IX: COCKED PISTOL
"Today is going to be a considerably longer lecture," Suetonius tells us. "We have a lot to cover and, including today, only have four more lecture periods before your final."
"When the Mandate was formed, the new government decided to institute the policy of 'Fertile Prosperity'. This meant that there would be incentives for Han Chinese families to have more kids, which was a reversal of the 'One Child' policy that was of the previous regime. The idea was that to increase productivity in the fledgling nation, there would have to be more hands on board. Also it was to help dilute any influence of the ethnic minorities that populated the region. By the 22nd century, the population of the Mandate was almost 3 billion people. This would be an asset in the coming war.
"When the UAF officially declared war, the Mandate abandoned any pretense of avoiding conflict and decided to act upon its territorial ambitions. The spot that it attempted to invade was the peninsular nation of Korea. In preparation for this, UAF sent ground units to bolster the Korean forces. Of note was the 1st Marines and 3rd Infantry Division.
"Even though the Mandate abandoned the ideology of communism, which was a hallmark of the People's Republic of China, it still retained a collectivist mentality. This, combined with its high population, ensured that it could regard its populace as expendable if it achieved a greater purpose. It was most apparent in the tactics, colloquially termed 'human wave', described in the following interview, which took place in the winter of 2117."
The man we're looking at has definitely seen better times. His eyes are sunken and bloodshot, stubble covers his just-as-sunken cheeks, and his index finger constantly taps on the table in front of him in a constant rhythm-less beat. The fatigues he's wearing are rumpled and caked with grime and dried blood, which suggest that he just got out of an engagement and hadn't had time to change. Or take a shower for that matter. From the looks of his general physical appearance, he's probably in his early twenties; however, judging from his expression and the manner at which he carries himself, it seems like an extra decade got slapped on.
A person behind the camera questions him. "Can you please introduce yourself?"
"Lance Corporal Jordan Elliot, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines." Despite the weary tone to it, his voice comes out firm and measured. However the finger keeps on tapping, as if operating independently from him. His eyes focus on nothing in particular.
"Can you summarize to me the events that transpired this past week? You have permission to speak freely."
"Alright… Well, we were stationed to the north of Pyongyang. Word came that Mike had finally broken through the Yalu and was advancing southward. We were supposed to hold them off while the civilians got clear. Right at the moment of the next sunrise, the first of them came. The first out of many.
"They… they just kept coming. And we just kept mowing them down. Many weren't even armed; they would just pick up the weapons that their dead comrades had dropped. I think the youngest of them were around 12 or 13. I—I have brother back home about the same age. There were—excuse me."
He pauses a bit to compose himself, taking several deep breaths in the process.
"We can stop for a while if you wish," the interviewer says.
Elliot shakes his head. "No, no. Let's just get this over with.
"Anyways, there would be times when they stopped; those intervals usually lasted around a couple hours. We used that precious time to check on our wounded and take a quick nap in rotations. Then it would start up again. Rinse, lather and repeat. Day and night. Over and over and over…"
"I believe the saying is 'lather, rinse and repeat'."
"Whatever." Elliot doesn't even sound irritated in his rebuke; just tired.
"On the third day, help finally came. We waited until one of the calm intervals came around before boarding the transports. Due to lack of space, we had to leave our dead behind, as well as all of our equipment, and they couldn't risk going back. So we blew up the latter, and used our remaining incendiaries to cremate the former, just to be on the safe side.
"And now here I am," he says with a shrug.
"Is there anything else you would like to add?"
"Not really. I just never understood why they'd do such a thing. It seemed so senseless. But, from what I hear, they seem to be succeeding in taking the Peninsula. So the tactic must have worked at some level, I guess…"
"That will be all, Marine. Thank you for your time."
"Whatever…"
"Yes, Mr. Interviewer. Because that's the first thing Elliot wanted: a lesson in the proper delivery of idioms. Fucking asshole." Dio's comment earns a double take from me. Not just the fact that Mr. Straightlace here is indeed capable of utilizing an expanded vocabulary, but that he also delivered that statement in such a caustic tone. There may be hope yet for him.
The map of the peninsula shows the Mandate forces steadily pushing southward.
"As the interviewed Marine mentioned, the Mandate had indeed managed to break across the border between the two nations, which was mostly denoted by the Yalu River. Besides the human-wave tactics part of this was due to the tactical softening-up of the UAF forces through the use of neutron bombs."
Well this is going to be interesting…
There were always talks of converting some of our nukes into neutron bombs, but they were shot down under the idea that they really weren't that practical. Though I don't remember why exactly it was considered impractical.
Someone apparently brought a video camera with them into a tank just to record the crew's day-to-day life.
Everybody in the tank is clearly relaxing, and they are playing some kind of card game while joking around.
