April 5: A Depth of Understanding (44 page)

"In the, confusion, chaos really, of civil war doing things such as sending people to collect samples and analyze them becomes very difficult. I will communicate your assertion to my people and see what can be determined. Things are steadier now and surely it is still possible to do on site investigations. I'll speak with you again."

"I'd remind you of a couple other facts you may be missing," Jon offered before he could go.

Rao just nodded his head in acceptance and didn't disconnect.

"Home is at war with the UN, if indeed such a body still exists and all those who actively supported their actions against us. That doesn't change the fact the Sovereign of Central also declared war against you when your ships entered her sky. Neither will ending war with Home mean anything to Jeffery Singh. He wars with you over issues of his family and as a Peer of Heather. Indeed he has called for your
unconditional
surrender, or vows to destroy you as a first world nation. Home did not lay that condition or threat on you. You will have to treat with them both separately to have no one at war with you. You people have precipitated
three
separate wars  you have to deal with now. Plus whoever attacked you anonymously in the chaos."

"Surely you don't expect me to treat an individual with such gravitas?"

It was Jon's turn to look disgusted and angry. "Do you know? I've been urging Mr. Singh to be moderate and restrained every time I've spoken with him about coordinating with the militia. I thought him remarkably restrained considering he is still hurting and healing from the last assassination attempt on him by your nation."

 "I haven't wanted to see him take such severe action that the climate of the northern hemisphere is disrupted and other nations damaged. I'm starting to see that as wasted effort. He has never revealed how many warheads, such as used to destroyed Jiuquan, he owns. When I've asked him or the Sovereign of Central what they hold, they've told me to mind my own business. But he has clearly indicated that if he wishes, he can strip China of about eighty percent of its industrial capacity and seventy percent of its population and
still
retain the ability to do the same sort of damage to North America. I believe him, but then I know the history, going back before our war with North America and have a different perspective than you."

"Perhaps you don't know,
all
this was started over a claim his mother owes the state for her education by your reasoning. That she stole that value by defecting. That might be what? A million Yuan? Do you still think it is cost effective to pursue that debt?"

"I have no knowledge of that," Rao admitted. "I'll present everything you've said to the committee," he promised and finally disconnected.

Chapter 28

"Did you have a good interview with Jason?" Jeff asked Chen.

"He spoke to me freely and I have no doubt after interrogating him and doing a voice analysis, that he was entirely truthful about his mission to us. Or at least if there was any deception it was in his handlers, not him. I really didn't get any new information from him. He simply wasn't high enough up in the conspiracy to know more. But I did send him to Friedman and Brockman to see if they want to recruit him. Turns out they sent him to be evaluated by Mackay and Holt. They ran him through a bunch of zero G proficiency tests and really hit it off, so it looks more like they will be a team of three, rather than having an extra. Their work has been so disrupted by our move and the trouble with China that they are all working construction for now, until business picks up and there is more demand for security services again."

"Traffic is down. I had some people inform me New Las Vegas had almost a twenty percent drop in tourist traffic when the UN sent out that letter to us. Nobody wants to vacation in a war zone."

"You were right too, suspecting he wasn't comfortable with a ship full of ex-Chinese military. I don't think he'd ever relax and be sure their defection wasn't a ruse. I can understand, being from China myself. If you think everybody is a state snitch and hidden agent it isn't paranoia, it's just smart. He didn't see all the voice analysis and brain traces like I did."

"You could have shown them to him," Jeff suggested.

"No, first he doesn't have the training to read them. It just transfers asking that he trust them, to asking him to trust me. And I'd be uncomfortable, knowing he's smart enough to realize I applied the same level of scrutiny to him as them. It might leave him offended."

"Thank you. You see the social side of it better than me," Jeff allowed.

* * *

"April says she would like to meet you when we get back," Barak said. "Heather is on station right now so all three of them are together for a little bit. That's good."

"You talk to April about me?" Deloris asked, concern written all over her face.

"Well of course. I talk to you about April," he said, reasonably.

"That's different."

"Are you embarrassed for people to know you were with such a young guy who doesn't have any degrees or competency tickets?"

"No, it's not you, it's me."

"Ah, OK, so I should be embarrassed to be with such a cute, smart lady with a pilot's ticket and an engineering degree. Am I stepping above my station?"

"No! But you said you've had a crush on April since you were eight and she accepts your affection when she has other much more powerful and wealthy friends. Why jeopardize that? She may be offended you took up with me."

"She doesn't think like that," Barak assured her. "Not to hurt your feelings, but I think that's a little lingering Earth Think. Now if I wanted to be with you for this long voyage and then pretend like it didn't happen and deny you...Lord, would she rip into me for a hypocrite!"

"Really?"

"Really. April and I have never made any promises. We care a great deal for each other; she's shown that in many ways. But a lot of people  I've seen think once you are family they are stuck with you and they can revert to their natural form of being a jerk. I have to
keep
treating her well. Now, I suspect she may have some promises with Jeff and Heather. They would never talk about it. But I suspect they are more political than romantic."

"I don't think your natural form is a jerk. I swear you'd need training."

"We know where I could get it don't we?"

"If you pick up more than lab skills from Mr. Hanson, you may end up mighty lonely."

"First you rip my ear half off, now threats," he complained.

* * *

"Mr. Davis," Rao Guohua greeted him on comm again. "The committee sends greetings and asks if you will entertain an offer to resolve the conflict between Home and China?"

