Equality: In the Year 2000

Chapter Nineteen The Year 2, New Calendar

Edith didn’t return until late afternoon and by that time Julian was plugging away at his Interlingua. In actuality, by now he had it pretty down pat save for a sufficient vocabulary. The door opened automatically and she entered, a package under one arm.

He looked up from the auto-teacher screen and got to his feet.

“I had to go all the way to the Manhattan Museum.” She hesitated before adding, “I still think you are being ridiculous. People don’t need guns in this era.”

“As you say. However, at least one of the men I am meeting this evening carries one.”

He unwrapped the package. “You even managed to get a holster for me!” He took out the gun and checked it. He knew the weapon, an M-35 Browning millimeter. It had a staggered box magazine which could take fourteen cartridges. Some of the Australians in Vietnam had been equipped with them; Julian liked the feel of the gun and had acquired one. He ejected the clip, which he noted to be empty, and threw the breech to be sure there wasn’t a round in the barrel.

Edith was eying him apprehensively. “What men are you meeting tonight?”

In the package was a box of cartridges and, sheathed in metal, a combat knife of the type the American marines had carried. Very efficient.

As he fed bullets into the magazine of the Browning, he said to Edith, “The men who think a social change is pending and believe that your father is one of those who are standing in the way. These reform measures he is proposing are concealed measures of reaction—from their viewpoint.”

With the heel of his hand he slapped the clip back into the gun, jacked a cartridge into the barrel, and set the safety. Happily, the clothes he was wearing today sported a belt. He attached the holster to it at his left side, under the jacket. He didn’t particularly like that kind of a draw, but he was stuck with it unless he wanted to stick the weapon in his belt directly. His clothes didn’t provide a pocket big enough for the gun without it being obvious. He strapped on the combat knife in the place his right hip pocket would have occupied if these pants had a hip pocket.

She said, “That’s ridiculous. A social change is not pending; it has already taken place. There are still some changes that need to be made and Father is helping further them. But these opponents of his want to go backward, not forward. All change is not progress.”

“Meanwhile,” he said dryly, “they don’t see it that way, and they seem to be on the dedicated side.”

“See here, Jule. Admittedly society continues to change, but there are two types: evolution and revolution. Take for example an egg. Inside, it is slowly evolving into a chick, slowly, slowly becoming a more complicated organism. That’s evolution. But it is still an egg. It finally grows a beak, little wings, feet, feathers. Evolution. But it is still an egg. Finally, if it is to live, the chick must break the shell and get out. When it does, it is no longer an egg but has become a chick. That’s the revolution. The new chick has various problems that haven’t all been solved by the revolution of getting out of the eggshell. It has to learn to eat and drink, it has to grow larger, it has to grow more feathers to keep it warm. That’s the stage we’re at now: learning to grow up. These opponents of Father’s are the reactionaries. If they could, they’d probably crawl back into the eggshell.”

Julian had to laugh at that. “You’d be surprised how persuasive some of their arguments are,” he told her. He went back to his desk and dialed Sean O’Callahan, while Edith stared at him in frustration.

When Sean’s face had appeared, Julian asked, “Is there any chance of your little group getting together again this evening?”

“Yes, I would think so. Except for your old friend, Bert Melville, who lives in the Bahamas. Harrison and Ley are living together in a hotel not far from here, and Dave Woolman is currently in residence at the university upgrading his background in radio interferometers.” O’Callahan paused. “I would think we could get together within the hour if you had something special in mind.”

“I’ll be right over,” Julian told him, and flicked the phone off.

“What in the world is going on?”

Julian grinned at Edith. “Maybe I’m going over to join up, darling. Possibly I’m one of the chicks that wants to get back into the shell.”

He headed for the door.

Somewhat to his surprise, Harrison, Ley, and Woolman were already at Sean O’Callahan’s apartment when he arrived. One of the things he wasn’t at all clear about was the group’s intense interest in him. He had already come to the conclusion that his first meeting with Sean through Edith was a put-up job; the young would-be archaeologist had been sent by the group to contact him.

They all stood at his entrance and Julian went around shaking hands.

He said, naming them in turn, “William Dempsey Harrison, Fredric Madison Ley, Dave Woolman, Sean O’Callahan. It’s a pleasure to see you all again.”

