The First Love Of Alipang Havens

[Copperfox]

Chapter 111: The Enclave Holds Its Breath

Sincerely though he liked the hospitality of the Alipang Havens household, Yang Sung-Kuo was almost frantic to get back to Rapid City where his wife and children were. Nocturnal dataphone calls to various governmental figures inside the Enclave led at last to his being told he could hitch a ride with Forest Rangers who would be driving overland from Wyoming Sector to South Dakota Sector in the morning.

No such convenience was being offered to Dr. Irina Stepanova. She had come from her combination house and clinic over near Kaycee, to follow up on Kim as promised, and had given checkups to other persons in Sussex while she was around. But the current arbitrary travel freeze had caught her here, and even though she had come on horseback, she was not for the moment permitted to return home. Sylvia Lathrop was putting her up for the interim.

Lieutenant-Colonel Yang himself, and his host Alipang, were the first ones up at Alipang's house in the morning. While he made a bear-meat sandwich for Yang to take with him on his ride, Alipang muttered, "I believe you have some _additional_ cause for worry right now, _besides_ the tension that's going on for all of us with our government in a power struggle. But I suppose you're not allowed to talk about it."

The Chinese officer smiled briefly at his American friend. "Let's say that at least the second thing might be true. But unlike last year, now I have the advantage that I know to ask you to pray for me and my family."

"So I shall."

"Thank you. And I promise to look in on your son when I'm back in Rapid City."
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Around the time the rest of the Havens family, with Dan and his daughter Irene Jasmine, were sitting down to breakfast, the Forest Rangers' all-terrain wagon pulled up to the front door. Saying hasty goodbyes, Yang snatched up his luggage and sandwich, and piled into the vehicle. He found himself sharing it with one male and two female Forest Rangers. The man was Ranger Iago Carrasco; the women were Rangers Jewel Pressman and Fastrada Bowdrie, of whom the latter was driving. (Jewel Pressman was no relation to the Pressman family in Casper.)

The first thing Yang said, after thanking the Rangers for letting him ride with them, was: "Do you people have any more news on the political situation in Washington?"

"Only hints," replied Jewel. "All the news programs have been pulled off of streamcast; the air time's being filled with music videos and cartoons. The _absence_ of news is news of a sort in itself; I imagine that, with the Indoctrination Department being vivisected, the Party doesn't want any journalists trying to get revenge by issuing unscheduled calls for the proletariat to rise up in revolt."

"One journalist who _was_ allowed to say something, late last night, was Rhoda Gardner," said Iago. "She reported that all of the few currently-prominent male streamcasting reporters, including Fluttery Madsen, were being transferred to non-reporting jobs. Then she announced that she herself was retiring from the Oneness Channel."

Yang did not say that he happened to know that Rhoda Gardner had worked resolutely for decades to clear the way for a Marxist takeover of the United States. The apparent lack of gratitude on the part of the Fairness Party reminded him of what had happened to many faithful Communists in recent generations in his own country. His next question was closer to home for his companions: "What exactly are you American police expected to DO right now? Are you being ordered to side with someone against someone else?"

"Doesn't look that way," said Fastrada. "Except for the Texan detachment's reinforcements, no one is being allowed _into_ the Enclave now, any more than out of it. The triumvirate seems to be trying to isolate us in perfect neutrality; and I think they can pull it off, since they can raise the valid point of their being responsible to keep Yellowstone, and the existing electrical grid, safe and secure, no matter _who_ is on top of the heap in Washington after today."

"The three of us were detached by Ranger Bender to go and strengthen the Rapid City police presence a little," Jewel added.

"And to help watch those current and former Indoctrination personnel who are under 'non-punitive detention' until they can be shipped back to Washington for further action," said Iago.

"It seems to me as if your Indoctrination Department was already greatly weakened after the Dockerty business," Yang remarked. "How can they have the strength left to offer any such resistance to disbanding, that any state of emergency would have to last more than a few hours?" His own words drove his thoughts back to modern Chinese and Communist history once more; a dictatorship _didn't_ need to be facing any real emergency, to maintain a _fictitious_ emergency for its own convenience.

"Even if every Pinkshirt and Overseer in America were locked up in a Self-Esteem Center," Iago told him, "the Trevette administration, and the district-level Party organizations, would still have to suppress the rioting that Vitaly Khloponin's agents touched off in the big cities. But our own part, the job of _every_ law-enforcement person in the Enclave now, is to keep the lid on _our_ kettle, whatever happens outside the perimeter."

This conversation rambled on, broken by Sung-Kuo eating his sandwich, as they drove along the best available old highway leading toward South Dakota. And then, at one of his many rearward glances....

Yang Sung-Kuo spotted what seemed like a bird, following the vehicle and gaining.

 

[Copperfox]

A recognized threat can be better than an inhibiting state of uncertainty. Lieutenant-Colonel Yang did not need to give any consideration to a possibility that this drone could be on a legitimate errand to contact Agent Tomisaburo. Nor did the Diversity States possess ANY drones for its part, having been forbidden the use of them by Yang's own government.

"Friends, please listen quickly! A mini-drone is following us! I believe it's after me, and up to no good. Ranger Bowdrie, please pull off the road close to those trees on the right." Fastrada was already starting to do as requested, when Yang added, "I'm going to jump out. It will chase me. You three try to shoot it down, but be careful, it can shoot back!"

Fastrada came to a halt on a section of the shoulder from which Yang would only need to cover three meters to get behind the nearest sheltering tree. As the Chinese flung himself out of the utility wagon, the drone came closer. It was designed to look like one of the black and white magpies common to nearby Colorado.

An unimpressive tap sounded on the vehicle's roof. Such a small flying machine, after all, could not carry much payload; so dissolvable heart-attack darts, or something similarly light in weight, would be its operator's anti-personnel weapon of choice. A second dart shot through empty air, just missing the fast-moving Yang, and a third struck the tree behind which he ducked. He tried sending a jamming signal from his dataphone, but those who had stolen the robot magpie must have done something to secure its artificial intelligence against jamming. It kept on coming.

Fastrada Bowdrie, not waiting for anyone to close the door their passenger had jumped out of, got the vehicle in motion again: not to abandon Yang, but to give the drone a moving target in case it turned its attention to the Forest Rangers. Jewel Pressman and Iago Carrasco opened fire from the wagon's windows with their sidearms; the drone maneuvered to evade their bullets, which gave Yang time to retreat farther into the trees. The fact that the artificial magpie did not return fire at the Forest Rangers confirmed who was its target.

"Let us out, and you call it!" shouted Iago. Fastrada accordingly stopped again, just long enough for Iago and Jewel to bail out; then she moved the overlander a bit farther, and used its radio to send out an emergency call on a frequency which would be heard by ALL the separate, redundant police forces represented in the Western Enclave.

Iago and Jewel now carried shotguns, which might have more chance of hitting the airborne robot assassin. As they pursued the drone into the trees, they could hear Yang firing his own pistol at it. They themselves did not immediately have an opening for a good shot -- either by chance, or maybe because whoever was remotely guiding the drone ALSO knew that shotguns were a greater threat to it and was making it hide from the Rangers.

Yang Sung-Kuo, dashing from tree to tree, had to give the drone's designers credit for giving it such fine agility to dodge a target's defensive fire. But he had something the drone's controller didn't know he had.... and the micro-wire of a micro-whip was as nearly invisible to electronic sensors as it was to the human eye. The Chinese cop was wielding his pistol with his left hand, freeing his right hand to play his hole card. He had never handled a micro-whip in deadly earnest, indeed in his whole career he had only had a few occasions to touch one at all; but he had considerable experience in using the several whip-like weapons in the traditional arsenal of Chinese kung-fu.

And he had no intention of dying before he saw his family again.

At an instant when the lethal mini-drone was close enough, and when the Forest Rangers were not in a direct line of sight, Yang played his card. The micro-whip sliced the air -- and sliced off one of the drone's wings, dropping it to the ground. The lashing return of the micro-wire casually took a branch off a tree; but hopefully, this would not be noticed. Almost simultaneously with his successful counterattack, Yang fired one more shot from his pistol into the air; this, while he put another tree between himself and the fallen menace. Though unable now to fly, it might still be able to shoot.

"It's grounded!" Yang called out to his friends, being aware that they had followed him into the trees. "Keep to cover, but come in and finish it!" This was not merely a kindly gesture to let Iago and Jewel think they had helped. Yang was considering pragmatically that the drone would still try to kill HIM in particular if it could, and he didn't want to die anticlimactically just when he seemed to have won. Yes... the thing was crawling along the ground, trying weakly to get a line of fire on him again... so Yang kept a tree between him and it. The two Rangers, not being assigned victims, could close in more safely than Yang could; and of course, Yang was not about to use the micro-whip to finish it off when the Rangers might see what he did.

Sure enough, Iago and Jewel spotted the drone; both fired their shotguns point-blank, and the robot magpie was conclusively retired from service.

Crouching over the wreckage of the little murder-machine as Yang came into view, Jewel remarked, "I see you shot one of its wings off on the fly; that was good marksmanship!"

"Thanks. And thanks for taking the risk of helping me."

She shrugged. "Comes with the badge. I would invite you to thank me more intimately, but I know you're into that marriage thing."

"I'm not," said Iago, tapping Jewel on the shoulder. "You know MY invitation stands."

Not particularly interested in this kind of conversation, Yang interrupted: "Please help me collect the pieces of the drone. We'll turn it over to your authorities, and let them find out anything they can by examining it. After all, the mere fact that drones EXIST is no secret being held back from Americans; so let your people play with this one. But be on your guard as we go, in case there's another like it somewhere near."

 

[Copperfox]

The first unit to show up in answer to Fastrada Bowdrie's distress call was a good-sized civilian-type helicopter, bearing the markings of the Agriculture Department, but commandeered for surveillance purposes. It was being rumored that the Chinese had temporarily cut back on the access they allowed American law enforcement to have to Chinese satellite cameras -- possibly because the Chinese weren't certain that overhead imagery wasn't being used to the advantage of traitors in one or both countries. Thus, aircraft patrols were being stepped up, to make sure that internal exiles didn't leave their assigned areas as long as the travel restriction was in effect.

Yet suspicion between one police entity and another was also still in effect. The helicopter which arrived at the scene of the drone attack was carrying both Transport Police and Commerce Inspectors, plus one man from Leroy Lincoln's Great Plains District Police detachment -- all of them evidently keeping eyes on each other. When Yang and his Forest Ranger companions presented the remains of the robot magpie, the Commerce Inspectors insisted that they, more than the others, were the proper officials to investigate this piece of "contraband." The others conceded the point.

