Tomorrow’s Heritage

by Juanita Coulson

  Todd had struck a nerve, a deep one. Jael came up out of her chair. “No one is going to harm that baby! They won’t be able to reach her!”

  Pat counterattacked. “No, they won’t. I’ll protect ‘Rissa and our child with my dying breath. But they’ll have me. That’s the least I can give to all the people we’ve wronged. I’ve . . . I’ve got to speak to the world, before it’s too late . . .””

  Hope rose in Todd’s heart.

  “It can be suppressed,” Jael said coldly.

  “No, Mother.” Todd closed his eyes a moment before speaking. “It can’t be. I’ve given the evidence to a lot of people, too many for you to kill them all. And if Pat won’t tell the world, I will—with his voice. I can do it, with the translator-splitter and the thousands of kilometers of footage my people have accumulated on my magnificent orator brother over the last few years.”

  Pat was eyeing Todd with admiration, not anger. Oddly, he didn’t seem to resist the prospect of throwing himself on the world’s mercy. A martyr. A sacrifice. Genuinely grief-stricken. And yet . . . Todd almost began to believe Pat would somehow emerge from this as noble and brave, turning hate and vengeful uproar into forgiveness and new glory.

  “Of course,” Jael said. “No, nothing will happen. You would go into telecom, Todd! And that little bitch is recording this, naturally. All right. Give me to the wolves. The media hate me, anyway. It’ll work. Let me handle it.”

  Pat cut her off. “You forged my name, did all this to bring me to power. I am in power. And it’s my responsibility. You’re not in charge of me, never again. Whatever you did, you did out of mistaken family loyalty, Mother. But I’m not going to throw my own mother to the sharks. You’re a genius at cutting throats, but the only side of human nature you know about is the ugly side.” Pat gulped for air, looking over his shoulder at his brother. “My God,” he repeated in a whisper, appalled, the horror of it still falling onto him. “She tried to kill you? And Mari? It was true. All of Mari’s accusations were true.”

  “You’re the only one who really counts, you and that baby.” It hurt Todd to say that. Sibling rivalries and petty childhood jealousies. But it was the truth. And this time, the truth meant disgrace for the handsome, favored, older brother.

  “I wanted to do all of this painlessly,” Jael said with sweet reasonableness. “I tried to. The people in the Enclave never suffered. They were in a coma before they arrived. If you’d just taken my warning, Todd . . .”

  He cocked his head, answering her in the same adult, ultra-civilized tone. “Just out of curiosity, when did you figure out that I wasn’t in orbit and was at the Enclave? I halfway expected you to sabotage one of my planes a lot earlier than you did.”

  There was an icy silence. Then Jael turned on him. “Your holo-message from orbit was very convincing. You and Ward were always good at those things. I did indeed think you were in space. By the time I realized you weren’t . . .“

  “So. It was just a matter of timing. Or I would be dead, and so would all the other passengers on the Antarctic shuttle or the Sur Atlantique flight. Just another regrettable accident. You’ve become addicted to killing, and to power.”

  Small lights were flashing in the corners of both monitor screens. Someone outside the scrambler lock was trying frantically to break through, paging for attention. Absently, still reeling emotionally, Pat opened a circuit. A third screen flared to life, one of his aides on the screen, talking fast. “P.O.E. Chairman Li Chu, sir—emergency session—missile attacks—something coming in from Goddard—”

  “Put it on,” Pat said, all the strength gone from his marvelous voice.

  Kevin McKelvey’s image formed. “. . . pro tem governor of Goddard Colony and Lunar City Copernicus . .

  Todd stiffened, hearing the change in designation. “Governor of Goddard and Lunar City Copernicus.” Desertion. The entire Lunar Base. Total union with Goddard’s fortunes. All the last ties to Earth had been cut.

  “You’ve done it, Pat,” Todd said bitterly. “Secession. They’re fully allied with the Moon.”

  “Shut up. I’ve got to hear this.”

  Jael said nothing. Neither did Dian. She and the entire ComLink system must be receiving the same message simultaneously.