After they were seated once more, and Sean had taken drink orders and delivered them, they looked at Julian expectantly.

He took a sip of his Scotch, a deep breath, and said, “All right, I’m in. Obviously this world as it is now isn’t for me. But the big question in my mind is what you expect of me. I’m thirty years behind the times.”

“We’ll tell you all about that,” Harrison said, obviously pleased with Julian’s announcement. “But first, a little more background. Tell me, after several weeks, what do you think of Academician Leete?”

Julian grunted and shrugged. “Kind of a fuddy-duddy and in full agreement with the way society is run today.”

“He sure as hell is,” Sean said. “If he had his way, we’d get to the point where 99.9 percent of the population had nothing to do and everybody would be sitting around on their asses painting or writing poetry.”

Harrison made a rather abrupt gesture at Sean, silencing him. He said to Julian, “I have a confession to make. I am not a resident of this area, Julian West.”

Julian fixed his eyes on him, waiting.

Harrison said, “Mr. West, we need a man of charisma. We need a leader. My residence is actually in Seattle, where I am one of the three Presidors of the Society for Return to Civilization. The Society sent me here to contact you.”

“I am sure you don’t need someone thirty years behind the times.”

Woolman bent forward; his voice was sincere. “That is exactly what we need. A man who knew the world when it was a world of action, full of life, aggression, ambition. A man who stops at nothing to achieve his ends. A leader of the old school.”

Harrison said, “You probably have little idea of the reaction among the United American people to your reawakening. You have been kept shielded from them by Leete while going through this period of acclimation. But the people as a whole are fascinated by you and the romance of your story. Given the spark that we need to mobilize them behind us, you would be ideal to step into the leadership position.”

“How many of us are there now in this Society for Return to Civilization?”

“Several tens of thousands.”

“That’s not very many for a country as large as United America.”

“We told you the other night of the potential following, given a spark to unite them.”

Julian took another small sip and another deep breath and said, “All right, we’ve come to the nitty-gritty. What spark?”

Harrison looked around at the others. One by one they nodded.

His eyes came back to Julian. “This is a very well-kept secret, unknown even to the membership of the organization save for the other two Presidors of the Society, we here in this room, and several on Luna. It will continue to remain a secret even after having been put into operation.”

Julian nodded.

Harrison said very slowly, “As we told you, Dave Woolman here is head of the Radio Astronomy Observatory on Luna. He has infiltrated his staff with our followers. Currently his radio interferometers are trained on—”

“Just a minute. What’s a radio interferometer?” Julian asked.

Woolman took over. “Essentially a radio telescope with a bank of antennas, rather than just one.”

“Go on.”

Harrison took a slug of his own drink. “He is to return to the moon tomorrow, and shortly after he will begin receiving the first radio signals from intelligent life forms from another star, another planetary system.”

Julian stared at him. “And…”

“The signals will be understandable… and hostile. This other life form is aggressive to the point of paranoia. They cannot accept the idea of another intelligent life form. They have been receiving our radio signals for some years and hence have been able to decipher our language, so it is possible for them to communicate with us. For the past ten years, they have been building a military space fleet. They are on the way to attack.”

“Jesus!” Julian exclaimed.

“They aim to destroy the whole world.”

Julian looked from Harrison to Woolman. “The plan is to fake it, obviously. But aren’t there other radio telescopes that could check up on you, refute your claims?”

Woolman shook his head. “We’re the only one on Luna. The others don’t have a fraction of our power and freedom from interference.”

Julian went back to Harrison. “And then?”

“And then our organization begins an all-out clamor for a revived military machine. Uniting the country to mobilize for defense. The appointment of a strong man to lead us. We expect that overnight millions will flock to our banner. After a few days, according to how things go, how fast the avalanche develops, we will set up a cry for you to be appointed supreme head of the mobilization.”

Julian said negatively, “There are thousands of men still alive who held down higher ranks than I did and who saw at least as much combat as I did.”

“They are in their sixties, seventies, or even older. However, many of them are already members of the Society. You will appoint them as your deputies, your assistants. There are other organization members ready to step into your ranks.”

“Then what happens?”

“At first we will basically retain the present socioeconomic system. As we become stronger and dominate the economy and the government, we will begin to whittle away at it in the name of defense against the alien attackers. To a great extent we will have to play it by ear. But when we are through, we will hold the country in an iron grip.”