But Yang Sung-Kuo secretly withheld one piece of the wrecked mini-drone: one of its control chips, which he had succeeded in palming without Jewel, Fastrada or Iago noticing. He would, when possible, get this into the hands of computer analysts back at home, to see what they could learn from it.

The responders passed a recommendation to the patchwork police network across the five sectors, that every available means should be used to detect any other drones that might be on the loose inside the fence. When the posse's helicopter had lifted off again, Fastrada posed a question to Yang as they were getting back into their cross-country vehicle:

"If you don't mind my asking, do you think our government will protest to the United Nations about this incursion on our airspace? Or will they be too intimidated by _your_ government?"

"I don't know; but since _this_ incursion was not ordered BY my government, it shouldn't be hard to protest about it in a way that won't anger Beijing at all. On the other hand, relative to the respective strength of the two nations, the D.S.A. right now is undergoing at least as much intramural strife as Greater China is. As a result, it may be that no one will find the _time_ to squawk much to the U.N. about an aerial-intrusion incident in which no one died."

Before nightfall they reached Rapid City, where they learned that Yang's family was still safe, and that no signs of additional drones had been discovered. Relieved from immediate worry in these areas, Yang then phoned Sioux San Hospital to ask about Miguel De Soto. Taking the call, Matti Siermaala reported that Miguel had been able, despite his recent close call, to tolerate a nice long session of "carcino-suction" today. So all was looking well there, too. The conversation led to the Yangs inviting the Professor's party to eat supper at the lodgings the Chinese family was using, this invitation extending to Daffodil Ford and Wilson Havens.

Matti, Brendan and Josiah were unwilling to leave their patient unprotected, so the first two told the third to go with the two boys and keep _them_ safe, while the Professor and the Marine (helped by Zamoria the nurse) kept watch over Miguel and Tilly.

An exception was made to the traffic freeze, allowing the Yangs' guests to board a light-rail train which otherwise was carrying only persons performing duties for the Enclave administration. On the way to the dignitary-apartment building, Josiah got a cellphone call through to Alipang's house in Sussex. Learning that Lieutenant-Colonel Yang had made his own call there just previously and related his own adventure with the drone in a carefully-edited form, Josiah moved along to letting Wilson speak with his parents and siblings.

Wilson's mother was on the line at the Sussex end. She had just enough time to ask Wilson if he was well, to hear that he was, and then to tell Wilson, "Someone else is going to explode if she doesn't hear your voice this instant!"

The next thing Wilson heard was so shrill that he wondered if something had happened to the phone connection. "Wilson! It's me! I love you! PLEASE tell me that you're okay! I love you!"

"And I love you, Sizzle. All I got was punched a couple of times; Dad, your uncle, can't even count how many times HE'S been hit, and he's still with us. Poor Daffy got hit harder, but we beat that thug together. Daffy's okay, too. So how was your bike ride with Victor?"

"It was good, he's a good guy, and so is Gustave. But I barely know either of them, and I'm worried about YOU. Where were you hit?"

"Head and body, no big deal. All my parts are still in place. Come on, Sizzle, I'm glad I got to talk to you, but now let Dad, Uncle Dan, Essie, Little Brendan and Irene have a turn. I'm borrowing Daffy's father's phone."

"But-- I have to tell you--"

"Sizzle, honey, I understand. In person will be better for us to have more talk about -- what seems to be on your mind. Let me talk with the others now; but yes, I love you."

Cecilia reluctantly handed the phone to Little Brendan, and others followed in their turns. When this was ended, Wilson returned the cellphone to Josiah, telling both of his companions, "Papa said that he's proud of me for yesterday, and that Daffy did a great job too."

"Well, I feel the same about both you boys," replied Josiah.

Daffodil's nose, being the nose of a member of the elite, had by now received surgical repair and a dash of partial tissue regeneration. He thus could already speak more normally. He did his share of conversing with the Yangs during the meal... and as dessert was served, he made an announcement.

"Mr. and Mrs. Yang, and everybody: my father has let me know that he would like to facilitate my emigration to Uganda, to live as one of his family; and that his wife and his other children are unanimously in favor of this. Let me say now that in purely selfish terms, I can't think of anything I'd _rather_ do than move to a place where I can live in a _Christian_ home, and be free to _practice_ the faith myself without government interference. But I need to consult God about it. Having so recently submitted my heart to Him, I mustn't neglect to try to know His will for me. Still, there's one thing I can do in any case, to pay honor to the man from whom I clearly received ALL positive qualities which could come to me by heredity."

"You're going to take his last name!" Wilson burst out excitedly.

"All right, you shortened my speech," Daffodil replied. "But you've hit the essence of it. Dad, you know that the Fairness Party is very accepting of people changing their own names; that's how we come to have so _many_ women called Nuclear Sledgehammer or Cosmic Awesomeness. Whether I stay in America or join you in Africa, you deserve to have me bear your surname _infinitely_ more than my ovum-source deserves it. And if I'm changing my last name, I might as well make a clean sweep."

"Does that mean we're looking our last upon Daffodil Ford?" asked Tupsim Yang.

"It does, Mrs. Yang." The tall boy suddenly laughed. "All these years, I've managed to keep my _middle_ name a secret from most people. I'll say it once now, for your amusement, and to deepen your understanding of what I'm leaving behind. The actual middle name that my mother gave me, no joke, is... Snugglypooh."

Rather than laughing, the others all stared in silent astonishment.

"That's right, that's who I've been all these years. I believe that Mom knew long in advance what was planned for the takeover of America; and she wanted me to have the initials D.S. to match 'Diversity States.' But tonight, in spirit and intention, I forever _cease_ to be Daffodil Snugglypooh Ford. As soon as I can process the name change with the Party through my State Department chain of command, I shall have a _normal_ first name! Dad, since your other sons and you yourself have Biblical names, it'll fit nicely for me to assume the name of David. And it'll sound good when combined with _your_ last name."

Josiah nodded. "David Redfern. Yes, I like that."

 

[Copperfox]

"And are you adding a new middle name?" asked Yang Sung-Kuo.

"Yes, I am, in honor of the very _first_ man who began encouraging me to be male and self-confident. I'll be David Randall Redfern."

"Ah, yes, our Australian friend. But why not use his first name?"

"Because I never thought to ask him whether 'Bert' was short for Albert, Bertram, Bertrond, or something else. Using the 'Randall' is a sort of evasion tactic."

"I see -- avoiding embarrassment. You're a true diplomat, Mr. David Randall Redfern."

"Yet also at least a bit of a fighter at need," said Josiah. "Son, you're going to be a well-rounded man."

Wilson fell silent as new thoughts crossed his mind: Daffy could have used my Papa's first name as a middle name. "David Alipang Redfern" would have sounded good, too; and my Papa sure did plenty to boost Daffy toward manliness. But of course, he can't take _everybody's_ name. And I know Papa won't get jealous and resentful.

Having had these thoughts, Wilson was startled at the next thing to be said by the former Daffodil Ford: "And if I get to have children, I can extend recognition farther, like maybe by naming a son of mine Alipang."

"That should work," remarked Yang; "especially if your son's _mother_ should happen to be Harmony Havens."

At this, the newly-proclaimed David Randall Redfern blushed redder than an actual red fern.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Before first light the next morning, up at the Saint Labre School, Summer Heron Rand emerged from the dormitory rooms which had been allotted to her family as living space. Her daughter Anne-Marie was remaining there to look after her twin siblings Grant and Grace. Summer's husband Evan was actually sleeping for two more hours -- not because he was lazy, but because physical-therapy work was keeping him up far into the nights. Michael, the Rands' eldest child, accompanied his mother to the school kitchen, where they would join Victoria Tabor and the other food-service recruits in feeding the numerous physically weakened ex-prisoners who had been deposited on the North Cheyenne Reservation.

Oatmeal, reinforced with protein powder, was the main item on the breakfast menu: both because the harried workers could prepare it quickly, and because they could count on their "guests" to be able to digest it. The effects of compulsory veganism would not go away overnight; only the earliest arrivals at this facility had yet reached the point of cautiously re-introducing meat to their digestive tracts.

The technician they knew as Rusty had found his place doing much of the cooking, having grown familiar with the aging stoves in the kitchen by having brought them into working order himself. Sister Arabella had not yet regained enough strength to stand on her feet; but she willingly did any kitchen job she could do from her wheelchair. Doctor Felicia Robles, Freda Weckerling and Myra Brooks the physician's assistants, and Sarah Highbranch the nurse, kept the seating and serving orderly, helped by the fact that the people they were seating and serving were too beaten down mentally to make trouble -- even those who _hadn't_ undergone "clockwork orange" reprogramming.

When breakfast and its cleanup were finished, Summer and her son, with the rest of the nutrition staff, would stay on to do what could be done ahead of time for lunch. In the routine they had worked out, lunch would be that meal in which the greatest variety of foods would be offered to the inprocessed people; this would include any foods that workers knew to harvest directly from the surrounding environment. Meanwhile, Evan would be up then, to take charge for long morning sessions of easy-paced group exercise, assisted by one or more of the healthcare workers.

In a lull before lunchtime, Summer, Evan and Michael received a pleasant surprise: Emilio Vasquez, whom they had met a few times back before the Fairness Revolution, dropped in to visit. Greeting him, the Rands begged him for news, news about practically anybody who wasn't an enfeebled famine survivor.

The handsome Texican sighed. "I'll get my one definitely SAD piece of news out of the way first. Evan... your friend from the labor union, Dobie Marsalis... is dead."

Evan gaped. He had felt as if the oddly-refined bully-boy was indestructible. "How did it happen?"

"In one of the riots back in Mid-Atlantic District. He was defending his, I should say _your_ union superior, Carolyn Biao, against some rioters who had caught her out in the open. She survived, anyway, thanks to him."

Evan stood in silence a moment; murmured, "I'm sorry I never got to hear him playing in his jazz band;" then fell quiet again. His son stepped into the silence by asking, "What were they rioting _about?_"

"An entitlement riot. People impatient with the Health Rationing Agency and the associated unions. The same citizens who eagerly voted for the advocates of government monopoly, now angry at the healthcare professions for having suffered the very deterioration that the voters' own policy preferences made inevitable."

