I must come again to you to renew that trust and support. Tonight I must ask ynru to join with me in a most difficult decision.

"Let me give you some of the background. It has been the job of this administration to form a global battle plan for combatting the extraterrestrial infestation. Toward that end, we have gathered ihr finest surviving minds on the planet together. This advisory board is continually assessing the course of the infestation and the consequences of the responses open to us.

"I am given daily reports by this advisory board. I pay the closest attention to these reports. Let me stress the care with which tliis body assembles and investigates its facts. Let me stress the tlmroughness of its deliberations. The choices that we are presented with are deeply considered.

"For some time, we have known that the infestation in certain parts of the country is-due to circumstances of geography-unruntrollable. These areas, particularly certain areas in the Rocky Mountain District, function as reservoirs of infestation for the rest wl the nation. Those reservoirs must be neutralized, sterilized, or rliminated by whatever means possible, and as soon as possible.

"Toward that end, we have devoted considerable time, energy, and materiel. Our efforts have been successful, yes, but not on the scale necessary to insure the security of the American people living near the infested areas.

"It has been the difficult duty of the advisory board to inform wr that conventional weapons will be unable to do the job that needs to be done. In our best assessment of the situation, the Rocky Mountain infestation cannot be contained or controlled, let alone stopped, by the weapons we have been using. Even if it were possible to greatly expand the scale of our efforts, still it would not be enough to resist the ecological imperative of the Chtorran infestation in the affected areas.

"Therefore, we have been looking at alternative courses of action.

"Our research divisions have shown great progress in their development of specific biological weapons to use against the infestation. Unfortunately, nothing in their armament is in a state of readiness to handle the scale of problem confronting us tonight. "We cannot wait any longer. We must act.

"The United States Ecological Infestation Advisory Board has therefore reluctantly advised the use of low to medium yield nuclear weapons on selected sites in the following areas-"

"What?!" I came off the bed like a rocket and stood naked in front of the TV, hardly believing what I was hearing. She'd done it after all!

"-Western Colorado, Northern California, and parts of Oregon, Washington, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. The Advisory Board has also suggested making specific nuclear weapons available to the governments of Mexico, Canada, and Central and South America-if they so request.

"I have accepted that report. Reluctantly, I must agree with the conclusions of the Advisory Board. I have therefore signed the order authorizing the United States Army to use nuclear weapons in those areas designated as Critically Infested. As I speak to you, our bombers are already in the air and on their way to the target sites."

"Oh, my dear God in Heaven-that's where Lizard's going-" I sat down on the edge of the bed and stared at the screen.

"Let me stress here that this is not an indiscriminate bombing of infested areas. Rather, this is a carefully targeted counterattack against specifically dense clusters of gastropede infestation. The gastropedes are the shock troops of the infestation. Tonight's action will destroy their largest staging areas.

"This action is not intended to be, nor can it be, a permanent solution; but it will retard the advancement of the infestation long enough for our scientists to prepare our more sophisticated biologically-specific counterweapons. This action will buy us the necessary time to develop the next level of our resistance. It should be seen as a sign, not of our desperation, but of our commitment."

The president stopped then and looked out at us. I knew that look. Now, she was going to get serious.

"The Ecological Infestation Advisory Board has also made a second recommendation.

"As you know, our nation's capital is uncomfortably close to one of the largest reservoirs of infestation. While there is no immediate danger to the city of Denver, it is not practical to keep so many of this nation's key officials in continual proximity to such danger. The Advisory Board has recommended that the nation's capital again be moved.

"I have given much consideration to the difficulty of such an action, as well as the consequences if it were not taken and later proved to be necessary. We cannot afford the risk. Your leaders in the Senate and House of Representatives concur.

"Therefore, acting on the further recommendations of the Advisory Board, I am tonight authorizing the temporary reassignment of the nation's capital to the one state still unaffected by the infestation. That state is Hawaii.

"The city of Honolulu has graciously offered to provide the necessary resources. The bulk of the United States government will be transferred to the island of Oahu within thirty days. This necessary step will guarantee the continued functioning of all government services throughout the difficult days ahead."

