Mike felt his face cloud. "What are you talking about? Morlock is my company and -"
Javier held up a hand. "Mike, Mike - I know. Look, we're off topic. The point is, if you dive into the details and start designing and ordering EP doors and micro-optimizing the hell out of God damned engineering problems" - he spat the phrase - "then you're going to lose this war and we're all going to be killed or jailed."
"The EP doors aren't just some piddly engineering problem. When the PKs attack -"
"Mike, back up. My point is this: you can't run this war alone."
Mike sighed and shook his head. Javier was always overstating his case, making straw men. "Who said anything about running it alone? I'm going to subcontract out all sorts of things. The militia will be staffed up. The market -"
"Mike, remember who you're talking to, OK? I've drunk the libertarian kool-aid; I know the whole rant. 'Cooperation,’ 'emergent systems,’ 'markets are tools for sharing information' - we're on the same side here."
"So then why are you asking if I'm going to run it alone? I'm going to run my corner of it."
"And who's going to run the rest of it?"
Mike shrugged. "You. Hector. Albert Lai is a bit brittle, but when the chips are down -"
"And when are you going to tell them what's expected of them?"
"What? They'll figure out what they should do." He saw Javier looking at him skeptically. "What, you want me to write up a memo? Email them some action items?"
Javier didn't try to hide his sarcasm. "Yeah, Mike, that's what I want. A fucking memo."
"Well if not that, then what's your point?"
"Even if you get Hector, Albert, and everybody involved through emergent whatever, who's going to fight for them? Who's going to follow around Albert with his crisp suits and Eton accent? Who's going to rally around the stock price ticker feed for LDAC?"
"What?"
Javier shook his head. "Mike, I love the market. I love decentralization. All of that. But no military in the history of the human race has ever gotten by without leaders."
"The American Revolution -"
"Committees of Correspondence. Continental Congress. Jefferson, Adams, Washington -"
Mike rolled his eyes. "The Icelanders -"
"Had their Althing, not to mention kinship ties. Mike, your problem is that you'd do anything to avoid interacting with people. You want to spend all your time with TBMs and -"
"That's not fair."
"It is fair. You find social interaction taxing. Fine. That's not the problem."
"Then what is my problem?" Mike crossed his arms. "Tell me, Jave. Please."
Javier didn't take the bait. "Your real problem is that you think that everyone else is the same way. They're not. People are monkeys, Mike. I mean that in the nicest possible way. We're a social species. And as a social species we need leaders."
Mike let his scorn show on his face. "'Leaders,’ huh? So we should elect a president, or maybe a politburo, or -"
"I'm not saying people need rulers. I'm saying they need leaders. Someone to coordinate, to inspire, to -"
"I don't need a leader to get stuff done, and neither do other people."
"There! There! That's exactly my point. Just because you don't feel the need for a leader doesn't mean that's how other people are."
"On Earth, maybe. But Aristillus is different. The average person here is smarter and more educated. Did you see that article on punditdome.ari about conscientiousness scores? We're different."
Javier chuckled. "Mike, even if the average IQ in Aristillus is 130, that doesn't change anything. Ten years of selective immigration can't override ten million years of evolution."
"That's bullshit -"
"It's bullshit that we're still monkeys? When's the last time you crashed your motorcycle trying to impress Darcy?"
"I ride my bike for me, not for -"
"When's the last time you checked out the rack on some barista or waitress?"
Mike blinked, then slowly grinned. "OK, fine, you got me. Maybe we're part monkey."
"We're all monkey."
"And?"
"And monkeys - most monkeys, at least - want leaders. At least if they're going to pull together, to deliver their best."
Mike looked at him dubiously.
"I'm serious, Mike. If you really want to win this war - and I hope like hell you do, because it's the only way you, or I, or anyone we know is going to stay alive - Aristillus needs a leader."
