"You too?" It wasn't particularly eloquent, but that didn't matter. This was absurd, impossible. Lal had expected this from everyone else, but the Gaians? They cared about the environment and knew the devastation thermonuclear weapons had wrecked on Earth. Besides, their ideology was one of pacifism, wisely distrusting both the police and the military. How could they rationalise building weapons that could reduce Planet to radioactive debris?
"Sorry." Deirdre spoke quietly. She didn't look at him, but continued to stare at her wineglass. Neither of them had touched their drinks. She typically tried to convince all her partners to have a glass to lighten the mood, despite alcohol having no intoxicating effect in cyberspace, but this time she had not even mentioned it. Considering how the meeting was going, they probably wouldn't even have a sip.
As this was a private meeting rather than an official one, Lal didn't bother with a long-winded condemnation. His disapproval was perfectly obvious without. "Why?"
Deirdre's gesture was somewhere between a shrug and a wave. "You know why. Everyone else has them, so we can't afford not to." Her accent was thicker than usual.
"There won't be much of Planet left to protect if you use them."
"We don't want to use them. Not even against Morgan." Deirdre smiled. She had a beautiful smile, but today it just irritated Lal.
"You realise that is exactly what the others said."
"I didn't realise Morgan was that unpopular." Deirdre shook her head. "I'm sorry. I have to laugh, I'd cry otherwise. This is ridiculous, but we have to play along. It's too dangerous to be one of only two factions without planet busters."
"Ah." Lal nodded. "Mutually Assured Destruction again. That worked so well on Earth, that is until it didn't."
"I know. But it probably lasted longer than if only one power had the bomb."
"But not nearly as long as if no one had it. The problem is that everyone is arguing like you are. If you didn't have planet busters, it might be easier to convince others to disarm." Lal wasn't sure if he actually believed what he was saying.
Deirdre certainly didn't. "I doubt it. The University and the Believers are threatening each other. As for the Spartans and the Hive, they aren't going to disarm, no matter what."
Lal clenched his fists, more on instinct than due to any conscious decision. "That leaves Morgan."
"I suppose it does. But besides us Gaians, he's probably among the least likely to use the damn things. Turning cities of potential customers into radioactive craters is probably bad for business." Deirdre paused for a moment. "Or perhaps it isn't. I never liked capitalism."
Wanting to steer the conversation away from her problems with Morgan and back on topic, Lal said, "Being expelled from the Planetary Council and having all other factions declare war on you would certainly be bad for any endeavour."
"I thought we said Vendetta now."
Lal leaned back and took a deep breath. Deirdre's attempts at humour were irritating him. He needed to calm down. This could easily escalate, which would solve nothing, although she at least was probably sensible enough not to declare war because of personal disputes. "People who want to hide their brutal intentions behind prettified rhetoric do."
"That's true, I suppose." Deirdre bit her lip. After a moment she said, "But let's face it. Morgan completed his first planet buster months ago, while we have just constructed ours. All the others had theirs even earlier."
Lal made a point of looking her in the eye. "Now we are the only faction without."
"And your people just accept that? They don't demand that they arm themselves similarly? Mine certainly did. It was a democratic decision."
"The Peacekeeping Forces are a faction of idealists and pacifists, willing to take risks for the sake of humanity-" Lal stopped himself. This was a private meeting, so there was no point trying to remind the Peacekeepers of their principles. They weren't there to listen. There was no point in trying to tell Deirdre, who was nodding along sarcastically, a bunch of platitudes either. Very little of the Peacekeepers internal politics was secret, even if sometimes "confidential" and "lost in the bureaucracy" were hard to tell apart. He looked at his feet. "They are demanding just that and have been ever since the Hive and the Spartans unveiled theirs. It started as a fringe group, but gained momentum as everyone began to arm themselves." He paused. "They have been achieving majorities lately."
"So you're building planet busters!" Deirdre looked genuinely surprised. "I'd have thought my empaths would have told me."
For a moment Lal considered saying that they were to undermine her trust in the seemingly infallible Empath Guild. But he settled for the truth. "No. They have been simple majorities, which I can veto. I wouldn't usually, but I feel that building such weapons is just too grievous a mistake. However, I fear that the news that even you have acquired a planet buster will be enough for them to win a two-thirds majority. I cannot veto that."
They sat in silence for a few moments. Deirdre looked increasingly uncomfortable before blurting out, "Look, I've said I'm sorry!" She cut the connection, vanishing from the virtual paradise without a further word. This was against protocol, but it was not as if a little incivility made any difference at this point.
Lal lingered. He wasn't quite sure he wanted to return to the real world.
oOo
Lal's office was a well-lit, spacious room. It had to be to accommodate all the aides, lobbyists and experts and let them bustle about without them literally treading on each other's toes too often. But despite the commotion that constantly surrounded him, he felt terribly alone when the document was placed on his desk. Again.