That is interrupted when one of the guys mentions that there is a launch detected in the distance. They fly into action and there is a call to shut the hatch. The camera, which was set in a corner, keeps on recording. When it is mentioned that the missile exploded, and the type of explosion that occurred, panic suddenly grips the crew while they desperately fumble at the hatch in an attempt to escape the soon-to-be deathtrap.
That is when the screams begin. Pure, agonized screams of pain and terror as the tank stops being a tank and starts practically being a microwave oven. The camera finally gives out due to the rising heat and radiation, but not before recording the blisters appearing on everybody.
Much of the class turns away even before the screaming starts. Even I admit that I winced at the end.
From what I remember — honestly wasn't really paying attention — being some of the guys back in Explosives, the principle of a neutron bomb is actually quite simple. With a normal fusion nuke, there's a casing that reflects the radiation back inside, which helps continue the reaction to make a bigger bang. But a neutron bomb lacks the same casing. So instead of leveling a city, it would just level several blocks. However, since it just allows the neutrons to simply fly out, the actual damage past the initial blast is that of the radiation itself directly killing-off organic life and turning armor against its occupants.
In any case, this time I'm actually sympathetic to any negative emotional reaction Dio may have. Though when I look over, it is clear that "bad reaction" is a serious understatement. What's expected is his eyes shut tightly and hands clamped over his ears; not as expected is him completely doubled-over and almost curled-up into a ball. There's something about it that especially got to him, and I don't think it was just the screams. I look over across the room at Paylor, and she's looking back with a look of extreme concern on her face. That causes me to take a pen out of my pocket and place it in front of me just to be on the safe side.
If Suetonius has noticed the commotion, he made no sign of it. "The tank we just saw was from the 3rd Infantry Division, which suffered immense casualties during the Mandate's southward push.
"The irony is that after the neutron bomb attacks, UAF forces actually ended up using similar human-wave tactics against the Mandate. Even though most armored forces were taken out immediately by the attack, the good portion of infantry initially survived. However, they had several days at most to live due to radiation poisoning. So the majority of them decided to rush the Mandate forces themselves, inflicting serious casualties on their enemy in the process."
Oh, that's why they were considered impractical.
"Note that this was not to stop the Mandate's advance, but merely to buy time for evacuation forces to complete their mission. It turned out that the action they took was invaluable to the evacuation effort.
"The Korean Exodus was considered to be the greatest evacuation movement in modern history. UAF and Korean forces managed to evacuate themselves and four-fifths of the Korean population, which numbered around 80 million people, to Japan. Much of the migration was by sea, with a varied assortment of vessels contributing: from troop carriers, passenger ships, and cargo vessels, to fishing boats and personal recreation transport. Many of these vessels would end up taking multiple trips, most of the time at the risk of being sunken by Mandate torpedoes. However, a sizable portion of the evacuation was carried out through air transport. The most notable was the Incheon Airlift, which a fleet of military and civilian aircraft constantly ferried people out of the Seoul-Incheon metropolitan area. During the airlift, the planes were required to fly just a couple hundred feet in altitude to avoid anti-aircraft fire.
"The aircraft the following footage took place on was part of the 317th Airlift Group."
The sun has just set, but that doesn't mean that the sky isn't illuminated. This time, by anti-aircraft fire in the form of missiles and shells.
Everything is filmed from the side window of an aircraft which, as Suetonius mentioned, was flying dangerously close to the water's surface at high speed. Many other aircraft of various shapes and sizes are seen around it as well; some are going in the same direction while others are flying the opposite way. Smaller aircraft release suppressing fire of their own against the missile barrage. Every now and then, an explosion would signify an aircraft's demise, its fiery debris raining down and zipping out of sight as everybody else continues on with the mission. One large aircraft gets especially too close to the water and ends up tumbling into pieces.
Finally the aircraft reaches an airport, where a large crowd awaits. Once it lands, the back door is thrown wide open and people pile in. Besides the aircraft, boats can be seen taking passengers of their own.
In the distance, the entire horizon is lit by the flames of a burning city.
Once it is clear that capacity has been reached, the door is shut, but not before the vehicle already takes off. As it flies back from its point of origin, muffled explosions shake it, signifying that there is still risk of it being shot down. The passengers, mainly children and the elderly, huddle together for the sake of security.
Finally the booming fades away to nothing.
In spite of themselves, much of the class erupts into cheers. Unsurprising since most videos we watch tend to end in tragedy. That and the whole persevere-against-all-overwhelming-odds thing that seems to have gripped the mentality of this nation.
"This operation carried on until the airport itself was finally fully overrun.
"Japan itself became extremely fortified to discourage an air incursion by Mandate forces. The fact that it was an island nation helped with that as the Mandate's naval power did not remotely approach that of the UAF, which was bolstering the defenses. The same fortification measures were occurring in Taiwan and the Philippines.