"Did that 'Ku Klux Quaker' fantasy contribute to the riot Mr. Marsalis died in?" Summer asked.

"Not that particular riot on that particular day, as far as I know; but other outbreaks _have_ been connected with that nonsense. Absurd accusations are slow to fade."

"Emilio, do you know if any of our _Christian_ friends back in Georgetown were harmed?"

"They're safe as far as I can ascertain. After all, the made-up Ku Klux Quakers have no connection with your old fellowship. At least your pastor, Wayne Schell, was recently reported still active."

"Thank God for that!" exclaimed Evan.

Summer tapped the "Sky Ranger" on the arm. "Can you stay to eat lunch with us?"

"Sorry, I'm afraid not. We're being kept busy. I could only even come here today because there was business to do. I'm going to be speaking to your inmates, or patients, whatever, just before _they_ eat."

 

[Glenburne]

"Ku Klux Quaker": the oxymoron of the century.

 

[Copperfox]

One thing that all the clients of this rehabilitation facility had learned well was to behave meekly in the presence of anyone wearing insignia of authority and carrying a gun. Thus, when Emilio called out, "May I have your attention, please," everyone, whether standing in line or already seated, gave him the most servile attention.

"I'm Lieutenant Vasquez, commander of the Texas Ranger detachment based in the Wyoming Sector. We are part of the combined law-enforcement presence in the Western Enclave. Some of you may already have heard hints that authority structures _outside_ the Enclave are being shaken up right now. It's true, they are. But for the present, no major factional conflict is occurring _inside_ the Enclave. My colleagues and I hope to keep it that way; and _every_ one of you can and must _help_ to keep the peace, for your own good.

"Many of you have been hypnotically conditioned so that you _cannot_ commit a violent act; those of whom this is true may imagine that because of this passive state, there is no _positive_ action required of them where keeping the peace is concerned. But there IS a need for observable productive behavior from all of you.... because the lenient conditions you are already experiencing, _depend_ on the internal-exile population proving itself to be _beneficial_ to--" (Emilio almost choked on the next words) "--the Diversity States."

Doctor Robles saw an opening to interject something that supported Emilio's purpose: "As a physician, I'm aware of how _very_ little health care was allotted to those of you who were in the Self-Esteem Centers, and that it was even worse in the concentration camps. All of you are already enjoying an immense improvement in _that_ area. So unless you would rather find yourselves back in the conditions you suffered before, pay _close_ attention to what the Lieutenant is telling you."

"Thank you, Doctor. That's right, living conditions here are FAR better than what you people came from; but those better conditions _could_ be taken away. The lenient treatment is a necessary part of an experiment: an attempt to recover something that was lost. I would call it re-inventing the wheel; but if a whole nation is _missing_ all of its wheels, then someone has to re-invent the wheel.

"One way or another, all of you have had the idea hammered into you that 'The collective is all,' that society cannot endure without conformity to a ruling party. But _here_ in the Enclave, even the very Party which enforces that conformity is allowing _actual_ diversity. It is, in fact, allowing people to exercise a certain degree of independence and self-rule. The Party is allowing this BECAUSE IT WORKS. They need a stronger industrial base, to maintain _even_ the humble position America now holds in the world; and free people, working because they have _positive_ incentives to work, will perform better at building important things... like the geothermal plants which most of you will be helping to construct.

"The first job for all of you, besides regaining your physical health, is to learn to _understand_ the opportunity that is being offered to you. Although you still have to obey the government, as I also have to, you nonetheless have _much_ more freedom here than in ANY other place on Diversity States soil. As proof of which, listen to how freely I can say _this:_ I am a Christian, a believer in the Holy Bible, a follower of Jesus Christ; and the Christ I follow IS NOT just a community organizer in charge of redistributing wealth, He is God Incarnate, the _only_ Incarnation of God there will ever be. Did you hear what I just said? And I didn't have to be inside a Oneness Temple on a Thursday; as long as I am not trying to raise rebellion against the rulers, I am _permitted_ to speak about my faith _publicly_ in the Enclave. Every one of you is permitted to do the same, whatever faith you might belong to.

"When the Enclave was first formed, the Campaign Against Hate stationed the majority of its armored Overseers here. They held life-and-death power over all exiles, and indeed some exiles _were_ killed. But even then, an arrested person had a far higher chance of surviving in the Enclave than in any other type of prison any of you have seen. And even then, freedom of speech and freedom of religion existed to a meaningful extent. As the Campaign Against Hate has gradually lost its power, the individual freedoms in the Enclave have improved further.

"I'm not aiming a particle beam at you to terrify you into doing as I say; rather, I am _asking_ all of you to use your opportunity to convince the government-- no matter who is running it next week --that the Enclave experiment is a good thing. Become part of this large community, a community which still has a good deal of sharing and cooperating, but which leaves you room for free choice as to HOW you contribute to society. Show the Party Presidium that you are _needed_ for the greater good; that you can actually provide stability when the nation is disrupted by political clashes. You will not simply be _given_ everything here; but you can _earn_ prosperity.

"In the middle of the nineteenth century, a Congressman called Robert Winthrop said these words: 'All societies of men must be governed in some way or other. The less they may have of stringent state government, the more they must have of individual self-government. The less they rely on public law or physical force, the more they must rely on private moral restraint. Men, in a word, must necessarily be controlled, either by a power within them, or by a power without them; either by the Word of God, or by the strong arm of man; either by the Bible, or by the bayonet.' Any of you now listening to me who _don't_ believe the Bible to be the specific source of moral guidance, nonetheless can see the essence of Mr. Winthrop's argument: that moral responsibility must be _internalized_ in a citizen, if that citizen is to be worthy of liberty. So learn from those who will teach you here, learn to make wise individual decisions, and you have as good a chance for a good life as anyone in America has. Thank you for listening."

 

[Kate]

I have a long way to go. I'm on page 3 but I just wanted you to know that I AM reading it like I said I would and so far I really like it!
I'm a foster parent so it's interesting to see your take on children who have been given up or neglected.
Plus my brother was in the Navy and stationed in Norfolk Virginia for a while.
Good story, but at this rate if you keep writing while I keep reading it may take me a very long time to get caught up. LOL
And man Al and his sister must be like super kids because I've never met an 11 year old with that kind of understanding and vocabulary and I have a very mature 8 yr old in my care right now. He's Vietnamese! =)

 

[Copperfox]

This was the second day after the day when Miguel De Soto had nearly died; and erotic movie director Zimmo Garland still was keeping his actors oblivious to real-world events. By setting up sleeping spaces in the building they were using, and paying some local exiles to bring in meals, Zimmo had been able to step up the shooting schedule. He was hoping that whatever happened in Washington, his "artistic masterpiece" could be completed, and would take its place in the annals of progressive cinema.

For Zimmo Garland was NOT only in it for the money. An avowed admirer of Woody Allen and other God-mocking figures from Hollywood history, he had staked his whole feeling of self-worth on his ability to pretend that America still had an excess of "puritanism" which he would bravely correct.

By two in the afternoon, the movie company had passed what the director thought of as the fail-safe point: enough scenes had been completed with the flesh-and-blood actors, that if they had to quit shooting now, the rest could be filled in with computerized images. He did try to continue with another scene; but now, when an interruption came, he could accept it more calmly than if it had happened _before_ he had gotten "enough" done.

A male Commerce Inspector, who had been loaned to Zimmo as studio security, announced: "Internal Diplomat Daffodil Ford, and Forest Ranger Supervisor Mark Terrell, are at the entrance, asking to be allowed to speak to everyone."

Osmawani Jalil, who like most of Zimmo's actors was currently without clothing, hastily grabbed something to put on. Despite her own seductive behavior toward the teenager when they had first met, something about her increased acquaintance with Daffodil now made her wish for him NOT to think of her in an undignified way. But Daffodil's own mother, also in her birthday suit at present, seemed completely indifferent to whether her son beheld her thus.

"What do they want?" asked Samantha. "Don't they understand that _artistic_ productions are America's only major export to the world now? Our job here is important!"

Zimmo looked at Osmawani, who was already almost decent. "Osmawani, you're someone familiar with the law-enforcement community, in addition to being friends with Daffodil. You go see what they want; the rest of us will shoot some of the views which don't require you." So as soon as she had her blouse and skirt in order and shoes on her feet, the Malaysian-born woman went with the Commerce Inspector to the entrance where the visitors waited. Zimmo, meanwhile, activated the building's audio-surveillance equipment, so as to hear what would be said.

"Hello, the collective is all, how are you doing, what's up? I can speak for Citizen Garland," said Osmawani in a rush as she came in sight of Daffodil and Mark. Whiplash, the enhanced border collie, sat quietly beside his master.

"Miss Jalil, you do remember how Nash Dockerty came to be retired from the triumvirate, do you not?" asked Mark.

The question was sobering, as Osmawani guessed the Forest Ranger had meant it to be. "I remember, all right; I was closer to those events than I ever asked to be."

"Similar events are happening now, _outside_ the fence," Daffodil alias David Redfern told her. "They _don't_ affect you as heavily as the Overseers' downfall here in the Enclave did, but they will have _some_ effect on everyone still employed by the Department of Indoctrination."

"If you're going to frighten me," said Osmawani, "don't be frightening AND mysterious; just tell me what's going on. Daffy, does it have anything to do with what looks like a partly-healed broken nose on your handsome face?"

"It does," Mark Terrell affirmed. "Daffy here got hit in the face while helping to save the life of someone who was marked for murder."

"Murder?" she echoed. "Whom? By whom? For what?"

"The intended victim was Miguel De Soto, the newspaper man."

"And the planner of the crime," David added, "was the _very_ man I allowed to be the opening announcer at my Blue Moon Concert: Fidel North!"

Osmawani's jaw fell, and her defenses rose. "Fidel??? I didn't have anything to do with it, I swear, I didn't _know_ anything about it! I _wouldn't_ be part of murdering anybody! Daffy, you believe me, don't you?"

"Of course I do," the tall boy replied. As for Mark, he turned to his dog and said, "How about it, Whiplash? Do you think this woman would be part of murdering someone?"

The border collie shook his head emphatically.

"We aren't here to arrest anyone," the Forest Ranger continued. "But there are going to be some job changes for everyone who has remained with the Pinkshirts. The three Undersecretaries want the remaining Indoctrination personnel in Rapid City to come to a briefing on the situation, one hour from now, at the airport offices. Although _you're_ not being blamed for the latest crisis, it is _quite_ a shakeup that's going on."