It was merely a page, but its brevity was no comfort. His fears had been right. Ninety percent of the Peacekeepers voted and seventy percent of them wanted to acquire planet busters. More than enough to bring the matter to the council. And the vote spoke for itself. 317 in favour, 93 against, 21 abstained. A few had reconsidered their belligerent stance since he refused to sign it the first time, but it remained a landslide.
He grasped the sheet of paper with both hands, crumpling the edges. He wanted to scrunch it into a ball and hurl it into the nearest bin, tear it to shreds, set it alight. It suddenly occurred to him that he could do it. It was exhilarating and more than a little frightening. He could tell the council exactly where they could stick their plans.
Could he do that and remain the leader of the Peacekeeping Forces? Perhaps yes, more probably not, but it was despicable that it even crossed his mind. No matter how well intentioned, a benevolent dictator was still a dictator. History and Planet were littered with tyrants thinking they were acting for "the greater good". He'd be no better than Yang. He tried to smooth the creases.
He felt sick. How could he of all people find himself in a situation authorising the building of planet busters? He had served as a doctor after the Twelve Minute War and seen the effects of nuclear fallout himself. The only comfort was, paradoxically, that planet busters were even more terrible. There would be no lingering death, only instantaneous oblivion.
Perhaps he should resign. If he did, he would not personally have to authorise the building of these horrific weapons. Maybe it would even bring the council back to their senses. At the very least it ought to consign this wretched piece of legislation back to limbo for a couple of months.
But who would come after him? The High Commissioner of the Peacekeeping Forces was of course an elected position, but one Lal always won with ease, claiming between sixty and eighty percent of the vote. His competitors, often thinly veiled acolytes of the other factions, were lucky if their platform achieved ten percent. The political parties that made up the council fluctuated, but he remained. However, Lal suspected that most people simply voted for him out of familiarity, although they surely at least broadly agreed with his principles.
While it would probably be possible to ensure that Sarita would be his immediate successor, she likely wouldn't be able to hold the position. There was no telling who would come after. Someone interested in "integrating" the scattered factions by military force? It didn't seem likely, but it couldn't be completely excluded either. Stepping down might preserve his personal integrity, but it was too risky a political decision.
Was there anything else he could do? Lawyers could continue the legal dance, but at this point they were talking technicalities. Having planet busters unfortunately was compatible with the U.N. Charter, as long as they weren't used. That much had been established in an emergency session twenty-nine years ago, when the Hive and the Spartans had almost simultaneously announced that they had constructed planet busters. It had seemed like a good ruling at the time, as it allowed diplomatic channels to remain open.
Lal supposed he could count himself lucky that at least the charter itself wasn't in danger. Even if many of the faction leaders periodically called for it to be repealed, he could always veto unless they were unanimous. On that point at least, the Gaians would not abandon him. Not to mention that the very idea of all the other faction leaders going on record as being in agreement about anything was simply absurd.
But regarding the planet busters, Lal saw no way out. He'd have to sign the thrice-damned thing. He could only hope that they never would be used and that the people would eventually be annoyed enough by the maintenance costs to demand they be disassembled again.
Tentatively, he picked up his fountain pen and with shaking hands moved it to where he was supposed to place his signature. Then, with a groan, he dropped the pen, splattering drops of black ink across the document. He stared at the paper for a moment. The still visible creases and the ink-stains made it look a real mess. Then again, its content made being a mess its natural state. He buried his head in his hands.
He wasn't quite sure how long he sat like that before a passing aide asked, "Are you alright?"
Lal looked up and blinked. He considered saying the truth for a moment, before nodding. "I suppose so. A bit tired maybe." There was no point in making her share his misery. After all, she was only indirectly to blame for it, even if she had voted to acquire planet busters and he had no way of knowing if she did.
The aide smiled and walked on to whatever she was doing. Lal looked at his desk again. There was plenty of other stuff he could deal with first, but perhaps it was for the best to get this over and done with.
He picked up another document at random and read it. It was innocuous enough, the University wanted to start a small student exchange program. Lal briefly wondered how come this had made it all the way to his desk, rather than being handled by someone further down in the bureaucracy, but then saw that Zakharov had signed it personally. This quite possibly meant that the "exchange students" were actually a probe team, but it could just as easily have no special significance whatsoever. Lal wasn't too worried. Anything that fostered unity among the factions was good. Even if they were spies, University intelligence was famously inept.
He would authorize it later, but it would serve another purpose first. Lal placed it on top of the planet buster bill, leaving only the line for his signature uncovered. He scrawled his name quickly, trying not to think about what he was actually signing.
THE END