"That did not stop many from fleeing towards to other parts of the TOU, including UAF, to put as much distance between them and the Mandate. In response to the situation, the UAF temporarily suspended its immigration quotas to allow the influx of the refugees. In turn, it took advantage of the increased labor pool to increase industrial production of military hardware at a scale not seen since World War II. Most of the production would be geared towards remote-operated drones that could attack enemies en-masse without human casualties on their side.
"In general, the overall mentality of UAF citizens was at an all-time high in support for the military action against the Mandate. Gone was the isolationist attitude that typified them in the decades prior. Instead of viewing the other nations of the TOU as simply necessary allies, they began viewing them as fellows against an expansionist and perfidious empire. Enlistment was at an all-time high, which negated the need for conscription, a prospect that many UAF officials feared.
"Of course, just to be sure, propaganda was constantly churned-out for morale's sake."
The propo we're seeing is an animated film titled "A Day in the Life of Mandate Mike."
We're introduced to Mandate Mike, who's… interesting. He is a gaunt figure, with cat-pupiled eyes, alternating between being very narrow and slanted or bugging out, buck teeth, and a long thin mustache. His nails are long and curved, his skin greenish yellow, and he wears a long yellow robe. Oh, and whenever he talks, his "r's" are replaced with "l's".
So far his antics consist of deceiving a whole bunch of diplomats, using peasants as door mats, throwing trash in his neighbors' backyards, and attempting to get away from his morbidly-obese, bedridden wife. Said wife has a constant stream of baby Mikes shooting out of her bedsheets.
Ew…
When he's not with his wife, he's chasing after women several times younger than him, always getting hurt in the process.
At one point he is accosted by a bearded giant in a furry hat and long coat. After they get into a scuffle, where he — with the help of his little children/clones/minions — barely beats Fur-Cap, Mike turns his sights to a raven-haired girl wearing what I assume to be another cultural outfit: a white shirt with a red ankle-length skirt tied at the chest. He approaches her lecherously, but she just pull out a little dagger and stabs him in the eye.
He reacts by screaming like a little girl and flailing around. Before he can recover, the girl has back-up in the form of a diverse group of soldiers, with a UAF soldier at the head; naturally, the UAF soldier and his allies are shown to be the pinnacle of physical perfection. Mike attempts to send his minions against the crew, but they are easily blasted away.
Mike proceeds to flee to his palace, which is blown up, and his tattered robe flutters down from the sky.
The film ends with the girl throwing herself onto the UAF soldier, who winks at the camera while bold letters flash:
"BUY WAR BONDS"
Iris out.
Subtle. Reeeal subtle…
Though in the end, most of us got a kick out of the cartoon. Despite all the horrible things everybody just saw and heard earlier in the lecture, a lot of laughter abounds. Maybe it was just the over-the-top nature of it, but it definitely relieved much of the stress in the class. I look at Dio to see that even he's joining in the good cheer, though he's still considerably paler than usual.
Suetonius seems to pick up on that. "Most of these shows were not actually made for the general public, though they were shown to them, but for the armed forces serving abroad. These, as well as live performances by celebrities, were to help boost morale among those far from home.
"The funny thing was that ethnic Chinese populated the UAF, and Taiwan itself was an ethnically-Chinese nation. Yet there was little objection to the caricature made of Mandate Mike, also known as Mandarin Mike or simply Mike, which became the term used for Mandate forces. Perhaps it was due to the distinction made between the Mandate and the other Asian communities surrounding it.
"And of course the Mandate itself created caricatures of its enemies as well, as can be seen with this poster:"
A poster is shown with what I assume is a Mandate soldier plunging a bayonet into a UAF soldier. This time the Mandate soldier is the pinnacle of physical perfection, while the UAF soldier is a dark-skinned ape-like creature with an over-sized nose. The UAF's allies, all pitiful but differentiated through their various cultural costumes, can be seen fleeing in the background. Several of the allies seem to be more defined than others: one especially-skinny guy wears a blue gown and conical hat, another person is bearded and wears the robe I've come to associate with the Arab League, and the most prominent guy is effeminate and currently throwing himself upon his own sword. To top it off, script, which I now know to be Mandarin, is printed in bold red at the upper margin of the poster.
Nobody in the class is amused.
The map zooms out from the Korean Peninsula to focus on an area south of the Mandate.
"Around the same time of the Korean Campaign, the Mandate's attempted invasion of Southeast Asia, namely Vietnam, was… considerably less fruitful. Throughout its history the nation of Vietnam had staved off multiple invasions from China, in its various incarnations. Unsurprisingly, they were prepared for an invasion by the turn of the 22nd century. The invasion by the Mandate was kicked-off partly due to the strategic nature of the territory but also in retaliation for several attacks that destroyed its dams on the upper Mekong River.