She took off her glasses and stared into the camera. This was the part she must have rehearsed. She wouldn't be reading this. "My fellow Americans. Let me conclude on this note. This administration has tonight recommitted itself to victory. Let these difficult choices be seen as evidence of that commitment to do whatever is necessary to guarantee not only our survival, but our eventual victory over this alien invasion. That we take these steps now, by choice, rather than later, by necessity, is clear and certain proof of our willingness to win. We are tonight giving ourselves again to the battles ahead. We are rolling up our sleeves and saying, 'We will fight.'

"With your support, your partnership, and your prayers, we shall inevitably triumph.

"I thank you, and good night."

I sat there, staring at the screen. An announcer came on and said something, then the president's announcement began to repeat. "Scan," I commanded.

The President was on all the other channels too-and probably would be all night.

I started pulling on a jumpsuit. Tonight could get very crazy. I started looking for my boots.

Let's see, Lizard was probably at the airport already. Probably she was already in the air.

The Rocky Mountain Infestation was about four hundred kilometers north. If she flew at a thousand kilometers an hour . . . I walked out onto the balcony and looked off toward the mountains. The flash should be visible from here. I leaned over the edge of the railing and looked down. I was not the only person waiting on the balcony. I could hear the president's voice coming from many other apartments, Every TV in the hotel must have been on. Her words echoed and reechoed across the plaza below. "It should be seen as a sign," she was saying again, "not of our desperation, but of our commitment."

She had ordered the use of nuclear weapons against the Chtorrans and was evacuating the government to Hawaii-and she wanted us to believe that it was evidence of commitment? It was as desperate an act as anyone could possibly think of! She couldn't possibly hope to sell it to the public.

I knew this lady. She was a shrewd politician. We were lucky to have her as president. But this time, it looked as if she'd misplayed her hand.

I sat down on the balcony and tried to think. I hollered for the robot, "Eye-gor!" It rolled up quickly, its eyestalks swiveling, and announced its presence with a three-note whistle that sounded like a question mark.

"Scotch. Straight up. A double-no, make it a triple. And stand by for refills."

It beeped affirmatively and rolled away. Apparently, Lizard didn't like her robots to talk. Some people did. My father had once said you could tell how emotionally starved a person was by the degree to which they anthropomorphized their robots.

I studied the looming mountains. They were black against the starlit sky. Where was Lizard now, I wondered? How long until the mountains burned?

How long until the nuclear wrath devoured the night?

I wondered, what had the president really unleashed tonight? With this single irrevocable action, what was she actually saying about the invasion and our ability to resist it?

It was more than just a statement of commitment. It was an acknowledgment of the scale of our enemy. It was an acknowledgment of the size of the war.

The robot returned with my drink riding on its "head," one clawlike hand holding it steady. It looked like a little Portuguese washer woman.

I took it and turned back to the mountains. I felt like I was waiting for the end of the world.

I didn't want to believe it.

And I was impatient for it to happen.

I wondered, how will the people react? And what happens next?

What will I do? I had no place to go. I was looking for my death when Lizard found me.

Would I go with her now? Lizard. Oh, God.

I remembered what I'd said to her. "It'll take a nuclear weapon get me out of your bed."

I remembered the look on her face. Ashen.

That's what she was afraid of. Would I still love her? Oh, God

I thought about the target site. There were human beings there. Probably children.

And worms. Lots of worms.

They'd be incinerated. All of them. Blinded, blasted, and burned. The sky would flame. I knew what would happen. I'd seen the pictures. Everyone had. We'd been reliving the Apocalypse war for twenty years. That was supposed to remind us what would happen if we failed to keep the peace.

I knew the horror.

The light. The blast. The firestorm. The radiation. The death.

I thought about the land we'd flown over.

A hundred thousand worms would die tonight. And how many human beings?

I remembered Marcie. And Delandro. And Alec and Tommy and Holly.

Fuck the renegades. They deserved what they were going to get.

No responsible human being should be in a worm camp anyway.

Kill them all. Let God sort them out.

The sky to the west turned white. Bright white. It could have been lightning, but it wasn't.

I stood up.

There was silence for the longest time.

And then the sound came rolling down from the mountains. It was a sudden soft thump, and then a rumble that rolled forever. It rattled the windows and grabbed you by the bones. It shook the floor and turned your knees to jelly.

Somewhere below, I heard cheering. I sank back into my chair.

I was still sitting there when Lizard returned. The sky to the west was pink. Somewhere on the other side of those mountains, a forest was burning. It looked like dawn.