"Ranger Terrell," David interjected, "can't we just tell her? Osmawani, the Department of Indoctrination is being _abolished_ altogether. The man who was Dockerty's boss was found, among other things, to have been a party to Sherman Lake's power-grid takeover plot which he had pretended to be innocent of. He's being eliminated, and Secretary Penfield is being demoted. Of lower-level Indoctrination personnel, only a few are being charged with anything; but the rest of you will have to be reassigned. Many will be transferred to the State Department."

"There's more, some of which even Daffy doesn't know yet," said Mark; "you'll hear more at the briefing. Please tell the others in there, including Zimmo Garland, that they need to attend. That would include Samantha Ford, even though there's confusion about whether she even still IS working for any Cabinet department."

The time that passed from David's mention of the State Department to this instant was enough for Samantha, suddenly grasping that something was up, to get just barely enough covering onto her shapely body to equal something like decency. Osmawani and the Commerce Inspector were just turning to re-enter the videocording studio when Samantha almost knocked them off their feet in her frantic hurry to get to her son. As Whiplash backpedalled out of her way, the ex-ambassador flung her arms around the boy, squeezing him close and kissing him repeatedly, seeming oblivious to how uncomfortable she was making him.

"Daffodil, son, my darling boy! I heard you saying that the State Department is gaining in status! This is your chance! Just let me counsel you through satisfying the tolerance requirement, and the sky will be the limit for us!"

Loathsome though she had become to the former Daffodil, she _was_ his mother all the same. So he neither struck her, nor threw her to the pavement, nor even said anything harsh to her. He even postponed informing her that he had changed his name. He simply told her, "You need to attend the briefing, Mother. I'll be there too. Then we'll understand the situation better."

 

[Copperfox]

Josiah had known where David, lately Daffodil, was going; but he had to get back to work, helping Matti to kill more of Miguel's cancer cells. Knowing her husband was in good hands now -- never left unwatched anymore -- Tilly went down to the hospital's front entrance to see if David would return soon. It was unclear how much the triumvirate would need to tell the teenager and those with him. Brendan, Matti and Josiah were getting messages independently, and they had learned that no less a person than Vice-President Anselmo was being accused of extreme negligence, for diverting surveillance assets to his own projects instead of keeping them available for serious matters.

One thing Brendan found heartening was hearing that Presidium leaders had made references to Miguel De Soto by name, and spoken as if they would _not_ have been pleased if the attack on him had succeeded. This reinforced the hope that "God-fascists" would not be made scapegoats for anything now happening in the federal districts.

Meanwhile, this group had not yet been informed about the unrelated attempt on Yang Sung-Kuo's life.

Suppertime drew near, and still there was no sign of David; nor could Josiah get through to him by dataphone. Wilson, accordingly, volunteered to ride across town on a bicycle the Balubal family had lent him, to try to find out what was going on.

When he came within sight of the office building once used by the late Nash Dockerty, he saw that the nearest entrance was being guarded by two men in district-police uniforms. Coasting closer, he saw shoulder patches identifying them as officers of Inspector Eileen O'Hennessy's contingent from the Rocky Mountain District. They informed him that no one unauthorized was allowed inside at this time; that the meeting was still in session; and that there was no knowing when it would adjourn. Wilson decided to wait half an hour, then return to Sioux San if nothing happened.

About twenty minutes later, people began coming out, all of them looking very solemn, but none of them seeming to be in mortal terror of imminent death. Among these people, Wilson recognized Osmawani Jalil, Bailey Melville and Moonrose Quickpace; the latter two women were a surprise to him, as he had not realized they were even in South Dakota Sector. Three minutes later, Samantha Ford emerged with a gaudily-dressed man whom Wilson had never met, but whom he guessed to be Zimmo Garland. At last, the newest member of the Redfern family appeared.

"What happened? What was this about?" Wilson demanded.

"Hmmm, they didn't say we _couldn't_ tell other people the general news, although the reassignment plans are confidential. It was the Distribution Undersecretary who facilitated the briefing, which surprised some of us; but that would seem to reflect the rising fortunes of her department. The power struggle is getting bigger. If America still _had_ armed forces, there would be a scramble right now for control of them. As it is, a request has gone out for the Texas Rangers to send _two_ of their big airplanes to patrol above the Enclave instead of just one. Distribution says the idea's to keep the Enclave neutral."

"But who actually IS fighting, meaning the political fight? Isn't the Indoctrination Department already shattered?"

"Yes, it is. But now Carlos Anselmo has been accused of major dereliction of duty. Besides not anticipating the attack on Mr. De Soto, and besides that frivolous business with Jerry Sunderberg which HE ordered, it seems Anselmo is also being blamed for failing to prevent some other murder attempt, though I don't know who that intended victim was. Anyway, Anselmo isn't taking this lying down. That was the main reason why we were kept in there for so long: the Energy Undersecretary was receiving real-time updates from Washington by some sort of private channel, and all three triumvirate members wanted us all to hear if any further major changes occurred. And Lord save us, they sure did!"

All Wilson could say to this was, "What? What?"

David looked sick. "As soon as he saw that Jessica Trevette had turned against him, the Vice-President sprang an enormous surprise on the Presidium. He produced nano-video evidence, and an _eyewitness,_ to prove... that President Trevette _herself,_ during a past official visit to the Aztec-Maoist Republic of Aztlan... had performed at least one HUMAN SACRIFICE with her own hands. Cutting a living man's _heart_ out!"

Wilson stood stunned; no words he could think of would convey enough stupefaction.

Kilometers away, Josiah Redfern was also stunned, for he had previously hacked into his son's dataphone, so that through his own phone he could overhear what went on around the boy. This had been intended to give warning if David were in trouble, but now it gave warning of a change on the continental chessboard. Shielding on the government building had kept him from picking up anything while David was inside, but he heard the whole conversation with Wilson. Josiah, of course, had already known Jessica Trevette to be guilty of ritual murder; but what amazed him was that someone _else,_ independently of the secret army, had _also_ learned this. Anselmo must have been keeping the knowledge as a hole card, for exactly such a confrontation as he now faced.

Josiah was _grateful_ now that the nearest thing the Diversity States had to a modern military was -- the Texas Rangers. For at least the Rangers would not allow themselves to be used for wanton bloodbaths to support one rival ruler against another.

As for that: if Emilio Vasquez had been with him right now, Josiah would have urged the Ranger leader to pass a recommendation to the Ranger Commandant ... to _accept_ President Garcia's invitation to join the Mexican Alliance. But things were just going to have to play themselves out. One thing Josiah _could_ do now was to _pray_ plenty. And so he did.

David, unhindered by his mother (and still not yet having told her about his intended name change, since there had been so much else to think about), eventually returned with Wilson to the hospital, where they had a late supper with Josiah's party. Brendan lent the use of his dataphone again to let Wilson tell his parents what was going on. Three hours after that, when the two boys and the De Sotos were all asleep in one place or another, a secure channel which Professor Siermaala was monitoring yielded even _more_ explosive news.

There had been a _gunfight_ right inside the Fairness Party Presidium Building, formerly the United States Capitol Building. Intelligence that the secret army could obtain was sketchy about who had been shooting at whom; but several Mid-Atlantic District Police and several Diversity States Marshals had been involved, as well as what seemed to have been private hirelings of the Vice-President's.

The one thing the spies could be sure of, a fact not yet being revealed to the proletariat by the Party, was that President Jessica Trevette and Vice-President Carlos Anselmo... had both been killed.

 

[Copperfox]

The theme and vision of this novel have made it unavoidable that the plot would jump around from one set of characters to another. Events which affect the world ARE NOT confined to the actions of six or seven super-busy persons.

Since I won't start the next chapter until sometime after my wedding to Karoliina Aleksandra, this is a good moment to provide a refresher description of some characters who've been offstage for awhile, but who might show up in the narrative again before all is completed....

HENRY SPAFFORD is our modern Apache brave, recently married to the former HULDAH ROSENBAUM, who has come to share Henry's faith in Yeshua the Messiah. They have settled down with their combined extended families in the Crazy Woman Creek area (an actual part of the actual state of Wyoming). Because he has his hands full building a new sheep ranch, and seeking to make some little Messianic-Jewish Apaches, Henry has been excused for the time being from Grange service.

BRITTANY PIERCE and JED BRICKHOUSE are the Commandant and Vice-Commandant, respectively, of the Texas Rangers. It was Brittany who masterminded the political strategy which enabled the Rangers to avoid being disbanded when the Diversity States was established, and enabled an undivided Texas to be its own "federal district," in which more freedom survives than in the other districts of the D.S.A. American military veterans who had neither fled the country nor been arrested, gravitated naturally to Texas, putting the Rangers in a strong position when the Diversity States needed someone to defend against the aggression of the People's Aztec-Maoist Republic of Aztlan. Brittany is keeping secretly in contact with "the nameless secret army;" carefully watching the accomplishments of EMILIO VASQUEZ and his aviation detachment in the Enclave; and fretting over the question of whether the Texans should accept the secret invitation they received, to secede from the D.S.A. and become a sovereign nation allied with Mexico.

TIBERIU PARNESCU of Poland, FATHER DUNAK OKIGBO of Nigeria, ETIENNE LACLEDE formerly of Switzerland, and YIRIMYAHU KOHEN formerly of Israel, are among the leading figures in that nameless army of good guys. Their underground organization first began as a resistance movement against the conquest of Europe and Africa by Islamic fundamentalists. But they have widened their portfolio to combat other tyrannies as well, including the two contrasting tyrannies which took over what had been the contiguous United States. The more familiar character of BRENDAN HYLAND is one of their comrades.

GENERAL YANG PANG-ZHU, not related to YANG SUNG-KUO, is the commander of The Orbital Palace, Greater China's huge space station, which openly functions as a unique hotel, and less conspicuously doubles as a multi-purpose military and diplomatic installation. The Burmese-born safety guard, NYUNT ZEYAR, is a prominent employee of the station. General Yang has been a go-between when his country negotiated sensitive interactions with its main rival India, with the secret army, and with the Pacific Federation. In the latter case, he met with BERT RANDALL from Australia. The General has also had some involvement with the affairs of China's Moon colony.

