John Ringo - Council Wars 01 - There Will Be Dragons

by There Will Be Dragons(lit)

  "Okay. So, no internal combustion, but why no steam?"

  "Low power steam works," Talbot said. "But when you build up really useable pressures it passes the point that Mother is programmed to find dangerous and. the heat just. goes away. Into the damned Net for Sheida to use, I suppose. It even interferes with high temperature forges; forming steel is a balancing act."

  "Oh. Okay, that's the why. What's the 'how'?"

  "Next you have to understand Mother."

  "It's the central computer that runs the Web. So?"

  "Oh, child," Edmund said with a grim chuckle. "Mother is not a computer. Mother is a program. Actually, an OS/P, an operating system/protocol. But Mother has become much more than that. Mother is connected to every single outlet of the Web. She sees through every nannite. She hears through every ear. Her sensors detect every shift of the wind, every change in kinetic energy, the potential of every raindrop, and have a very good idea where the individual molecules are going to end up. Have you ever heard that one about 'see every sparrow fall'?"

  "Yeah," Herzer said, caught in the odd spell of words that Edmund seemed to be casting.

  "Mother knows it before it starts to drop."

  "So." Herzer looked at the smith and shrugged. "Why doesn't she stop this war?"

  "Because Mother doesn't care," Edmund replied with a grin. "She's not here to stop wars or start wars-wars are human things and it's not her job to tell humans how to be human. She just runs the Web and the various things that are attached to it. As long as the combatants don't do anything stupid to the actual information transfer architecture, Mother won't do anything to them."

  "That is. weird."

  "Mother was written by a guy who in retrospect turned out to be pretty damned weird. Name of Arthur King. Ever heard of him?"

  "The name and that he was the founder of the Web."

  "Not quite, he just wrote Mother. The Web existed before him, the only thing he really did was make the last major modification to its internal structure. And that was the last thing he did on this earth, apparently. Because he disappeared right afterwards. Vanished, without a trace."

  "And this has what to do with the explosive protocols?"

  "Remember, Mother knows all, Mother sees all. But the only time that Mother does things about it is if the Council tells her to. She's controlled by the Council members. They vote on what actions she should take outside of directly securing the Web. If enough of them told her to destroy the Earth, she would."

  "What? How?" Herzer said.

  "There are various ways that come to mind. It depends on if they just wanted the biosphere wiped out or really destroy the Earth. If they wanted the biosphere destroyed, she could probably just dump an enormous amount of power into the mantle and cause every volcano on Earth to erupt and keep erupting. That would wipe out everything but bacteria in time. She could wipe out any particular species simply by causing its chemical processes to stop. Are you feeling happier now?"

  "That's crazy!" the boy said, shaking his head. "Since when?"

  "Since looong before you were born, boy. Nobody talks about it and most people don't even think about it. Mother owns us, but we, in turn, own Mother, through the Council. There is a reason that I hate the Council, hated it long before this damned war, and thought that it needed far more oversight than it was getting."

  "So you're saying that Mother stops explosions by knowing they are going to happen?"

  "Partially. She also can sense that they have occurred. And while explosions propagate fast, they don't propagate faster than light or Mother's reactions. When one occurs, it gets surrounded by a force-field and 'damped' with the kinetic energy converted to electrical power then drained off into the power net. All you get is a sort of wet 'thump' and a lump of ash. I tried it with homemade gunpowder one time and got a nasty note from the Council for my troubles."

  "But. there are explosions that occur in nature all the time. Lightning, volcanoes."

  "Like she can't tell the difference between a deliberately detonated chemical explosive and lightning?" Edmund laughed. "And chemical explosions don't happen in nature, at least not much. There are a few species that come damned near to having them, including plants. But Mother can filter for that. Chemical explosions have a very distinct signature. As to volcanoes, what makes you think she doesn't damp them?"

  "Well, I've seen pictures."

  "Sure, plenty of pretty eruptions. Ever heard of Krakatoa?"

  "No."

  "Used to be an island. Then some salt water dropped into a magma chamber and blew it up. Big explosion, killed a lot of people, inundated islands, all the usual problems. With me?"

  "Yeah."

  "I mean big explosion. Ever heard of the Stone Lands?"

  "I went there one time, it's. interesting. Geysers and hot vents and stuff."

  "Yeah. Did you know it once blew the hell up?"

  "What?"

  "Heh. Shortly after the AI war. Caused a hell of a stink because there was a lot of suspicion that it had been done deliberately; there are ways if you have access to power fields and enough power. Anyway, it had always been really unstable and the explosion had been sort of a background worry for geologists for a long, long time, as long as they knew what was going on down there. Similar to Krakatoa in that there was a big hot spot and a lot of water in close proximity. If it went, though, it was estimated that it would blow out not only the Stone Lands but the area for several hundred kilometers in every direction. And I do mean 'blow out,' as in blow it into the stratosphere."

