by Robert Shea
alarge crowd gathering in Tammany Square. Sound trucks were rolling to astop around the edges of the crowd. The people were all looking up.
Lane looked across the Square. The windows of the tower opposite, theones he could see clearly, were crowded with faces. There were white dotfaces on the balcony that Gerri Kin had pointed out as the Mayor'ssuite.
The voice of a 3V newscaster rolled up from the Square, reechoingagainst the tower walls.
"Lane is holding the Martian Ambassador, Gerri Kin, hostage. You can seethe Martian tricolor behind his force-globe. Police are bringing upblaster cannon. Lane's defense is a globe of energy similar to the onewhich protects Newyork from aerial attack."
Lane grinned back at Gerri Kin. "Whole town's down there." Then his grinfaded. Nice-looking, nice-talking girl like this probably cared a lotmore about dying than he did. Why the hell didn't they give him a chanceto let her out? Maybe he could do it now.
Cybrain said no. It said the second he dropped his force-screen, they'dblast this room to hell. Poor girl from Mars, she didn't have a chance.
Gerri Kin put her hand to her forehead. "Why did you have to pick myroom? Why did they send me to this crazy city? Private soldiers. Twentymillion people living under a Shell like worms in a corpse. Earth issick and it's going to kill me. What's going to happen?"
Lane looked sadly at her. Only two kinds of girls ever went near aTrooper--the crazy ones and the ones the city paid. Why did he have tobe so near getting killed when he met one he liked? Now that she wasshowing a little less fear and anger, she was talking straight to him.She was good, but she wasn't acting as if she was too good for him.
"They'll start shooting pretty quick," said Lane. "I'm sorry about you."
"I wish I could write a letter to my parents," she said.
"What?"
"Didn't you understand what I said?"
"What's a letter?"
"You don't know where Mars is. You don't know what a letter is. Youprobably can't even read and write!"
* * * * *
Lane shrugged. He carried on the conversation disinterestedly,professionally relaxed before battle. "What's these things I can't do?They important?"
"Yes. The more I see of this city and its people, the more important Irealize they are. You know how to fight, don't you? I'll bet you'reperfect with those weapons."
"Listen. They been training me to fight since I was a little kid. Whyshouldn't I be a great little fighter?"
"Specialization," said the girl from Mars.
"What?"
"Specialization. Everyone I've met in this city is a specialist.SocioSpecs run the government. TechnoSpecs run the machinery. Troopersfight the wars. And ninety per cent of the people don't work at allbecause they're not trained to do anything."
"The Fans," said Lane. "They got it soft. That's them down there, cometo watch the fight."
"You know why you were kept in the Armory, Lane? I heard them talkingabout it, at the dinner I went to last night."
"Why?"
"Because they're afraid of the Troopers. You men did too good a job outin Chi. You are the deadliest weapon that has ever been made. You.Single airborne infantrymen!"
Lane said, "They told us in Trooper Academy that it's the men that winthe wars."
"Yes, but people had forgotten it until the SocioSpecs of Newyork cameup with the Troopers. Before the Troopers, governments concentrated onthe big weapons, the missiles, the bombs. And the cities, with theShells, were safe from bombs. They learned to be self-sufficient underthe Shells. They were so safe, so isolated, that national governmentscollapsed. But you Troopers wiped out that feeling of security, when youinfiltrated Chi and conquered it."
"We scared them, huh?"
Gerri said, "You scared them so much that they were afraid to let youhave a furlough in the city when you came back. Afraid you Trooperswould realize that you could easily take over the city if you wanted to.You scared them so much that they'll let me be killed. They'll actuallyrisk trouble with Mars just to kill you."
"I'm sorry about you. I mean it, I like--"
At that moment a titanic, ear-splitting explosion hurled him to thecarpet, deafened and blinded him.
He recovered and saw Gerri a few feet away, dazed, groping on hands andknees.
Lane jumped to the window, looked quickly, sprang back. Cybrain pumpedorders to his nervous system.
"Blaster cannon," he said. "But just one. Gotcha, cybrain. I can beatthat."
He picked up the black box that generated his protective screen.Snapping it open with thumb-pressure, he turned a small dial. Then hewaited.
Again an enormous, brain-shattering concussion.
Again Lane and Gerri were thrown to the floor. But this time there was asecond explosion and a blinding flash from below.
Lane laughed boyishly and ran to the window.
"Look!" he called to Gerri.
* * * * *
There was a huge gap in the crowd below. The pavement was blackened andshattered to rubble. In and around the open space sprawled dozens oftiny black figures, not moving.
"Backfire," said Lane. "I set the screen to throw their blaster beamright back at them."
"And they knew you might--and yet they let a crowd congregate!"
Gerri reeled away from the window, sick.
Lane said, "I can do that a couple times more, but it burns out theforce-globe. Then I'm dead."
He heard the 3V newscaster's amplified voice: "--approximately fiftykilled. But Lane is through now. He has been able to outthink policewith the help of his cybrain. Now police are feeding the problem totheir giant analogue computer in the sub-basement of the Court House.The police analogue computer will be able to outthink Lane's cybrain,will predict Lane's moves in advance. Four more blaster cannon arecoming down Broadway--"
"Why don't they clear those people out of the Square?" Gerri cried.
"What? Oh, the Fans--nobody clears them out." He paused. "I got one morechance to try." He raised a mailed glove to his mouth and pressed asmall stud in the wrist. He said, "Trooper HQ, this is Lane."
A voice spoke in his helmet. "Lane, this is Trooper HQ. We figured you'dcall."
"Get me Colonel Klett."
Thirty seconds passed. Lane could hear the clank of caterpillar treadsas the mobile blaster cannon rolled into Tammany Square.
The voice of the commanding officer of the Troopers rasped into Lane'sear: "Meat-head! You broke out against my orders! _Now_ look at you!"
"I knew you didn't mean them orders, sir."
"If you get out of there alive, I'll hang you for disobeying them!"
"Yes, sir. Sir, there's a girl here--somebody important--from Mars. Youknow, the planet. Sir, she told me we could take over the city if we gotloose. That right, sir?"
There was a pause. "Your girl from Mars is right, Lane. But it's toolate now. If we had moved first, captured the city government, we mighthave done it. But they're ready for us. They'd chop us down with blastercannon."
"Sir, I'm asking for help. I know you're on my side."
"I am, Lane." The voice of Colonel Klett was lower. "I'd never admit itif you had a chance of getting out of there alive. You've had it, son.I'd only lose more men trying to rescue you. When they feed the datainto that analogue computer, you're finished."
"Yes, sir."
"I'm sorry, Lane."
"Yes, sir. Over and out."
Lane pressed the stud on his gauntlet again. He turned to Gerri.
"You're okay. I wish I could let you out. Old cybrain says I can't. Saysif I drop the force-globe for a second, they'll fire into the room, andthen we'll both be dead."
* * * * *
Gerri stood with folded arms and looked at him. "Do what you have to do.As far as I can see, you're the only person in this city that has even alittle bit of right on his side."
Lane laughed. "Any of them purple-haired broads I know would be crazyscar
ed. You're different."
"When my grandparents landed on Mars, they found out that selfishnesswas a luxury. Martians can't afford it."
Lane frowned with the effort of thinking. "You said I had a little righton my side. That's a good feeling. Nobody ever told me to feel that wayabout myself before. It'll be better to die knowing that."
"I know," she said.
The amplified voice from below said, "The police analogue computer isnow hooked directly to the controls of