 

[Copperfox]

Chapter 112: Daring to Hope for Still More

At Texas Ranger Headquarters, in the same secure conference room where Gloria Cervantes and Leroy Lincoln had once briefed the Rangers, the top four officers in the Rangers' regular chain of command were all gathered in one place for the first time since the day Vice-Commandant Pablo Sotero had fallen in the line of duty.

Commandant Brittany Pierce looked into the eyes of Jed Brickhouse, Martha Pollock, Wade Sampson -- and the one much more junior Ranger who was included in this meeting. Sally Pitt, a technician with Colt Finnegan's flight crew, had been sent to represent the Rangers' aviation branch, and to furnish up-to-date information that her Texas Tu-95 had gathered literally less than two hours ago. Captain Finnegan had dropped her off at the airfield, then resumed patrolling, in keeping with the Party Presidium's call for maximum air security in this time of governmental turnover.

"Ranger Pitt," said the Commandant, "our last word about the violence in Washington was that, when Vice-President Anselmo realized how serious a charge of neglect of duty was being directed at him, he decided to go for broke, signalling not only his personal guards, but secretly-planted operatives, to kill President Trevette. Trevette's own guards, along with D.S. Marshals who were present, returned fire; and the shooting didn't stop until not only Trevette and Anselmo were dead, but also all of Anselmo's gun hands and _nearly_ all of their opponents. Then several Supreme Court Justices, who were in attendance in their capacity as senior Party members, took command of the confusion, and got the Continental Marshal to alert all police entities to a state of emergency. No evidence has yet been found of the Aztlanos, or any foreigners, having played a hand in this. Do you have any changes to that story?"

"Some fill-in, anyway. Chief Justice Govinda's reaction to the gunplay was to stand there flapping his arms, _really_ believing he could fly away. Wanda Shang pulled him to cover."

"Justice Shang was the one guilty cohort of Sherman Lake to have escaped penalty when the Court's own coup failed," remarked Martha Pollock. "She must have been especially anxious to look innocent and virtuous when a new crisis broke out in front of her."

Sally nodded. "Our sources say that the rest of the Justices present simply cowered on the floor, everyone for himself, till the shooting was over."

"Shang's political survival was partly due to her closeness with Trip Conklin," observed Brittany. "Now that the Indoctrination Department's being abolished, is she faced with double jeopardy?"

"Seems not, ma'am. The Party seems to think that the Sherman-Dockerty business is old news."

"Despite Vitaly Khloponin being _recently_ exposed as connected with it?" asked Jed Brickhouse.

"That's how it looks now, sir."

"Is there going to be an autopsy on the Vice-President?" asked Wade Sampson. "They might want to know if anyone tampered with his brain. My impression of Anselmo was always as a man who'd rather watch lurid streamcasts than start a fight to the death to hold on to his authority."

"You never know," said Martha. "Up till this, Anselmo had never _been_ faced with serious Party displeasure."

"As far as we could find out," Sally told them, "there were no plans for an autopsy. The bodies of the President and the Vice-President were _both_ ordered to be composted this evening. Not without a few sugary words being said over them by a Oneness Priestess."

"As if that will do them any good where _they're_ both going," Jed snorted.

Brittany stayed on topic: "Is the Secretary of State succeeding to the Presidency as we expected?"

"Yes, ma'am, she is. The Secretary of Distribution was the first person to pledge his loyalty to her -- an interesting move, since he and Ms. Atkinson had never been especially thought of as close allies to each other."

Wade offered a shrug and a one-word comment: "Opportunism."

"This may mean opportunity for US, also," said the Commandant. "Since we've determined that no one _among_ us was working for our enemies, the Rangers once again have better internal cohesion and confidence than any other armed body in the Diversity States. And our airborne operations have gained increased respect for us from other forces, notably the Transport Police. Thus, even while staying in the D.S.A., Texas should be in a good position to wield influence with the new administration.

"But I would not yet completely rule out the option of our seceding and joining the Mexican Alliance. Would any of you?"

Every Ranger in the room agreed sincerely with Brittany Pierce.

 

[Copperfox]

A mobile corpse-rendering unit, hastily draped with flowers, was driven up in front of the Rainbow House. As the bodies intended for it were brought forth, a Oneness Priestess did indeed speak sugary words over the dead; in addition, a second Oneness Priestess performed an interpretive dance, which none of the onlookers could make any sense of.

The bodies were pulverized and composted -- or "welcomed into the embrace of Mother Gaia" -- in very short order. Then, Distribution Secretary Reed Harrison stepped to the microphones and faced the streamcast reporters, all of whom were aware that a shakeup in their organizations was impending.

"Citizen journalists! I know that all of you are as indignant as I am at the way your departmental colleague Vitaly Khloponin abused his office, and the way Secretary Penfield failed to curb his actions in time. The tragic, deranged actions of Carlos Anselmo have of course drawn more attention; but he was already an accessory to the Indoctrination Department's malfeasance, as when he presumed to employ Pinkshirt Manager Fidel North in a juvenile attempt to embarrass a decent Western Enclave citizen -- not long before Commander Khloponin set North to a deadlier plan against _another_ decent Enclave citizen.

"While it was Vice-President Anselmo who brought bloodshed to the Presidium, it was the Indoctrination Department which spent _years_ practicing a sort of political overkill upon dissenters here in America."

Neutron Invincible herself was in the crowd of reporters, and she had enough prestige to dare to ask a question of Reed Harrison: "Citizen Vice-President-Designate, are you saying that everything we've done to suppress Oppositional Defiant Disorder in the population has been _unnecessary?_"

"Oh, it was necessary up to a point," he assured her. "And up to a point, it will remain necessary. But the Indoctrination Department simply was doing too _much_ of it -- as is most obvious in the way they _continued_ plugging away at this nonsense about 'Ku Klux Quakers' even _after_ it was _proven_ to be nonsense.

"Yes, un-mutual thinking is harmful, and must not be allowed to unbalance the collective. But as I have come to understand more deeply in my years as Distribution Secretary, as long as the Party keeps firm control over all _material_ resources, it really _doesn't_ matter so much what nonconformists think. And when practical control is maintained, we can even afford to allow nonconformists to be useful. As in the case of that exile dentist, Alipang Havens, gaining the attention of satellite-monitor observers to reveal how the late Carlos Anselmo was playing irresponsible games with an ex-convict newly transferred to the Enclave. I know that I speak for Megavolt Atkinson when I say that the new administration will NOT practice gratuitous, unproductive harshness toward the Biblicals in our population, be they inside or outside the Enclave."

During this, Tim Govinda was being soothed into rationality by a woman calling herself Indira Payam, who was actually his adult cousin Chida Govinda. Though she had been Anselmo's last girlfriend, she had been as astonished as anyone by the Vice-President's insanely daring coup attempt; this fact being confirmed by brainwave lie-detection, she was cleared of any suspicion, and thus was able to hang around with the boy judge. When Chida prevailed upon Tim to quit barking and resume human speech, Tim proceeded to swear in Megavolt Atkinson as the second President of the Diversity States. She took her oath with her hand on a copy of The Bhagavad-Gita, which was placed on top of a copy of Das Kapital.

Once declared to be President -- and patiently bearing it when Chief Justice Govinda _licked_ her face -- Megavolt waited for her ally to be sworn in as Vice-President, then addressed the crowd in her turn:

"I thank all our faithful citizens for their loyalty to the Party. I concur with everything Vice-President Harrison has said. And in particular confirmation of his words about the Western Enclave, my very _first_ decree as President is that something the Presidium has discussed, _shall_ be done. The Enclave _shall_ be allowed to restore higher education, beginning with a medical university to be created on an unused college campus in Rapid City.

"As for the understandable perplexity expressed by Citizen Invincible, allow me to assure all you media workers that none of you is to be _punished_ for anything. None of you bears a stigma from the late Vitaly Khloponin. Though the Indoctrination Department as a Cabinet entity is now abolished, the majority of you will be continuing to work at essentially the same jobs as before -- only under different management. Citizen Invincible, along with Arista Penfield, Galaxy Spirit, Jessamina Pinder and Fluttery Madsen, will henceforth be employees of my own old organization, the State Department. Dynamo Earthquake, Trip Conklin and Zimmo Garland will be subordinated to the Teachers' Union, to concentrate henceforth on youth-enlightenment projects for the schools and the Diversity Pioneers. Additional reassignments will be forthcoming shortly..."

 

[Copperfox]

At the Spafford homestead near Crazy Woman Creek, the two cabins were unusually crowded. Besides Jay, Gloria, Henry, Huldah, Leah, Spencer, Kitty, Bobbie, Yitzhak and Yakov, room also had had to be made for Beltran and Phoebe Ugarte, who had come across the Big Horn from Greybull Valley to visit _just_ before the Enclave administration had barred travel. Knowing only hints of what was going on in Washington, the closely-packed exiles had been waiting in suspense to learn more.

Fortunately, telephone service had not been shut off. Thus, the Ugartes had managed to contact Grange volunteer Gabe Ellison, to ask for him and his dog Clementine to look after their sheep while they were stranded. Gabe lived near enough to the valley that he could get away with doing as the Ugartes asked.

On the morning after the Presidential funeral, Henry and Yakov were fishing -- not for fun, but for food, since Henry was not at liberty to travel the farther distance that would be required for any serious hunting of land animals. At the same time, Henry's little brother Spencer was at another location close to home, with Henry's Everstrain hunting bow. The synthetic material's ability to store up the kinetic energy of the person pulling it meant that even someone as relatively weak as Spencer could shoot an arrow from it with effect. Spencer's assignment was to shoot any large edible bird that might fly over within his range.

The reason why Henry was fishing, instead of watching for game birds, was that he considered fishing more of a sure thing. Meanwhile, Beltran, Yitzhak and Huldah, helped by the Rosenbaum family's two English sheep dogs, were watching the sheep; Leah and Phoebe were working in the family's large vegetable garden; Kitty and Bobbie were doing household chores; and Jay was making a wooden chair he hoped eventually to sell.

Henry had caught one fish, and his young brother-in-law had caught two, when Kitty came running from the main cabin to find her big brother. "Henry! It's Mister Wisebadger, he called for you on the phone!"

"Is he waiting on the line?"

"Yes, he is. He said you can go places again, and the Grange needs you now!"

When Henry's long legs had swiftly carried him home, he found his mother holding the phone and speaking with the Agriculture Ombudsman. As she held out the receiver to him, she told him, "John says that the Transport Police just announced it: people can move around again!"