"Even though by this time, Vietnam was a fully developed nation, it did not forgo its skills at guerrilla warfare. Even more, most of Southeast Asia began taking an environmentally-conscious outlook towards development in the mid-21st century. This meant that most of the region that wasn't urban was covered in dense forest, which was a perfect setting for guerrilla attacks and impractical for the human-wave attacks favored by the Mandate. The Vietnamese would be assisted by UAF forces, especially those of the Rangers.
"This footage was taken around in the Red River valley in northern Vietnam. It was taken by a journalist attached to a platoon from the 75th Ranger Regiment. The platoon is working alongside a Vietnamese unit."
The platoon is traveling through a dense jungle. Suddenly there is an order to halt. Soon it is clear why the order is made; a convoy of Mandate tanks are moving along an abandoned road.
However, before the convoy advances any further, the lead tank gets bogged down in some sort of trap. Right when that happens, suppressing fire seems to come out of nowhere.
When it is clear that the armored unit is not going anywhere, one guy calls in an airstrike.
A short time-skip later, a sound, similar to that of ripping cloth, is heard, and the tanks are torn to shreds. As are the poor people caught in the path.
Ooh... it's probably a rotary cannon.
When the camera point up, several gunships can be seen blazing away while flying at relatively slow speed.
The Mandate survivors that are left are either shot on the spot by Vietnamese troops, or they flee toward the jungle where they run into other traps. A lot of the traps involve spikes.
"Even though later-on, the Mandate would resort to firebombing Hanoi, the Vietnamese would manage to keep them out to the end of the war."
The map pans back to the north and zooms out.
"When all was said and done though, the territory the Mandate was most interested in obtaining was not in the TOU. It was in the Eurasian Union. More specifically, it was the melted permafrost of Russia. This land was ripe for utilization of agriculture, something which the Mandate was to find most helpful in feeding its populace. By 2133, the Mandate had managed to occupy the majority of Siberia. Eurasia retaliated by attempting an invasion through Tibet and Xinjiang.
"While normally the TOU would sit by and watch two of its biggest rivals beat each other up, there soon became a clear issue. As the Mandate spread its territory, it became clear that it was very close to taking a key geographical feature: the Chukchi Peninsula. If that peninsula was taken, the Mandate would be right across the Bering Strait, which was less than a 100 kilometers wide, from the UAF state of Alaska.
"In response, the TOU decided to sign an armistice with the Eurasian Union and its allies. This allowed both unions to focus their full resources in containing the Mandate. In response to that, the Mandate did what was considered to be the unthinkable."
We are looking at what looks to be a birds-eye view of an ocean shoreline. Which is all well and good, except for the fact that the beach is completely black, and the water itself is murky and has an iridescent sheen to it. A petroleum spill.
On the ground, aquatic animal carcasses are strewn all over the place. Fish, bird, turtles, cetaceans… Those that aren't dead, mainly birds, are moving feebly around. Fortunately for some of them, there are people desperately helping to clean them.
Besides beaches, harbors have also been swamped by the oil. It is clear from the reactions of the people that livelihoods have been wrecked.
There are a few places shown that don't look like someone has gone over them with a bucket of black paint. That's because those places are on fire.
Now that's beyond senseless.
I can feel my teeth involuntarily clenching in response to the complete waste and desolation that is before us.
"As was mentioned earlier in this class, while the majority of the world had weaned itself off of petroleum-based fuels, the compound was still utilized. And the UAF still had operational wells in the Gulf of Mexico.
"So the Mandate's course of action was to attack these wells. The resultant oil spill was an ecological disaster of an extreme magnitude and succeeded in immobilizing the Gulf Coast economically due to the reliance on marine traffic and the fishery industry.
"This action would be repeated in the oil fields of the Arab League and Eurasia.
"Soon it was clear that the war was about to reach a whole new level.
"Class dismissed."
While everybody's getting packed, Dio seems deep in thought at this moment. I tap on his shoulder to get his attention. His flinch, in response, almost causes me to automatically go into self-defense posture. Almost. Though it took every ounce of self-control.
"Hey, you alright?" I try to keep my face from betraying any sign of wariness.
"Oh, I'm fine. Just some scary imagery." He gives me a weak smile as assurance as he quickly puts his stuff away.
"How many times do I have to tell you that you're a terrible liar?"
He waves me off. "Seriously, it's just me having a weak stomach, as usual. That's all. No need to worry."
"You sure?"
"Positive." His smile widens into a big grin. "I just may possibly need some fresh air, and I'll be all good. I'll wait for you at the entrance. We can race back to the dorms." And just like that, he heads off as if nothing even happened.
Huh... Is it just me, or are his pupils slightly dilated?
A/N: If anyone is curious, "COCKED PISTOL" is the exercise term for DEFCON 1.
And yes, somehow, America has gone back to the 1940's in terms of cartoon culture.