  “. . . Goddard Space Station Charter Authority is hereby voided. We will no longer acknowledge or honor any treaties or sanctions enacted under the previous Protectors of Earth franchise of 2036. By unanimous vote of the inhabitants of our combined governments . . .”

  “Ten thousand raving fanatics,” Jael said derisively. No one paid her any attention.

  “. . . severing diplomatic relations with the following Earth nations, quasi-nations, and political coalitions, effective immediately: Riccardi Incorporated Network . . .”

  “Operating under new management,” Todd put in with grisly humor.

  “. . . Central South American Union and President Galbraith’s Social Traditionalists Party, President Halmahera’s faction of Nippon-Malaysia, Premier Ybarra’s faction of the Maui-Andean Populist Democracies, Nakamura’s Worldwide TeleCom, Patrick Saunder’s division of Saunder Enterprises . . .”

  Pat winced, taking the blow, acting like a man who felt he must pay and expiate his shame.

  The list went on, ticking off those who hated Goddard, sabotaged its power sats, attacked it, convicted or killed its planetside allies. The Okhotsk Concord, some of the Rift Country dictators, the nasty little Asian ruler whose security chief Todd had seen on the tape Gib smuggled out of Goddard.

  The missing names were just as significant. Those who had backed Goddard and bought its power output and extended credit. The Israeli branch of the Rift Federation was there; and Alamshah, one of SE’s competitors and one of Ward Saunder’s friendly rivals, but a Spacer just the same; Dian’s Midwestern United Ghetto States; ComLink . . .

  Todd was one of their allies, yet being reminded, along with the rest of Earth, just what that might mean.

  “. . . will no longer endure these assaults. We will retaliate. This is a step we do not wish to take, but we have armed ourselves. Recent events have left us no choice. Protectors of Earth has refused to act on our grievances. We must redress our wrongs ourselves . . .”

  P.O.E.’s incumbent Chairman, Li Chu, the woman who had designated Patrick Saunder as her political heir—had Jael bought her off, too? Todd stared bleakly at Kevin McKelvey. The big man wasn’t alone. He was broadcasting from Goddard’s master com center, and the room was crowded with enthusiastic aides and members of the Planning Group. Mari was among them. She wore the pseudo uniform of Goddard’s civilian fighter forces, proud, her wonderful eyes glaring out at her enemies on Earth. Kevin’s huge hands were clenched into fists and resting heavily on the com panel before him. His face promised vengeance to anyone who didn’t heed what he was saying.

  “Don’t do it, Kevin,” Todd begged uselessly.

  “Earth has declared war on us, and we hereby acknowledge that that state exists between us. We will lay down our arms if Earth does to the same degree, and agrees to full and binding arbitration by a court of all humanity—a legal hearing to be conducted openly, on Earth and in space, in all languages, for all peoples, via ComLink. No other truce terms will be considered.”

  Around Kevin McKelvey, whoops and shouts rose, yells of defiance. Mari threw her arms around him, momentarily destroying the fragile decorum of the terrible announcement. Her dark hair against his golden mane—just as they had looked in the candid holo-mode Todd had taken so long ago, in a happier time. Other habitat citizens leaned into the lenses, shaking their fists, grinning angrily, and vowing to give Earth as good as they got.

  Todd knew billions of planetsiders were watching, most of Earth. What would they make of this? They had to take the threat seriously. Pat had to make them understand—as he hadn’t made them understand the true significance of the alien messenger. Mari. The Saunder princess, sister of the world-famous Patrick Saunder. Earth remembered her as a hell-raiser, a ce
lebrity noted for wild adventures. Yet she had changed. Now she was a Goddardite, ready to fight and die for the Colony, calling Pat her enemy, embracing that traitor to his planet and his service, Kevin McKelvey.

  Finally, Mari backed away and the other habitat citizens calmed down, their expressions stern. Kevin resumed his speech. “Earth leaders have declared Goddard and Lunar City cannot survive without Earth. We will survive—alone. The future of humanity lies in the stars, with the race of Vahnaj . . .”

  They had picked up the signals, just as Dian had said they would. They knew. And for all Mari’s resentment at having been outraced, Goddard accepted the inevitable. A hand, from another intelligent species, reaching out, and they would take it.

  “. . . we will not be Earth’s slaves!”