Once Henry was on the phone, John Wisebadger filled him in more completely:

"Captain Brewster's putting out the word to all Ombudsman offices in the Enclave: a new administration's been safely installed in Washington, we reservation dwellers are NOT blamed for anything, and we have permission to have lives again. One immediate result is that back mail can be delivered now. I'm asking all Grange volunteers to report to their Grange Halls to pick up the bundles of letters and packages that have been accumulating."

Phoebe Ugarte was within hearing, so Henry didn't say anything about the Ugartes being able to go home now; it wasn't their fault they had been stranded, and he didn't want them to feel that his family was in a hurry to be rid of them. What Henry did say out loud was, "Can you tell us anything about the new regime?"

"The Secretary of State is now President, and the Secretary of Distribution is now Vice-President. Their Cabinet seats are being filled by in-house promotions, persons I never heard of otherwise. Anyway, there's more good news."

"Which is what?"

"Creation of a university in the Enclave has been officially approved! And they say they're going to increase access for outside relatives to come in and visit exiles!"

"I'll knock on wood for both of those things as I get going."

Henry told Huldah what was up, gathered his gear, and found that his father had already saddled Cochise for him. Reclaiming his bow from a disappointed Spencer (who had not even had a good chance to TRY shooting a bird), the tall Apache soon was off on his first Grange errand since before he had gotten married. He took no food with him, for he didn't want to make it short rations at the last meal Beltran and Phoebe would eat with his family before they started for home.

He would shoot something for himself to eat as he went.

 

[Copperfox]

Captain Sally Brewster of the Transport Police had barely gotten done passing the word that freedom of in-Enclave travel was restored, when she was asked to meet with the Energy Undersecretary. Arriving at the triumvirate offices, she found that Inspector Eileen O'Hennessy and Forest Ranger Mark Terrell -- these being the other two most senior law-enforcement officials immediately available in the Enclave capital -- had also been called in by the Undersecretary.

"I've summoned you here to say that we need to make up for lost time," the sharp-minded old woman declared. "I'm sure all of you realized before now that our exile population IS NOT given to throwing bombs and cutting throats. Now that we have a new President who _also_ realizes this, we can get busy making this reservation a _productive_ community -- in ways which will both win goodwill for the exiles, and reflect credit on us who manage them.

"That movie, Sectors of the Heart, was delayed from its nationwide opening because of the latest rioting _outside_ the fence. It will now begin to be shown to the proletariat, which makes it all the more timely for us to help our Enclave residents prove their merits."

"As by letting them start their own university at last?" asked Captain Brewster.

"That and other things. But 'letting' is a key word there. Persons like John Wisebadger and Barney Jamison don't _need_ us micro-managing their every move. This being the case, I am going to urge Distribution and Agriculture to agree with me that police resources should be applied to the only segment of our population which _does_ need supervision."

"You mean the newcomers being delivered to Yellowstone Sector," said Inspector O'Hennessy.

"Correct. Not many of those are likely to cause trouble on purpose, given that so many of them got reprogrammed by order of the late Carlos Anselmo. But they will still need guidance in their new circumstances. If they see authority figures as benign instructors, that should yield future benefits in the harmoniousness of our enclosed society. Accordingly, if my colleagues agree with my plan, we will be sending ALL Transport Police and Commerce Inspectors, along with most of our Forest Rangers and District Police officers, up into Yellowstone for at least a month."

Ranger Terrell caught the Undersecretary's eye. "Has the new administration _told_ you that the geothermal project needs to be hurried up?"

"No; but I'm not going to _wait_ for them to decide that they need to hurry us along. So far, this new and larger national shakeup has not caused any trouble to us who run the Enclave, apart from the reassignments of the remaining Indoctrination personnel. Well, that and the arrests of Kasim Rasulala and Fidel North with their accomplices, of course. As of now, Freda Weckerling and Myra Brooks are literally the _only_ persons retained in the Enclave who ever worked for Arista Penfield. All the rest of us can infer that we've been given a tacit statement that we're all right. But we want to _keep_ it that way, by showing that we produce good results."

"And if President Atkinson is friendly to us," observed Captain Brewster, "we would do well to make sure that the Party Presidium never considers her to be _mistaken_ in trusting us."

"Yes, one hand washes the other. I want all of you to be easily reachable during the next two hours; it shouldn't take longer than that for the triumvirate to finalize our police allocation plan. The Texas Rangers will be getting their new reinforcements presently; but they won't be affected greatly by the increase focus on Yellowstone, since they've already assigned officers there. For the most part, they'll continue general air patrolling.

"You may go for now; get some lunch if you're hungry." The Undersecretary did not mention to any of them the real reason why she wanted the "Sky Rangers" to be kept patrolling: she didn't trust the Aztlanos NOT to try something while the Diversity States was off balance.

 

[Copperfox]

It was a busy day for Alipang, and for Kim as his anaesthetic acupuncturist, as dental patients who had been stalled by the travel ban started coming in from the surrounding farmland. During this, Esperanza took a phone call from the Montefioris, reporting that their teenage son Giacomo would be riding up to Sussex on that family's one good riding horse. Giacomo intended to join the Grange volunteers, and since all current volunteers were being asked to go out and carry the backlogged mail, the boy would be asking to accompany Alipang on that excursion. On top of this, Wilson Havens finally came home from Rapid City, accompanied by the former Daffodil Ford and his newfound father Josiah Redfern.

Jillian Forrester went to the train station on behalf of the Havens family to meet the arriving trio. "Hi, Jillian!" exclaimed Wilson. "I'd like you to meet Mr. Josiah Redfern, and his re-labelled son, David Redfern!"

Shaking hands with Josiah, Jillian said, "We've heard some about that here. It's good to meet you, Mr. Redfern, I mean Mr. Redfern the elder! Daffy, or Dave, how does it feel to have a male name at last?"

"It feels good, but it feels _better_ to have a father."

"Are you going to move away to Africa with him?"

David looked uneasy at this, so Josiah supplied an answer: "He has the invitation, and my family back in Uganda has let him know he's welcome there; but he still has to seek the Lord's will about it. I'm not upset; rather, I'm glad that my new son _cares_ about knowing God's will."

"Well, good. Now, let's get you over to the Havens house."

They had not walked far before a second greeter sprinted into view. "Mister Redfern, David, you keep going, Jillian will show you the way. I need to talk to my cous--" This was as far as Wilson got before a girl-shaped missile crashed into him and clung to him like a boa constrictor. The other three left Wilson and Cecilia Ruth in as much privacy as standing outdoors in daylight near the train station could afford.

It was only because there could be strangers watching them that Cecilia did not kiss Wilson at all. But she would not be denied her right to squeeze herself against him with all her might.

"Wilson, Wilson, we only just barely started to be together again after all those years! I would've died, I would've dropped right down dead, if you'd been killed. Except for Jesus, my parents, Tommy and Irene, there's _nobody_ who matters to me as much as you do!"

Squeezing her in return, Wilson tried to choose words. "Cousin, honey, I, um, we...."

Cecilia hugged him still harder. "Can't you just say that you love me? I can say it easily: I love you! How hard is that to say? You do love me, don't you?"

"Of course I love you, Sizzle. And that's what we need to talk about: what we _mean_ by saying that."

Cecilia loosened her possessive grasp long enough to look around. "Could we go over to those trees? More away from anyone spying on us?" Wilson was agreeable to this, and she clasped his hand for the short walk toward comparative seclusion. In the shade, then, Wilson himself initiated a renewed embrace.

"Here we are, Cecilia. Ladies first: say what you want to say."

"Wilson, for all the years you and your family have been inside the fence, you've at least had the freedom to pray and worship and think, and work at jobs that make sense. My family's been living in a giant madhouse! America outside the fence is a madhouse! Now we're in the Enclave too, and even if you were nothing special, I like it here a kazillion times better than outside. But _with_ you here...." She moved her head from leaning on his shoulder, bringing her face close to his face. "This is a place I can be happy: here with freedom, here with good people -- yes, that includes Gustave and Victor, but neither of them is important to me. Both of them have been over to your house to pray with us, and I like it that Gustave and Victor _aren't_ mad at each other for both of them liking me. They're both good guys, part of a whole picture of good Christian people. But I'm not seriously _interested_ in Gustave or Victor, and I'm not _going_ to be interested in them."

She tightened her arms around Wilson, then continued: "More than two years ago, Mom gave me The Talk, about boys and girls and how everything works. As if every FOUR-year-old child didn't already know _everything_ about it, the way the Diversity States is! And she explained why it is that brothers and sisters aren't supposed to get married. I had no idea, back then, why she talked about that. But since we've joined all of you here, I've noticed Mom and Uncle Alipang looking at each other a couple times, like their minds were talking.... like they were both _remembering_ something. Not like they remembered _doing_ anything wrong, but like they remembered _feeling_ something. Even before that, in The Talk back in Georgetown, Mom said something else to me. She said, 'Brothers and sisters are still brothers and sisters even if it's only by adoption, but I really believe it would be different for two _cousins_ who are not related by blood.' She said all that to me in private. I didn't understand why she would bother saying that, either. Not _then,_ I didn't."

A deathly silence hovered around them. Neither one would break eye contact. At last, Wilson whispered, "Yes, I know you and I are not related by blood. Not only that, but-- you didn't get many chances to read the Bible on the outside, did you?"

"Hardly ever."

"Well, Jacob, the man who started Israel, _married_ his own first cousin Rachel, even though they _were_ blood cousins..." He fell quiet once more; but now, somehow, his chin was faintly touching her chin.

A few more long breaths; and then Cecilia murmured, "I've kissed _you_ twice since we've been reunited. Aren't you _ever_ going to kiss me?"

Dizzy with emotions, but finding the will to lean half an inch forward, Wilson brought his lips against his cousin's lips. And there they stayed. It had been disorienting when _she_ had initiated kissing the other day; to find _himself_ starting a kiss was like skydiving or something scary. But whatever fear might be called for, it wasn't fear of rejection; for Cecilia was kissing him back desperately. They had no experience, but plenty of feeling on both sides.

Several ecstatic centuries later, Wilson managed to move his mouth off of Cecilia's mouth. "Sizzle, I don't see any reason why it would be _sinful_ for you and me to -- to get married, eventually. But we're still only fourteen and thirteen years old. Whatever we do, we've GOT TO keep from hurrying!"