Mike pursed his lips. "I'm not convinced. But even if you're right, who? You said Albert Lai is too wimpy. And you'd better not be thinking about Mark Soldner. That guy would love to get his hands on -"
"You."
Mike recoiled, stunned. "Me? Bullshit. People wouldn't accept me as a leader."
Javier rolled his eyes. "Mike, that's such transparent crap that you can see through it yourself. Every time we grab lunch you have to fight your way through the fans. Lowell Benjamin tells me that his secretary all but throws herself at you."
"She's a flirt."
"She doesn't flirt with me when I'm at Lowell's office. But that's just one data point. When's the last time someone accosted you on the street and wanted a picture with you? When's the last time -"
"I get it, Javier. Yeah, that crap happens all the time. I'm a celebrity because I founded the colony. But a celebrity isn't the same thing as a leader."
"Have you watched the news in the last twenty-four hours?"
"What? No."
Javier picked up a remote control and turned on the wallscreen. '655 Hours a Day' was streaming and a young woman explained earnestly that she'd seen the Wookkiee crash and then seen the RTFM land - and then seen Mike's rescue.
"The crane reached right over and it ripped one of those maneuvering units off - I couldn't believe it! It was crazy. My friend Marsha told me later that it was Mike Martin, and then it all made sense. I was so lucky to see it. I wasn't even supposed to be on shift then, and, anyway, it was just like - wow! I mean, there are really no words -"
Javier changed the channel. Another Aristillus news program. The two anchors chatted for a moment before running grainy footage. The Wookkiee crash landing cut to video of mining vehicles and ambulances racing toward the wreck, and then a stock photo of Mike appeared and covered the right third of the screen. "With open warfare all but declared between Earth and-"
Mike rolled his eyes, grabbed the controller and turned the wallscreen off. "OK, fine, Javier. I already agreed that maybe I'm kind of celebrity -"
"Leader."
"God damn it, no. Celebrity, whatever - the bottom line is that I hate dealing with people. You said as much yourself"
Javier smiled. "We're getting closer to the truth. You like people just fine when you can communicate with them on your terms: a quick email or a phone call. Telling them what you want them to do instead of listening to them bitch. You don't hate people - you hate the messiness of listening to them, convincing them, working with them -"
"Enough psychobabble. Whatever. The point is, I'm a celebrity but I'm not a leader."
"You led people to Aristillus."
"What?"
"This city - you led -"
"Aristillus grew by emergent processes."
"It grew by emergent processes, but you led us all here. It was your insane idea. You and Ponzie built the first ship. You brought the first TBM. You-"
"If I hadn't been me, someone else would have done it. Just because a kid jumps in front of a parade doesn't mean he's leading it."
"Mike, this may be the first time I've ever heard you be modest in your life. Does leadership frighten you that much that you're even willing to put your ego in check to get away from it?"
Despite himself, Mike grinned at the dig.
"Be honest, Mike - don't you ever look out at all of Aristillus and think 'I made this'?"
Mike twisted, caught. He looked aside, embarrassed.
"Aha!"
"Javier, stop attackin
g me."
"I'm not attacking you. You're right to be proud of this. Mike, not one man in a million could have done what you did. And that's why I - why all of us - need you to do this."
"You think I'm the perfect one to - what? Establish some government? What the fuck makes you think I'd help you do that?"
"Damn it, Mike, listen to me. I'm not trying to establish a government. You're invoking some sort of libertarian purity test to avoid talking about personal issues."
God damn it. Javier was being an asshole. Personal issues? "Fuck you Jave." He stood up and pushed back his chair.
"This proves my point."
Mike turned and walked to the far wall of the office. "What point?"
"That the reason you're unwilling to take a leadership role is because it's scary."
Mike turned. "I'm not afraid of hard work."
"I didn't say the job was 'hard.’ I said it was 'scary.’”
Mike scoffed. "Scary?"