  “They’re cutting their own throats, seceding,” Pat said, aghast.

  Todd told him morosely, “No, they’ve had Earth First’s knife at their throats for nearly five years, ever since they started the torus. They’re just finally turning it around and using it on their attackers.”

  “ . . . of Earth, your leaders have lied to you,” Kevin McKelvey said. The cameras zoomed in on him. It wasn’t ComLink’s good signal, but it was strong and bright, conveying McKelvey’s determination. He didn’t have Pat’s stage presence or voice, but he epitomized Goddard’s spirit. An equitable team. “We don’t want to be your enemy. We want to be your friend. And we can offer you the future. On this date, February 15, 2041, we establish the full and irrevocable independence of Goddard Colony and Lunar City.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  ooooooooo

  Saunder = Survival

  THE Chaos had been reborn in the subterranean apartments. Todd’s contact with Dian fed to Ames and Fairchild and all the others in the Spacer underground. They had been waiting, hoping, and now, on Pat’s orders, the security barriers were down. Strangers, people Todd didn’t know, had been admitted to SE Mainland HQ and ushered into the command center. One by one, they were assuring Pat of their support and patience—if he did something to stop the madness looming over them all.

  More orders going out. Aides and bodyguards running to and fro. A steady update from Carissa’s doctors on her delicate state. Holding, so far. Just like the impossible tension between Earth and its first space station. People shouting at each other or whispering together. Former enemies and political opponents uniting in panic. Fairchild coming in, taking Pat’s hand in her bony one, praising him for his courage.

  She knew. The entire world didn’t yet know. But Fairchild knew, was giving Pat a chance to repair the damage, rather than capitalizing on his tragedy to the benefit of her Third Millennium Movement. She acknowledged his superiority as an orator, as a favorite of humanity, and sacrificed.

  They were all doing that, or trying to. Again and again, JaeI came on the com, insisting that Pat make her the scapegoat. He kept brushing her aside impatiently, too busy to argue. Then, once, sharply, he said, “It’ll probably come to that, Mother. I advise you to stay put at Saunderhome. I have more clout than Galbraith and the others, and I’ve got certain troops watching you right now. When I’m through at Protectors of Earth, we’re going to talk about this and figure out just what you and I have to do to appease the world.”

  Abruptly, Jael broke the connection. Pat scowled, running his hands through his hair, looking around. Todd was standing in the corner, watching. The dreaded confrontation had taken place. He had caused it. Caused all this panic—just as he had caused, indirectly, the panic resulting from the Project Search announcement.

  “Kid?” Todd came up out of his dazed shock. Pat was pointing at the screen where Jael’s image had been. “Can you shut her off? Bottle her up? Pull the telecom plug on her? I’ve got so damned much to try to say—I can’t afford to have Mother butting in now, of all times.” More to it than that. He couldn’t afford to have Jael, the dowager queen, reaching out from Saunderhome with telecom lines, calling on her assassins, on the hidden people who owed her, worsening the crisis with her meddling.

  “I’m warning you, Todd . . .”

  And her eyes had warned Pat, during that call. Obey Mother. Toe the line. Or . . .

  Jael Hartman Saunder had her own warped plans for the future, stifi hoped to carry them out, with or without her children’s cooperation.

  “I’ll try,” Todd said breathlessly. “I can control ComLink, sure. The thing is, she’s probably put in alternate sources. Do you know how much she’s added on in that defensive wall around the island?” Morosely, Pat shook his head. “Convoluted. That’s what this all is, what she is.”

  “Then I’ll be that way, too, if I must. Like Mother, like son.” Pat’s chuckle was acid. The strangers and his aides were crowding in, all demanding his attention, each one with a political damage report, in effect. Pat attempted to handle a dozen conversations at once. “You contacted Li Chu? Okay. At least that much is straight. She’s with us? Well, you make plain I’ve got to have the full assembly. Everybody. Todd will give me global and Goddard—”

  “I don’t know if I can get through to Goddard with ComLink,” Todd warned. “Even with the military helping us.” He saw the look on Pat’s face. “I’ll do my damnedest. Just pray they listen.”

