At moments like this, GeneralDavid Walker alwaysthought fleetingly of the good olddays when he had hated the army.As usual, he smashed the thoughtout of his mind with a distinct senseof remorse.
He looked up again at theseamed face of the Chief of Staff,General Marcus Meriwether. "Thiscould be serious," he said slowly,with a sick sense of the statement'sinadequacy. An old tic suddenlyreturned, tugging at the left cornerof his mouth.
The deadly, unsmiling expressionon Meriwether's face did notchange as he slid more tightly intohis chair. "You know as well as Ithat it means the InterplanetaryConfederation is ready to go to warwith us."
Walker stared at the typed statementon his desk. It was a decodedintelligence message from UnitedTerra's prime agent in the InterplanetaryConfederation, and itwas very brief: the Confederationhad developed a long-range neuralweapon effectively cancelling outevery armament developmentachieved by United Terra in fifteenyears of a cold war that of late hadbecome bitter cold. The all-but-autonomouscolonies of Mars andVenus, united now for twenty yearsin an economic league, had beenitching for independence for aquarter of a century. The itch haddeveloped into a mighty burning.
"You are fully aware," Meriwethercontinued, his face still set,"of our feeling that the Confederationhas been eager to take onTerra. They've clearly been waitingfor some positive advantage to offsetour pure strength-in-numbers."
Walker forced his eyes upwardand stared at his superior. "Yourtone says that such a war mightbe—"
"Unwelcome at this time. Unwelcomeat this time." Meriwethershifted around in his chair, andscratched at its leather arms withthe manicured tips of his gnarledfingers. "Walker, I don't have totell you that this weapon, if it iswhat our agent infers—and thereis no reason to believe otherwise—thatthis weapon makes it impossiblefor us to go to war with theConfederation—unless, as Chief ofWeapons Development, you cantell me that we have something inour arsenal to combat it."
Walker rubbed at the tic. "Nothing,"he said quietly.
Meriwether leaned forward, hishands crooked backward againstthe chair arms like catapult springs."That answer is unacceptable.There are other questions you mustanswer, Walker, questions in someways even more important thanthat basic one. Why haven't we developedthis weapon ourselves?Why haven't we been aware of itspotential existence? Where are thedefensive devices which would naturallydevelop from such cognizance?These things are all yourdepartment, Walker." His voicepitched upward an hysterical fraction."It just doesn't make sense,you know. We've a hundred timesthe personnel, ten times the facilities,unlimited funds—but they'vebeaten us to it." He stood up andpushed his chair back, eyes squintingout of a reddening face thatseem