"I'll certainly listen to it. Be aware if I have my doubts about it I will discuss it with a few close friends who supervise the elections and militia, as to whether it is worth presenting. I don't intend to go back and forth between you and the Assembly with small changes in terms. All our people who have assumed the obligation of taxation vote and it isn't fair to demand their time repeatedly when they have work and family to attend to. Indeed you might wear them down and get them to accept an inferior offer and I'd feel responsible for that."

"Taxation is voluntary?" he asked with a very strange look on his face.

"Yes, if you want to vote you must accept the burden."

"May one ask how many obligate themselves?"

"It was down to about 85% for awhile after we had an influx of people, but I understand from our Registrar of Voters it's back to about 90%.

"Very interesting. But, about the offer, I think the one I bring is worthy, you can of course tell us if it needs serious adjustment."

Jon just nodded.

"The People's Republic would acknowledge Home as a sovereign nation. We agree to keep armed vessels within the limits of L1 without the explicit permission of Home. We agree to cease all clandestine operations beyond the atmosphere. We agree to forego any actions with third parties against Home as to their location or commercial interests. In turn Home acknowledges the right of the People's Republic to quiet existence inside our traditional borders. Also the right to unarmed free travel and trade beyond L1unhampered by Home."

"We are trying to keep it short and simple. What do you think?"

"I think you are making a genuine effort, since you didn't present some hundred page document full of weasel words, qualifiers and traditional diplomatic double speak. I'd drop the language about, "without the explicit permission of Home". This is like having a preacher marry a couple and say, "Unless they decide to have a divorce." It's already understood and to mention it just suggests it is expected and unseemly."

"Also, we're realists, we don't really expect you to stop spying on everyone. We just want you to stop sending assassins and engaging in wet work. It's better not to clutter an agreement with things nobody will really do. It weakens it. Likewise with third party actions it should be absolute, not something you have to classify and define as rights to a location or commercial actions as a test to see if it is prohibited. You might change unarmed travel to unarmed
vessels
, because we don't care if your citizens pass through our territory with personal arms. Private arms for personal protection are not a problem to us, just arms capable of blowing us out of the sky."

"If you want unhampered travel beyond L1 I assume you desire the right to travel to or make connections through Home itself. It seems to me that if that is what you mean you should reciprocate and guarantee safe conduct and non-interference with Home citizens traveling through China or other Earth nations. I'll run this past a few smart friends and see if they catch anything I missed, but that's what I see off the top of my head. What do you think?"

"I'm surprised you found so much to alter, it will be really difficult to speak publicly of wet work. I think we need to find a reasonable euphemism. I'll submit this to my committee and see what they come up with, just as you shall consult your
smart
friends," he said smiling.

"You do that. I'm encouraged we are fairly close."

"What of Mr. Singh and his ally. the Sovereign of Central?"

"What of them? I don't speak for them. I'd get firmly reprimanded if I tried."

"Do you think they would accept similar agreements to end our state of war with them?"

"Heather? Maybe. I can't see what interest she'd have in conflict with those terms. You really need to ask her. But Jeff Singh? I doubt it. I'm pretty sure you are going to have to explicitly renounce your claims on his mother and the debt of her education and agree not to target them for assassination again or steal their ships. That really provoked him. He lost employees killed in that. I guess I don't really need to tell you that, you lost your Space Center over it. I don't know how pliable he is on an unconditional surrender. I don't know what the hell he thinks he will
do
with one."

"I'm not sure what you mean," Rao said and looked honestly puzzled.

"We got an unconditional surrender from North America. We made very few demands and they still try here and there, to weasel out of some of the plain provisions like allowing free travel to Home without any restrictions. We didn't ask any changes to their political structure. Nor any real basic changes to their law. With two thousand people how do we even monitor their compliance, much less enforce it? So if you give him his unconditional surrender, for what can he reasonably ask? He has neither the ability to monitor any complicated demands, or any way to enforce them short of destroying your nation with a couple Gigatons of nuclear ordnance. It's such a big hammer it's pretty useless for delicate work."

"You have intimated he is not stupid. What then do you think is the point of his demand?"

"I think it is mostly symbolic. It was something the North Americans demanded in their earlier history as the United States and something many of the students of their history admire. It says, you will damn well will admit you are
defeated
and have no leverage to say you are yielding as a convenience and the outcome was uncertain if you'd cared to press on to the end."

"I can understand the advantage. If you yield when you could have fought on, inflicting more damage on your opponent, then certainly you'd have much more leverage to argue for better terms if you are saving him further harm. Indeed you might be so bold as to start hostilities again if you don't think the terms take that into account."

"Can making such a philosophical point be worth so much to him?"

"Well, like any contract, you can analyze the merits of cost and benefit by turning it around and examining the value of it from the
other
side," Jon said, making a balancing motion between his hands, like comparing weights.

"I'm not sure...exactly how would we do that?"

"Well, from his side, it would seem that it
is
worth it to him to expend the munitions and accept any disapproval from other nations and people to make the point you are genuinely defeated."

"Looking at it from your side, you have to ask yourself if it is worth hundreds of millions dying and being reduced to third world status, to
keep
him from making that point."

"Not to say that the rest of the world will necessarily
agree
that your silence really proves you were never defeated, in the face of the physical evidence, but it may well be worth it to you, if it makes you feel better about yourselves. But I'm from a Western culture and probably will never understand the whole 'saving face' thing. If my butt is blown off having a pretty face seems small compensation."

"I understand now," Rao said. His horror of his expression said he really did. If he could explain it to his committee was a different question.

* * *

"It would perhaps irritate me less, if these portraits were not described in the "Home Homily" newsletter on the local net, as "selling like hotcakes", Eduardo Muños noted. "I have this mental picture of my face, straight on, grilled as a dark pattern on the top of a flapjack."