  "Wow."

  "The hot spot had been heating the water for a few hundred thousand years and it was hoped that it would never break down. Well, it did. Big time. Magma/steam explosion estimated at something like one hundred megatons, that's a really old expression to measure explosives."

  "Okay."

  "And what happened? Nada. Ground shook a bit, minor earthquake. That's exactly how powerful Mother is. So forget making up a bunch of gunpowder and turning this into the New Model Army."

  "Okay," Herzer said. "Damn. But one other thing?"

  "Sure."

  "Why longbows, crossbows are easier to train on and."

  "Oh not you too!"

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  Kane was checking one of the horse's shoes when Edmund entered the barn and he looked up in surprise at the mayor.

  "When did they let you out of the cage?" he asked with a chuckle.

  "I told my keepers to screw off and die," Talbot replied with a grin. "I was thinking about taking a ride if you'd loan me a horse and gear. And I thought you might like to ride along."

  "Okay," Kane said, dropping the horse's hoof. "I don't suppose you remember much hot shoeing? I've been cold farriering these beasts but I'm about out of decent shoes."

  "See Suwisa," Edmund said, pulling down a saddle and tack. "I'm pretty much out of the blacksmith business these days."

  "I did," Kane said, following him out and whistling up a horse. "Hanarah or Arab?"

  "Arab if Alyssa won't mind," Talbot replied. When the horse was called forward he caught it up and saddled it with ease. "We'll have to see if I remember how to ride."

  "It's like sex," Kane replied, lifting himself into the saddle. "Once you've done it once you never forget."

  "And, like sex," Talbot replied with a grunt as he hoisted himself upwards, "if you haven't done it for a while, the muscles lose their tone."

  Despite his protests they trotted out of the corral and up towards Massan Mountain, taking a narrow trail up its woods covered sides. The day was clear and just turning to the summer heat but under the trees it was still cool from the morning and the horses were frisky. Suddenly, Edmund kicked his mount into a canter, then a full gallop, charging up the winding trail in a series of hair-raising turns.

  Kane tried to keep up but the Hanarahs for all their speed were designed for the flats; the more nimble Arab easily left the larger horse behind.

  Finally he debouched into a
clearing on a shoulder of the mountain where Edmund was settling his prancing mount. As the Hanarah charged into the clearing the Arab reared, flailing its hooves at the apparent challenger.

  Talbot easily kept his seat, grinning from the exhilarating ride and the antics of his mount. "I guess I haven't lost my touch," he said as the Arab got all four feet back on the ground.

  "You were always a fine knight, King Edmund," Kane grinned.

  "But no more," Edmund replied with a frown. "Mayor I am and mayor I'll stay if I have my way."

  "What's that mean?" Kane said with a raised eyebrow.

  "Those damned idiots in the constitutional committee." Talbot said then shrugged. "We're going from a nice, clean constitution to something. They want to reinstitute an aristocracy and I can't stop the momentum."

  "Well." Kane temporized then shrugged. "I guess it depends on whether you're going to be the aristocrat or not. How are they going to 'choose' them?"

  "They're going for a bicameral legislature; I got them that far," Edmund replied. "The lower house will be straight population representative, although broken up geographically. The 'upper' house, though, they want to be an aristocratic body. I think I'm going to get it to be partially representative. Probably with members chosen by district governments. But some of the representatives are insisting on an aristocratic addition. Give them their due, it's not all hereditary. But they also want 'notable persons' who will have lifetime appointments. I don't like lifetime appointments in general and I especially don't like the idea of hereditary appointees having a say in government."

  "What's their argument?" Kane asked.

  "Basically that there are some areas that already determined to have hereditary power transfer," Edmund sighed. "And we can't get them to join us unless we factor for it. There's also the fact that some of the members of the committee recognize that they are likely to be included. Their argument is that it gives a solid means of power transfer that people can identify with."

  "Edmund, bear with me," Kane said carefully. "But. they have a point. As a society we have had one hell of a shock. People. people are looking for security as much as anything right now. Hereditary aristocracy. has a very secure feeling to it."

  "Tell me something I don't know," Edmund replied. "But it's also a bad idea in the long term. You know how hard I've been working to avoid even de facto feudalism here. There are 'allies' that we're going to be forced to include that have actual feudalism brewing. And that is getting included as well, the permission for feudalistic society. Now, right now that is going to fly. But in time there are going to be areas that have serfs and areas that abhor the concept. That's a recipe for civil war if I've ever seen one."

  "Ouch," Kane replied. "Good point."

  In the meantime, I've a town to defend and that's what I really wanted to talk about."

  "Oh?"

  "I need two things and I think that you're the right person to handle both. The first is that we need some cavalry scouts and eventually we'll need some heavy cavalry. Good cavalry is as hard to come by as good archers and good legionnaires. In fact, I don't think you'll find it possible; it's the one arm I'm willing to admit will need at least a few generations to develop."