"Yeah, scary. Working with other people is scary because it reminds you of -"
"This bullshit again. Javier, you're a good friend most of the time, but you can be a real asshole when -"
"Mike, calm down. Listen to me."
"Listen to you? Why? I know exactly what you're going to say. You've got this late-night dorm-room pop-psychology bullshit story. I've heard it before, and it's not true."
"If I'm wrong, why are you so angry?"
"Because you always do this -"
"Do what?"
"Think that you understand me better than I understand me. Try to psychoanalyze me."
Javier paused, then spread his hands. "OK, I apologize." He stood and stuck out a hand. "Let's forget I brought it up."
Mike looked at the outstretched hand dubiously. "You're going to let it go just like that? I don't believe you."
"Mike, the war is coming. We need to do something about it. So let's talk about our plan."
Mike was leery. This was exactly Javier's kind of trick.
"Come on Mike, let's talk it out. EP doors. Mercenaries. Financing alone is a complicated topic." He paused. "You want a drink?" Javier opened a drawer and lifted out a bottle and two glasses.
Mike looked at the bottle skeptically. Finally he sighed and sat back down. "OK, but just one."
* * *
Javier held out the bottle. "You want another?"
"Hell, no."
"You've only had three."
"Jave, you pour like a motherfucker. I've probably had more like seven."
Javier grinned and spread his arms expansively. "Don't feel bad that you can't handle your liquor. Most teenage girls can't."
"You think you can handle more than I can?"
"Absolutely."
Mike shook his head. "Can not."
"Can too. I've got a secret -"
"And what's that?"
"Practice."
Mike laughed. "One more, then - but no more. I don't want to come home like a total drunk."
"Darcy?"
"Yeah." Javier poured then pushed the glass over. "Not that she'd be mad. She's cool, it's just..." Mike paused. "I want to look good for her."
"No shame in that." Javier poured for himself. "So are you and she ever going to -"
"Jesus, you too?"
Javier put his hands up. "OK, OK, sorry."
Mike sipped his drink. "You're right, though."
"Hmmm?"
"You're right. I should marry her."
"I'm not lecturing you."
"Jave, you're divorced. You seem happier than you used to be."
"Don't take my life as a guide. Every situation is unique."
Mike sipped his drink. "Yeah."
Javier put his feet up on the desk. "You know what your problem is, Mike?"
"Yes."
Javier raised his eyebrows "You do?"
Mike laughed. "No. But I thought it might shut you up."
"If you don't want to hear -"
Mike sighed. "No, tell me. You give the best advice."
Javier smiled. "See? This is why I like it when you have a couple of drinks. You stop being so damned uptight."
Mike sipped his drink. "It's true. I really am an asshole."
"Nah, you're not an asshole."
"Yes, I am."
Javier nodded. "Yes, you are."
Mike laughed again. "And you only get to experience it from the outside. Do you know what it's like being me from the inside?"
"No."
"It's hell!" This time they both laughed, and Mike put his drink down and leaned forward. "OK, Jave. Hit me. Tell me what my problem is."
Javier fixed Mike with a stare. "You're not just an introvert. You're an introvert who's afraid of being betrayed."
"Fuck you. I'm -" Mike paused, then shrugged. "Maybe you're right."
"Of course I'm right."
"What do you mean 'of course'? Do you think you've got some magical psychological -"
Javier waved the question away, spilling a splash of his drink on his desk. "I don't have any special skills. It's just that you're so utterly transparent."
Mike leaned back in his chair. "So I'm afraid of being betrayed. OK, fine. You got me. I'm a pussy."
Javier raised a finger. "No. You're not a pussy. I know where you're coming from. People turned on you during the CEO trials. Guys who were actually criminals - real criminals - told lies about you to clear their own names. They cut deals. You were the only one who stood your ground. So you have a right to be wary of working with other people again."
Mike shrugged dismissively.
"No, don't pretend it's nothing. It is something. And it's important."