"You're right," she agreed -- yet claimed one more kiss of pretty fair duration before she would complete her own thought. "We have to take our time and be wise. But I love you, Wilson. I already loved you even before I saw you again. You're brave and smart and kind and good, and in _this_ way, like to want to get married, I love no one but you."
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

When David, Josiah and Jillian came to their destination, it was to discover that Alipang and Kim still had their hands full seeing patients in their little clinic -- though they did allow their elder son, when he and Cecilia caught up, to slip in long enough to embrace them both. Jillian, accordingly, undertook to assist Esperanza in rustling up something for the travelers to eat, while Brendan dragged luggage upstairs in anticipation of Josiah and David staying the night.

Amid the gladness of having Wilson and David back, and of getting to meet Josiah, Esperanza was the first to think of bringing up the subject of the man who had been the cause of Wilson _being_ in Rapid City. "Mr. Redfern, how is Mr. De Soto?"

"Pretty good. Before I left Sioux San, we had gotten enough of his cancer cells killed that the staff doctors judged it was time to start regenerating his normal tissues."

"Then he _will_ receive tissue regeneration?" asked Jillian.

"That, and anchovies on his pizza! That's one good thing about almost getting murdered: you can lay guilt trips on people. I don't think anyone belonging to the hospital _wanted_ Miguel to die; but they allowed Fidel North to use the residual intimidation power of the Pinkshirts to bully them into looking the other way when he took control of the security monitors. So now, with the new regime in Washington showing favor to the exiles, the Sioux San folks are _highly_ anxious to make amends to Miguel. He's happy, Tilly's happy, and the city of Casper soon will be happy. Miguel is expected to be able to go home around the end of next week."

 

[Copperfox]

"Have you heard any more news about the new university?"

David, formerly Daffodil, answered Jillian: "Yes, the physical property for it has been selected; and the first faculty member has been hired. You folks in Sussex know Avery Glass; he's going to be the head of the dentistry school there."

Esperanza smiled at this. "That's good. Poor Dr. Glass was having so much pain in his hands; now he'll be able to work with his _brain,_ teaching new dentists."

"And," remarked Josiah, "the very _existence_ of the new university will do as much as the geothermal project to affirm some dignity for you Enclave residents. Who knows, maybe eventually _you'll_ really be running this country."

Finally getting a break from seeing patients, Alipang and Kim returned to the house and were introduced to Josiah Redfern. An unspoken mutual recognition of kindred spirits passed between Alipang and Josiah as they shook hands.

"Thank you, Doctor Havens, thank you for encouraging my son, for allowing him to hope that he could be a man without being hauled up in front of the feminist inquisition."

"You're welcome. He's welcome. All of us here know that Daffy, or David now, has it in him to do and be great things. He just needs to know he's _allowed_ to do great things. Which is why, although my family has always enjoyed his company, I hope to God that you will take him back to Uganda with you -- so he'll _have_ his chance."

David spoke for himself: "I confess I'm pulled two ways. I can't think of anything I'd like _better_ than to live in the kind of family that my father has. But I _would_ miss you, Dr. Havens, and -- and your whole family here."

"He's told me how he feels about your youngest sister," Josiah interjected.

"And it's no sin for him to feel what he feels," Kim said to Josiah. "We just don't know if it could work out."

"I wish I could advise David in this," Josiah told them. "But although I've done plenty and seen plenty in my time, one area where I _don't_ have deep experience is finding love in spite of great obstacles. God almost literally dropped my Melody into my lap; her being pregnant wasn't an obstacle for me, because I knew the circumstances and I love children. She and I clicked immediately, and we got married within weeks after our first meeting. That doesn't work for everyone, but it worked for us. We had it easy in that respect; my son has a harder field to cultivate."

Alipang frowned in thought. "David will be seventeen before this year is out; but Harmony's already twenty-two. Even a smart boy like David needs to have _some_ further growing-up time before he's ready to be involved seriously with an adult woman, let alone married to one."

"As for that," put in Kim, "even if Harmony _weren't_ existing under the constraints of an internal exile, she would still need to be sure about _her_ feelings. I know that she _likes_ David a lot, and has no _other_ male object of interest so far; but she can't help feeling awkward about the age difference."

"If it were all up to me," said Alipang, "I would have David go to Uganda immediately, and live there for at least a year. Let him grow into the shoes of a free man. Then, when he was at or near what _used_ to be the age of consent in America, he could see if he still felt the same way about my sister after a long separation. If he did still feel that way, and if _she_ had not found someone else by then, perhaps that would be God's direction that there _could_ be something between them."

Josiah glanced at his tall yet self-doubting son. "I haven't pushed the issue of emigration for David with the authorities here; but Professor Siermaala, Brendan and I have gained enough respect through our work that I think I could pull it off."

Alipang suddenly brightened. "There's another possibility. Since David is already an employee of the State Department.... Josiah, you're in a better position to know this than I am. Does the Diversity States have an _embassy_ in Uganda?"

Josiah was visibly intrigued. "Yes, but not a big one or a very active one. The reason for that is because Jessica Trevette always hated Uganda for showing so much public support for sexual abstinence and chastity. But with Trevette gone to the eternal frying pan, the new government just _might_ be willing to expand its embassy operations in Uganda, and let my son be one of the new embassy workers!"

Alipang nodded. "That way, he wouldn't have to renounce his D.S. citizenship, yet he _could_ be with your family there."

They had not spoken for long about this possibility, when Giacomo Montefiori showed up. Encountering the former Daffodil for the first time since the day they had been on a train together, Giacomo behaved so cordially that David felt no more trace of his former apprehensiveness about the sturdier boy.

 

[Copperfox]

That evening, Josiah regaled the Havens household with his past military adventures, much as Brendan Hyland had previously done. While they listened to the Army veteran, Wilson and Cecilia Ruth sat near each other, but not quite touching each other. Neither of them was sure how to tell their parents about what they felt for each other.

Giacomo Montefiori cast many appreciative glances toward Cecilia, but received no acknowledgment. He slept that night in his sleeping bag in the dental clinic, since the makeshift stable where his mare Cerenterola was lodged had no loft where a human might bed down.

In the morning, after breakfast (for which Josiah insisted on paying), the two Redferns went to board a train for Casper, so that David could introduce his father to more members of the extended Havens-Salisbury-Vasquez clan. "My Melody has told me that she'd like to be introduced by dataphone to this other Melody," the Iraqi Freedom veteran remarked.

At the local federal office building, Alipang and his friend Sumerico both took charge of bundles of delayed mail. Sumerico's batch called for him to ride in those areas to the north and west where both he and Alipang had done the greater part of their Grange service. This left Alipang, and his tag-along, to make deliveries in a region more southerly than Alipang usually visited. But this meant that Giacomo was more familiar with the assigned mail route, and could lead the way to the various rural recipients.

Sammy and Cerenterola carried their riders willingly enough, since neither horse had gotten to do much travelling lately. Once Alipang had absorbed the young shepherd's advice on their initial direction of march, casual time-passing conversation could begin.

Giacomo began by asking a question which had not come up the evening before: "Dr. Havens, are you disappointed that you didn't get to act on camera in Sectors of the Heart?"

"Not seriously. I'm sure it would have been fun, even if I'd been required to fall down in a heap after Chilena touched me with one finger. But when it comes down to it, I think I like reading books better than acting."

"My Papa says that when you're not reading Shakespeare, you prefer science fiction."

The warrior-dentist nodded. "Well, much of the time, anyway. Recently, bit by bit as I had any free time, I read a sci-fi novel from something like twenty years ago, by an author I hadn't heard of before, named John Ringo. It's called There Will Be Dragons. Peter Tomisaburo found a thrown-away copy of it in a building he was working on, and gave it to me. It was remarkably appropriate for someone here in the Enclave to read, since--" (here Alipang patted his horse, and touched his bow and quiver) "--it's about people being forced to live with more primitive technology when they suffer a loss of modern infrastructure."

"Like riding horses and shooting arrows?"

"Exactly. It was fun to read, if you could swallow the immoral and amoral parts. At any rate, it illustrates one element of the process by which America came to what it has come to."

"And what would that be, sir?"

"This country came to a _loss_ of its moral foundation, because too many of even the well-meaning people had settled for only a _partial_ understanding of the basics of right and wrong. When John Ringo uses his characters as his mouthpieces, he presents a number of _good_ points about things like individual responsibility and freedom, as _applied_ to the economic and military needs of a society. For instance, he correctly confronts the hard truth that predatory aggressors _won't_ become friendly just because pacifists toss flowers at them. But like most science-fiction writers, Ringo is clueless when it comes to the _spiritual_ needs of a society, both as relates directly to God, and as relates to love and family. One of the main heroines of the book, for instance, has left her husband just because she _felt_ like it, and she gets _praised_ for having done so.

"Thus, although authors like this one did realize that America needed to preserve its liberties by rejecting imposed collectivism, they didn't know how to give people the spiritual foundation which would have _enabled_ them to resist the totalitarian tide and preserve their liberties."

Giacomo swept his gaze in all directions, then looked back at Alipang. "Well, sir, we do have a spiritual foundation here in the Enclave. Do you think it's too late for freedom to return?"

"When you ask that question, son, you're really asking whether the world has yet reached the events of the Book of Revelation. At some point, the world _must_ be temporarily subjected to the unjust reign of the Antichrist, until Jesus comes to destroy him. But as long as it is not yet _indisputably_ proven that we are locked into that course of events, I have to believe that it's _possible_ to regain freedom for our country. Only, for us to play our part in God's plan, we have to remember the meaning of being both harmless as doves and wise as serpents."

Giacomo did not feel so bold as to ask how this meshed with Alipang's having done bodily violence to evildoers on a few occasions. The boy realized that a Christian did not have to be an _absolute_ pacifist; but he didn't want to seem like a smart-aleck in the eyes of a man his family greatly respected.

 

[Copperfox]

Chapter 113: New School, Old School, and a School Reunion

Among the numerous pre-revolution college campuses in and around the Enclave, the one that recommended itself as a site for the new university was the former Western Dakota Technical Institute. Located on Mickelson Drive near the eastern city limit of Rapid City, it was a place which had offered medicine-related courses in its day; and some surviving hard copies of textbooks from these courses were fortuitously found in a long-unvisited storage room.

