it, nor let us. Why?’
‘That was explained a million times over,’ Terai said, a little wearily. ‘The dangers, in case present systems break down, outweigh any possible gain. Even if the systems worked perfectly, forever, the planet itself would suffer too much from industry on the scale you want.’
‘So you say,’ Launy retorted. ‘But what about power politics, greed, maintaining your, uh, your hegemony? Those have been a mighty big part of your motivation, Maurai. I don’t mean youpersonally. You’ve always struck me as an honorable man. It puzzles me how you could serve as a spy between the wars. You could have refused the assignment.’
‘I wasn’t a spy,’ Terai said mildly. ‘Yes, my role as a merchant skipper was a disguise, I was a naval intelligence officer the whole time, but I didn’t steal any secrets. I only got to know your country better.’
‘Against the day when you’d fight us!’ Launy struggled to keep hold of his feelings. ‘No doubt you think of yourself as a simple patriot, a loyal subject of your Queen and member of your tribe. And no doubt that’s true, as far as it goes. Underneath, though – in your quiet, relaxed-looking way, you Maurai are fanatics.’
He paused before he added: ‘My history professor in college had a saying, “Nothing fails like success.” He was right, and your civilization is the prime example. Your achievements were great in their time, but you’ve gotten fixated on them. You worship them more devoutly than you do your Triad. If anything might change the status quo in any real way, you’ll stamp it down … and congratulate yourselves on your stewardship of Earth.’
He snapped after air, gripped the rail, and turned his gaze back over the sea, away from his beleaguered land.
Terai stood mute, exhaling the fragrance. Finally he laid a hand on the Norrman’s shoulder and rumbled, ‘I’m not offended. Say what you like. You need to. I’m still your friend. I’ll take every chance that comes by to prove it.’
3
The armadas clashed off the mouth of the mighty Columma River, on a day when half a gale drove icy rain mingled with sleet out of the west. Currents lent trickiness to the enormous waves; eastward, reefs and shoals lurked beneath. It was as if nature herself fought in defense of this her country.
If so, she fought in vain.
There were skilled sailors among the Union crews, but virtually every Maurai was a child of the great waters, with a dolphinlike sense for them and for the winds that caressed or stirred or lashed them. The Union ships were well built, but most of them on lines that were antique before the old civilization destroyed itself, andthey were driven by clumsy rigs or clumsier coal-fired engines, with a very few synfuel diesels. The Maurai ships were aerodynamic as much as they were hydrodynamic, as maneuverable as shark or albatross; those with auxiliary power ran electric motors smoothly off fuel cells. Neither side had many aircraft, but the primitive Union machines were weatherbound, while the Maurai pilots could fly. Rain did not blind radar, sonar, heat detectors, and other such instruments; those of the Maurai were incomparably superior.
As for weapons, the Union guns used explosive powder of mineral origin. Scarcity restricted the supply. The Maurai had been accumulating ammunition from sources more diffuse but unlimited. Their violent combustibles were of largely biological origin, from pelagic farms or bacterial cultures. What metals they used had principally come, by patient electrochemistry, from the sea. Oxygen and hydrogen were similarly borrowed; solar cells had maintained their cryogenic state on the long voyage hither.
Rockets blazed, torpedoes churned, bombs whistled downward, and each of them pursued a precise target. Manmade lightning racked the storm. Union ironclads wallowed amidst their dying companions and shot wildly back. Then the biggest invader missiles arrived, bearing cargoes of liquid
‘That was explained a million times over,’ Terai said, a little wearily. ‘The dangers, in case present systems break down, outweigh any possible gain. Even if the systems worked perfectly, forever, the planet itself would suffer too much from industry on the scale you want.’
‘So you say,’ Launy retorted. ‘But what about power politics, greed, maintaining your, uh, your hegemony? Those have been a mighty big part of your motivation, Maurai. I don’t mean youpersonally. You’ve always struck me as an honorable man. It puzzles me how you could serve as a spy between the wars. You could have refused the assignment.’
‘I wasn’t a spy,’ Terai said mildly. ‘Yes, my role as a merchant skipper was a disguise, I was a naval intelligence officer the whole time, but I didn’t steal any secrets. I only got to know your country better.’
‘Against the day when you’d fight us!’ Launy struggled to keep hold of his feelings. ‘No doubt you think of yourself as a simple patriot, a loyal subject of your Queen and member of your tribe. And no doubt that’s true, as far as it goes. Underneath, though – in your quiet, relaxed-looking way, you Maurai are fanatics.’
He paused before he added: ‘My history professor in college had a saying, “Nothing fails like success.” He was right, and your civilization is the prime example. Your achievements were great in their time, but you’ve gotten fixated on them. You worship them more devoutly than you do your Triad. If anything might change the status quo in any real way, you’ll stamp it down … and congratulate yourselves on your stewardship of Earth.’
He snapped after air, gripped the rail, and turned his gaze back over the sea, away from his beleaguered land.
Terai stood mute, exhaling the fragrance. Finally he laid a hand on the Norrman’s shoulder and rumbled, ‘I’m not offended. Say what you like. You need to. I’m still your friend. I’ll take every chance that comes by to prove it.’
3
The armadas clashed off the mouth of the mighty Columma River, on a day when half a gale drove icy rain mingled with sleet out of the west. Currents lent trickiness to the enormous waves; eastward, reefs and shoals lurked beneath. It was as if nature herself fought in defense of this her country.
If so, she fought in vain.
There were skilled sailors among the Union crews, but virtually every Maurai was a child of the great waters, with a dolphinlike sense for them and for the winds that caressed or stirred or lashed them. The Union ships were well built, but most of them on lines that were antique before the old civilization destroyed itself, andthey were driven by clumsy rigs or clumsier coal-fired engines, with a very few synfuel diesels. The Maurai ships were aerodynamic as much as they were hydrodynamic, as maneuverable as shark or albatross; those with auxiliary power ran electric motors smoothly off fuel cells. Neither side had many aircraft, but the primitive Union machines were weatherbound, while the Maurai pilots could fly. Rain did not blind radar, sonar, heat detectors, and other such instruments; those of the Maurai were incomparably superior.
As for weapons, the Union guns used explosive powder of mineral origin. Scarcity restricted the supply. The Maurai had been accumulating ammunition from sources more diffuse but unlimited. Their violent combustibles were of largely biological origin, from pelagic farms or bacterial cultures. What metals they used had principally come, by patient electrochemistry, from the sea. Oxygen and hydrogen were similarly borrowed; solar cells had maintained their cryogenic state on the long voyage hither.
Rockets blazed, torpedoes churned, bombs whistled downward, and each of them pursued a precise target. Manmade lightning racked the storm. Union ironclads wallowed amidst their dying companions and shot wildly back. Then the biggest invader missiles arrived, bearing cargoes of liquid
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