"OK, so you want me to be a leader, and I don't want to be. Where does that leave us?
"You're an introvert who only deals with people as much as you have to to get your projects done."
Mike raised his drink in a playful salute.
"...and then, on top of that, the last time you trusted other CEOs, you got burned. You got burned badly."
"So you're saying I should just get over it and -"
Javier shook his head. "People don't 'just get over' that shit. But you do have to get past it. All this time you said the war was coming - and you were right. You were righter than you knew, or than any of us suspected. Mike, you've got to do this. Aristillus needs you. If you step up and become our Washington, or our Jefferson, then we might live. But if you don't, we're all dead."
Mike looked at his drink and realized it was empty. "This sucks, Jave. I hate dealing with people. You know that."
"I do know that, Mike. This does suck."
"Putting up with disagreement - "
"Yeah, putting up with disagreement. Putting up with idiocy. Putting up with people who aren't just wasting your time, but who are actively doing the harmful things. It's everything you hate. All of it. This is the worst job description possible for you."
Mike looked at his empty glass. "Why me?"
"Because you've got a dream - a dream of a free Aristillus. One place where people can live without a boot on their neck. It's a good dream. Hell, it's the best dream that anyone has had in a century. And if you want to keep that dream alive - and keep all of us out of secret prisons - we need to win this war. And because humans are tribal animals, winning this war means that we need someone to inspire them and unify them."
"That's your big speech?"
"That's my big speech."
Mike mulled it over. "You want someone to unify and inspire people? I can't do that."
Javier raised an eyebrow. "Really?" He reached for the wallscreen remote again.
Mike lunged, trying to reach it first. He missed and knocked it to the floor.
He sighed, and looked at Javier. "Fuck you." He put his glass down and gestured at the bottle. "OK, I'll do it."
Chapter 61
2064: Morlock Engineering office, Aristillus, Lunar Nearside
Mike stood at the end of the room and looked down the length of table
- a huge sheet of deck plating resting on I-beam offcuts.
Mike scanned the dozen faces around the table - owners of some of the largest firms in the colony. He took a breath. They were all here.
He cleared his throat, then leaned forward and slapped one hand on the thick steel table.
"We are at war." Too dramatic? He scanned the table again. They were listening. Maybe this was OK.
"Folks, we all know each other, and we've all done business with each other. We have a lot in common: we each left Earth to escape the taxation, the regulation, all that handbasket-to-hell stuff." He took a breath. "And we all had one more thing in common: we all thought that between the Long Depression, our monopoly on the AG drive, and the war in China, the Earth governments wouldn't get around to messing with us. At least not for a long time."
He paused, letting the tension build.
"But we were wrong. The governments picked a fight with us. They hijacked our ships and killed our people in cold blood - you've seen the video. We didn't want the fight, but it's here, and it's way ahead of schedule. Now we have to figure out how we're going to fight back. Our first -"
Karina Roth interrupted. "Mike, point of order." A dozen heads swiveled. "It's not clear to me that the governments themselves picked the fight, and it's also not clear to me that we need to fight back. I think we need to talk about those topics first so we don't put the cart before the horse."
Mike was taken aback. He'd know that he'd have disagreements later in the meeting, but it hadn't occurred to him that there'd be a question this early. "Uh, what do you - how can you say that there's any doubt at all that they attacked us?"
"We don't know for sure who's behind these attacks. All we know is that two ships were hijacked -"
Trang interrupted, "Three - don't forget the Hsieh Tung-min."
Karina acknowledged Trang's point with a polite nod. "Indeed. We know that three ships were hijacked, but we don't know that this is government policy. We all know that Earth governments don't have as good command and control as they once did - it's been eroding for decades. Before we conclude that this is deliberate policy, we have to weigh that this may be a one-off, done by some rogue unit. We shouldn't assume that we're in a war with the governments themselves -"
The Powers of the Earth (Aristillus Book 1) Page 24