A second department head for Western Enclave Medical University had been chosen: the elderly Barney Jamison, who would head up the Surgery Department. He and his wife Ursula came down from North Dakota Sector to meet with Avery Glass. These three conferred while exploring what was to become their campus. Accompanying them were Avery's daughter Lenore... and Samantha Ford, who, being finished acting in Zimmo Garland's "artistic" movie, was distancing herself from further connection with him until she was sure he would not be a career liability to her because of the Cabinet shakeup. Being familiar with various forms of media, Samantha had offered to assist the new exile faculty in getting learning materials transcribed into the analog media forms which they would be allowed to use.

While the Jamisons and Dr. Glass were inspecting office space, guessing what faculty departments would be housed where, Samantha availed herself of an opportunity to speak with Lenore alone. Since Lenore had been wronged by a former husband, the ex-ambassador assumed that Lenore would share in her contempt for males. It was in the strength of this assumption that she said:

"They're not going to let any _more_ departments be headed by _male_ professors, are they? I'd say that two chairs for men is more than enough."

Since the other woman had not directly insulted her father, Lenore answered her without showing annoyance: "You'll recall that the triumvirate, not any exile, is making all the choices for faculty appointments. But I know that there are women in the Enclave who would be capable of teaching internal medicine, pediatrics and pharmacology. I'm not sure if they'll be trying to set up more than those five departments anytime soon."

Remembering that it was an exile she was talking to, Samantha ramped up her pretense of sincere friendliness to the same "God-fascists" whom she had long blamed for all the world's ills. "That many departments, if they can turn out even three or four graduates per department in the next ten years, will earn quite a reputation for the university. In fact, I'll be urging the President to offer the incentive of allowing graduates who prove themselves by an internship in the Enclave to take up their practice _outside_ the Enclave."

"That would be an impressive offer," said Lenore, tactfully keeping to herself her knowledge that other governmental figures were already advocating the same offer Samantha had mentioned. The dentist's daughter believed that this idea had less to do with a mood of generosity toward the exiles, as with the likelihood that healthcare professionals of every type were emigrating from the repressive Diversity States whenever they found a chance to do so.

When Avery, Barney and Ursula rejoined them, the latter was carrying two box-like objects. "Look here, Citizen Ford! We found two old audiotape recorders in a cabinet, with some of the tapes they used! Do you recognize the model?"

Samantha peered closely at the tape recorders, then replied, "They look similar to a recorder my chromosome-sources had. If they work -- or for that matter, with any analog sound recorder that _does_ work -- I can provide the voice for sound recordings of print materials you currently have available. I developed flawless enunciation over my years of giving speeches."

Samantha saw this as a means for her to be confirmed as a useful part of the university's creation, without getting into technical territory where she might make a public fool of herself. The other four persons also saw this as a means for her to be useful without getting in the way too much. The one caveat that came to mind, was raised by Barney: "It's an outstanding idea, provided that we can assign someone to help you pronounce the more obscure scientific terms correctly."

"I'll do it," Avery swiftly volunteered. He knew the type of person Samantha was; and he would regard it as a subtle, private revenge upon the Fairness Party when he made this heterophobic witch dependent on a _male_ to save her from bungling the voice-recording job.

 

[Copperfox]

At Natrona Airport on the west side of Casper, Donna Morales was glad to resign from her temporary deputizing with the Texas Rangers Enclave Aviation Detachment. The promised additional personnel had arrived, including four male Rangers who would henceforth cover permanent security duty for their Enclave headquarters.

The Texans even brought with them a gift intended for the new university: a pair of life-sized anatomical dummies, representing a man and a woman, which could be disassembled and reassembled. Originally used as an aid in training crime-scene investigators, they would now be a resource for anatomy courses, at a medical school which was denied the use of holographic projections.

Most of the incoming Rangers would be staying. But one who was not to be staying, found herself summoned to the detachment commander's office. Entering the spy-proofed room, Ranger Zella Greenlee greeted Emilio Vasquez -- who promptly drew her attention to the other man in the room, Brendan Hyland.

"On behalf of my anonymous posse," said the secret agent to Zella, "I will be asking you to transport an important hard-copy document back to Texas, and to deliver it personally to Commandant Pierce. She'll be expecting it."

"Of course," replied the young Ranger. "Am I allowed to know what's in it?"

"You are," Emilio told her. "It's the life's work of a man as lost in time as a nineteenth-century cowboy: an _honest_ journalist."

"If he's honest," she observed, "he must be an exile. Which must mean he's that Cuban-American fellow, Mr. De Soto?"

"The same," said Brendan. "Miguel has been given a new lease on life, thanks to Professor Siermaala's ultrasonic anti-cancer process. But his life expectancy would plummet again if it were known what he has written. You are going to be carrying an old-fashioned book of investigative journalism: the _real_ thing, not a fabrication designed to libel people chosen as scapegoats by the Fairness Party." He showed her the hefty paper manuscript. "This is in part Miguel's autobiography, but above all it is an expose' of the true history of the Fairness Party -- digging up the dirt not only on the late, unlamented Jessica Trevette and Carlos Anselmo, but also the _other_ leading figures of the regime."

Zella looked worried. "But if making it public would be likely to get Mr. De Soto killed, what use _can_ be made of it?"

"Intel, naturally; it turns out that, before he was ever exiled, Miguel unearthed a few gruesome facts that even Colonel Parnescu didn't know -- things equally as gruesome as Jessica Trevette having played at Aztec human sacrifice with the Formenteras. And for wider consumption, Miguel's material can be sanitized. Once the manuscript has been typed into a computer file, our people can edit out everything that identifies him; and fusing his information with other data will disguise his contribution still further. Then we'll have a massive indictment of the Party."

Now the characteristic perkiness returned to Zella's face. "But doesn't the whole _world_ already know that the Fairness Party is a gang of crooks?"

"Sort of. But I've been around United Nations diplomats more than you have; I can tell you that at least half of them are disgustingly indifferent to the moral principles that the Party tramples on. The way this manuscript will change things, is that it will prove the Party guilty of things which _even_ the worthless United Nations will admit are unacceptable. Representatives from the Caliphates, and from other dictatorships, laugh off the slaughter of proletarians; but they can't afford to be equally tolerant of politicians who kill off THEIR OWN PEERS. Miguel's book fleshes out a picture we already knew to some extent: the fact that Trevette and others had assassinated rivals _within_ their own movement even before the Fairness Revolution."

"Then are you going to cut loose with this, and condemn the Party in the eyes of the world community?"

"That remains to be seen -- just as it remains to be seen whether you Texans will accept Andreas Garcia's invitation to join the Mexican Alliance. This new Atkinson administration is making noises about being much more lenient to nonconformists in the D.S.A.; we don't want to crucify them if they're sincere about that. Starting up that new medical school for the exiles is a strong sign of good faith on President Atkinson's part. So we'll give her a chance to prove herself, but we'll have our incriminating ammunition ready."

 

[Copperfox]

Alipang and Giacomo missed regular Sunday church during their mail-riding tour, but managed to get in some prayer time and fellowship with a farm family a day's ride west of where Giacomo's family lived. As they went about, Alipang taught the shepherd boy how to distinguish various animal tracks; but they met no dangerous beasts. The large-predator population seemed finally to be under control, since the Forest Rangers had been supplementing the efforts of the Grange Association.

It was on a Tuesday morning, after parting with Giacomo at the Montefiori farm, when Alipang rode up to Sussex -- to find an excited Kim, on her own horse, meeting him partway. "Al! Something good's come up!" she exclaimed as soon as her husband was within hearing. "We're going to have a chance to get up to Yellowstone and see the Rands!"

Ever mindful to spare his hard-working mount, Alipang slid out of the saddle and ran on foot to close the remaining distance, letting Sammy follow at his own pace. When the huntsman-dentist reached his wife, she leaned over to kiss him soundly, then explained her news:

"We got a phone call from Forest Ranger Demophilos. He's driving a bus up from Nebraska Sector, bringing several Commerce Inspectors who will be under his supervision during an assignment in the geothermal-project area. He said he can squeeze you, me and the baby on board; and I've already got the Forrester, Tomisaburo and Rochefort families lined up to look after our other kids and the horses while we're away. At last, we'll be able to _see_ Summer and Evan!"

"Outstanding!" cried Alipang, drawing her down for another kiss. From there to their house, he jogged all the way, even on the hilly part, able to keep up with the relaxed trotting pace which would make the home stretch easy on Sammy and Lacey. One more dental emergency awaited him at home, a little girl brought in by a family whose land neighbored Britt Gavilan's farm; but Alipang was able to attend to her needs fairly quickly. Kostas Demophilos arrived as he was finishing up, after which it was hasty packing, and a hasty goodbye to Wilson, Esperanza and Brendan -- all of whom were hoping soon to meet Summer and Evan's children.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

"Our latest news looks like proof that President Atkinson is staking some of her political capital on her confidence in exile workers," remarked one woman among the Commerce Inspectors in the bus.

"What news in particular?" asked Alipang.

"A change in the geothermal-plant construction plans. You know that Sustainable Energy was intending to get all of the geothermal generators ready to go _before_ putting any of them online in the power grid. But now the President has instructed the Energy Department to take the portion closest to completion, push that ahead as a separate plant, and get it putting out power as soon as possible."

"There's practical sense in that," remarked one of her male colleagues. "As soon as the first segment is operational, it can itself supply electricity for the work on the remaining segments."

"True enough. But it's also true that Atkinson wants to be able, sooner instead of later, to be able to say to the whole Party Presidium, 'See? There's a tangible result, added energy for the country's needs. I told you that decent treatment for the exiles would pay off in more productivity _from_ the exiles.' You, Dr. Havens and Mrs. Havens, must be happy to have Meg Atkinson in the Rainbow House now."

"Although I don't recall being allowed to vote about it," replied Alipang, "I don't mind agreeing that this President appears to be offering us a better deal than having to wonder every day if an Overseer would be in the mood to fry us with a particle beam."

From where he sat behind the wheel, Forest Ranger Demophilos leaned back and said, "You'll find your friends Evan and Summer in an optimistic mood as well. I was on the radio earlier with personnel at the worker-intake center, and a woman calling herself Sister Arabella told me that those two have really taken to their work."

"I'm sure they have," remarked Kim. "Now that the Campaign Against Hate is gone, I can say frankly that I would take the same satisfaction that Summer and Evan are taking -- in helping people to _recover_ from the damage that the Campaign did to them."

"You _will_ be part of that process," Kostas told her. "The intake center has no dentist assigned."

Alipang looked at his wife. "Good thing we brought my portable dental kit and your acupuncture needles."