  “Mari will. She’s never been vindictive. We’ll need to—” Pat suddenly was riveted by a report coming over a nearby monitor. Readouts were rippling across it. Todd was too far away and at the wrong angle, unable to see it. Pat’s reaction was awesome. He grabbed a chair and burled it at the screen. Plasticene and circuitry showered the room and its occupants, sparks flying, as Pat raged. “Those goddamned stupid. . . Todd? Galbraith’s gone underground, and Weng’s executing half his country in the worst purge since . . . they’re hooking up with Riccardi’s people to—”

  He rushed toward Todd, gripping his biceps, shaking his brother in his agitation. They faced each other across the years, love and blood canceling the jealousies, the differences.

  “Goddard. And Earth targets!” Todd said. “The last gamble. To take out all their opponents. You’re one, too, if you tell what’s been going on in the Enclave and with Saunder Enterprises . . .” Todd was stricken for Pat’s sake.

  “But I’m going to. Nothing’s going to stop me.” Again Todd saw that glint of martyrdom shining in those fathomless pale eyes. “You know, something Dian said . . . she’s right. We really are primitives, aren’t we, kid? Toddlers. Infants. Barely able to stand on our feet, and we’re trying to kill one another.”

  Around them, a dozen monitors chattered, whispered conversations went on. The broken terminal sizzled and popped, dying. But for a moment, Todd and Pat were utterly alone. Pat took a long breath. “I want my child to see that future you and Dian and Mari have been talking about, Todd. I’m going to make it happen. And to do that, I need help. I hate to ask it of you, after all I’ve done, all Mother’s done . . .”

  “Goddard,” Todd said, nodding, understanding. He was afraid. And yet pride filled him, thickened his throat with unshed tears. His leg bust He still felt bruised from the rough handling the P.O.E. enforcement troopers had dealt out rescuing him. He was tired to the bone. But all that dropped into the background, like the monitor chatter and the conversations. Unimportant, physical white noise. Energy surged back into his exhausted limbs and mind. He stood up very straight, looking Pat in the eye.

  “Can you get through to them? Hell, you’re probably the only one who can, now. The only one McKelvey might trust.”

  “Not on the com. He knows what can be done with a translator-splitter.” Pat blinked. The idea had never occurred to him. Todd wished it hadn’t occurred to him. No other way. “I’ll go. I don’t think they’ll turn me back.”

  He didn’t mention the other possibility—they might shoot him out of space before he could reach the Colony. Why should they trust anyone, after what had happened?

  “Tell Mari . . . tell that blond maniac . . . tell them . . .” Pat bowed his head. “Tell them the truth,
if they haven’t heard it. And beg them to give me a chance. I’m going to stop Weng and Ybarra and the other anti-Spacers. It’ll take time. I know that much about vectors and missile launchings. Ames and the other military who defected— no!—who stayed loyal to keep humanity alive, pinpointing the missiles the conspirators still have up there. Trying to disarm. Time. Beg for time, kid. Please. It’s got to stop here, all the evil I’ve done.”

  “No, not you. Mother, loving too much and in the wrong way. And the tyrants who won’t give up their power,” Todd comforted him, hugging him, both of them tormented with the shame Jael had brought upon them.

  “I let her. I knew it, subconsciously. None of this would have happened if I hadn’t . . . people trusted me, Todd! I promised them! Promised you . . . one more promise. What do you need?”

  Uniting. Together against the other kids in the crater towns.

  We Saunders are the best.

  “An escort that’ll get me out into space in one piece.” Todd saw one of the strangers, a woman in military garb, smiling cryptically, nodding, giving him an okay-and-ready sign. One of Ames’s allies? Another Protector of Earth officer who hadn’t swallowed the anti-Spacer propaganda? “SE Trans Co shares a heavy lifter with P.O.E. Enforcement. I’ll need that. It’s probably at New York-Philly Terminal. God knows I haven’t got time to try to get to one of my shuttles in Orleans or Nairobi. After that . . .”

  “Galbraith,” Pat was muttering, distracted. “That power-hungry . . . all of them! And to think I let them, right under my nose. Under Saunder Enterprises’ cover! God, kid, don’t get yourself killed because of this!”