“I suppose we would be for an eventual world government?”

Harrison shook his head. “Certainly not. That is one of Leete and his group’s least desirable goals. Man makes his greatest progress under the stimulation of international disagreements, including war. Just look at World War Two. Under its pressure were developed such things as nuclear fission, jet aircraft, the German V2, the first spacecraft. Besides, having rival nations puts you in a position to control the people. If they become restive, you stir up a bit of trouble abroad and unite them behind you. It’s an old Roman adage.”

Julian snorted. “So you’re all ready to go, and I’m to be your man of charisma.” He paused. “It’s the most harebrained scheme I’ve ever heard and it won’t work.”

Sean O’Callahan flushed in surprised anger. “It’ll work whether or not you come in, West. You’re not indispensable to the plan.”

“No, but I sure as hell can throw a monkey wrench into it.” Julian brought out his transceiver from his pocket. It was open for transmission and had been since he had entered the apartment.

He said, “Observe the latest in electronic bugs, although that’s not what they had in mind when it was invented. This thing has been set to record everything that has been said in this room in the International Data Banks. When we put it into the news tomorrow. Academician Leete and I, the whole world will have a good laugh at your scheme to bollix up the observatory and claim messages from the phony alien intelligent life.”

Harrison snapped, “Fredric!”

Fredric Ley was seated directly across from Julian about twenty feet away. His right hand had already disappeared beneath his coat during the last few minutes of conversation. Now he brought out a revolver and directed it at Julian.

Julian contemplated him for a moment before unbuttoning his jacket so that the others could see that he, too, bore a gun.

He said conversationally to Ley, “I had already figured you for Harrison’s bodyguard. You said that you were in Vietnam…”

Ley rapped out, “Sean. Go get his gun.”

Julian shifted his gaze to Sean O’Callahan, who definitely looked uncomfortable. Julian said, “Don’t move, Sean, or you’re a dead man. God forgive me, I have enough dead men on my hands.”

Ley rasped, “I’ve got you covered, wise guy. We have some of our people in the data banks; we can have that tape wiped. And we’ve got you and can find a place to hold you for as long as necessary.”

Julian sighed and said, “If you were in ’Nam you probably stocked PX shelves. For one thing, that revolver you’re carrying is a thirty-two-caliber Colt. No combat man would ever carry one. I’ve been hit various times by more gun than that. Besides, I suspect you’re a lousy shot. I’m betting I can get this gun out and finish you before you can finish me, Ley. So any time you want to start shooting, go ahead.”

Dave Woolman said in horror, “You’re mad!”

Harrison ordered, “Take him, Fredric.”

Julian grinned confidently, seemingly completely at ease.

There were blisters of cold sweat on the bodyguard’s forehead and his face was pale. His gun hand trembled slightly.

Julian said conversationally, “You’re yellow, Ley. Either start shooting or drop that gun. I’m going to count to five. One… two… three…”

The pistol dropped with a thud to the carpet. Fredric Ley’s face was slack with fear.

Julian said pleasantly, “Any of you boys want to pick it up?”

Harrison alone even looked at the weapon.

Julian stood up and looked around at each of them in turn.

Finally, he let his eyes rest on their leader. He said, “I looked up some of those people of charisma, the great leaders that you said the computers would never have chosen for their Aptitude Quotient. Catherine the Great was only great in bed; she was a slob. Hitler was insane, and proved it; you’re right that the computers wouldn’t have chosen him—and shouldn’t have. Alexander the Great conquered Persia because his father, Philip, who would have been chosen by the computers, had built up an army that was the best and most experienced in the world; his son Alexander was a drunk. Grant was a second-rate general and a worse president. The North should have won that war in half the time considering their economy and larger population. Lee kept the fighting going a couple of years after it shouldn’t have been possible any longer. Lee, by the way, graduated top man in his West Point class and undoubtedly would have been chosen by the computers. Lincoln and Edison were both geniuses and self-educated. As Leete mentioned, they would have surfaced in any society.”

Suddenly he was tired. “The hell with it,” he said. “I’ll take the computer’s choices any day compared to you characters.”

He turned and left, knowing very well that none of them would go for the gun when his back was turned.