  "Agreed," Kane said with a sigh. "And bow archers are even harder. I'd love to have a squadron of them. But this area will never develop the skills; too much woodland, not enough plains."

  "True. But I want you to start working on it. They don't have to be full, professional quality cavalry, just the best that you can do. Start with the group that helped in the roundup. The main thing I need is cavalry scouts and those just need to be able to find their way around and stay on a horse."

  "Okay, I'll start with Herzer," Kane said with a grin.

  "Well, you'll have to discuss that with him," Talbot temporized and then chuckled. "He'd probably make a damned fine archer from evidence, Jody has been asking to have him back on his clearing crew, you want him for cavalry and from what I saw of him in my forge the other day he'd make a damned fine smith. The only person who's not asking for him is John Miller who called him 'a hack-handed idiot.' "

  "So who gets him?" Kane asked with a smile; the sawmill manager was well known to the old re-enactors.

  "He told me he wants to be a legionnaire," Edmund said with a shrug.

  "Does he know about the cavalry?"

  "No, but I doubt you'll change his mind," Talbot replied. "Actually, I think that once they're done training, we'll probably want some of the archers and infantry to get used to riding. But not as true 'cavalry.' "

  "Okay, I'll work on it," Kane said with another grin. "Even without Herzer."

  "The second item is like unto the first," Edmund said, starting to walk the horse sedately back down the hill. "I need someone to organize the militia. You can delegate that as you wish, but you're well known in the 'fighter' portion of the reenactors. And I just don't have time. I have Robert for the archers and Gunny for the legionnaires but I need someone to organize the disorganized militia."

  "Fun, are you giving me the cavalry in compensation?"

  "Something like that," Edmund chuckled. "Again, you can delegate it to others, but I want you to manage it in your munificent free time."

  "Since the roundup I've actually had free time," Kane grumbled. "So much for that."

  "We've all got our crosses to bear," Edmund said as they reached the flats. They were about a kilometer from the fences and that caused Edmund to grin. "Race you."

  * * *

  "Herzer, you have visitors," Rachel said, from the doorway of his bedroom.

  Herzer looked up and smiled as Courtney and Mike came in the room and Rachel faded away. "Ah, visitors from far away lands," he said, setting down the book he had been reading. The visit to Edmund's forge had, not too unexpectedly, taken it out of him and he had suffered a small relapse. But he was feeling well again and getting tired of being confined. Fortunately, Master Talbot had a fine collection of old books so while the time was not passing pleasantly, it was passing.

  "What is that supposed to mean?" Courtney asked.

  "Never mind," Herzer chuckled. "I'd say 'pull up a chair' but it's more like 'pull up the chair.' I haven't been getting a lot of visitors," he continued. "So tell me all the news."

  "How are you feeling?" Courtney asked, instead.

  "Fine. I wish they'd let me out of here."

  "You took a really bad hit," Mike said, leaning on the wall and crossing his arms. "You nearly punched out on us."

  "Yeah, well, that was then, this is now," Herzer replied with a frustrated tone.

  "Trust me, it's better than working," Courtney sighed, tossing her hair. "That's why you haven't been getting many visitors; we've all been running around like a chicken with its head cut off. And having seen a chicken with its head cut off, that now has a whole new meaning to me."

  Herzer chuckled at the image and shook his head. "So, come on, what's been happening? I understand I missed quite a party at the big slaughter."

  "Yeah, well, we did gorge ourselves for a couple of days there," Mike admitted.

  "But we paid for it," Courtney said with a shudder.

  "Pretty bad?" Herzer asked.

  "You know that creek behind the slaughter buildings?" Courtney said and waited for a nod. "It was running red with blood. We ended up with about six hundred carcasses and it was like an assembly line. Hanging them, skinning them, cutting them up, separating out the guts."

  "Offal," Mike interjected. "It sounds better. Especially when you end up eating it."

  "But we rounded up a lot of feral domestics," Courtney pointed out. "And tons of food that's being smoked. And that's part of what we wanted to talk to you about."

  "Oh?"

  "The class has been breaking up," Courtney said. "Emory ended up going to work with Jody clearing land and burning charcoal and Shilan has joined the weavers. We're in the farming portion of the class but. after that we're planning on quitting as well and we're nearly done. Th
ey're starting to parcel out the land for farms and there's a lottery for the domestics that were captured. Anyone can apply for land and everyone who was involved in the roundup gets tickets for the lottery."

  "You see," Mike said. "They're going to take all the animals and parcel them out. There were a lot rounded up, but not enough for everyone to have what they want and everybody wants certain kinds."

  "Am I in this lottery?" Herzer asked with a smile.

  "Uh, yeah," Courtney replied with an embarrassed expression. "And we kind of wondered."

  "What I was planning on doing with whatever I got?" Herzer asked.