There will be war volume.., p.1
There Will Be War Volume VIII,
p.1
There Will Be War Volume VIII
Created by Jerry Pournelle
Associate Editor John F. Carr
Copyright
There Will Be War Volume VIII
Jerry Pournelle
Castalia House
Kouvola, Finland
www.castaliahouse.com
This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise—without prior written permission of the publisher, except as provided by Finnish copyright law.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any similarity to actual people, organizations, and/or events is purely coincidental
Copyright © 1989, 2017 by Jerry Pournelle
All rights reserved
Cover: Lars Braad Andersen
Version: 001
Contents
Introduction: Armageddon
Still Time, by James Patrick Kelly
Surviving Armageddon, by Jerry Pournelle
To the Storming Gulf, by Gregory Benford
Dinosaurs, by Geoffrey A. Landis
The Prevention of War: About Unthinking the Thinkable, by Reginald Bretnor
Day of Succession, by Theodore L. Thomas
The Irvhank Effect, by Harry Turtledove
Three Poems
PSI-REC: I LINGER
The Benefactors, by Don Hawthorne
Nuclear Autumn, by Ben Bova
As It Was in the Beginning, by Edward P. Hughes
Triggerman, by Jesse F. Bone
An Old Bankruptcy, a New Currency; by Jerry Pournelle and Dean Ing
Through Road No Whither, by Greg Bear
Logan, by Paul Edwin Zimmer
The World Next Door, by Brad Ferguson
Siege At Tarr-Hostigos, by Roland Green and John F. Carr
Acknowledgments
The editors gratefully acknowledge that research for some of the non-fiction essays in this book was supported in part by grants from the Vaughn Foundation. Responsibility for opinions expressed in this work remains solely with the authors.
The stories contained herein are copyrighted as follows:
ARMAGEDDON by Jerry Pournelle. This essay was written solely for this volume. Published by arrangement with the author’s agent, Eleanor Wood, Spectrum Agency. Copyright © 1989 by J. E. Pournelle & Associates.
STILL TIME by James Patrick Kelly was first published in the August 1983 issue of Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine. Copyright © 1983 Davis Publications.
SURVIVING ARMAGEDDON by Jerry Pournelle appeared originally in Survive Magazine and was slightly altered for publication in this volume. Copyright © 1982, 1989 by J. E. Pournelle & Associates.
TO THE STORMING GULF by Gregory Benford was first published in the April 1985 issue of Fantasy & Science Fiction. It appears here by special arrangement with the author. Copyright © 1985 by Gregory Benford.
DINOSAURS by Geoffrey A. Landis first appeared in the June 1985 issue of Analog Science Fiction Magazine. It appears here by permission of the author. Copyright © 1985 by Geoffrey A. Landis.
THE PREVENTION OF WAR: ABOUT UNTHINKING THE THINKABLE appeared as the editorial of the July 1981 issue of Analog Science Fiction Magazine. Copyright © 1981 by Davis Publications.
DAY OF SUCCESSION by Theodore L. Thomas was originally published in the August 1959 issue of Astounding Science Fiction. Copyright © 1959 by Street & Smith Publications.
THE IRVHANK EFFECT by Harry Turtledove was first published in Far Frontiers in 1987. It appears here by permission of the author. Copyright © 1987 by Harry Turtledove.
WAR CIRCULAR Copyright © 1989 by J. E. Oestreicher.
THE TRANQUIL SOUND by Lenora Lee Good was written solely for this volume. Copyright © 1989 by Lenora Lee Good.
PSI-REC: I LINGER by Peter Dillingham first appeared in Eternity Science Fiction, edited by Steven Gregg. Copyright © 1979 by Peter Dillingham.
THE BENEFACTORS was written especially for this volume. Copyright © 1989 by Donald Hawthorne.
NUCLEAR AUTUMN by Ben Bova was first published in the Summer 1985 issue of Far Frontiers. Copyright © 1985 by Ben Bova.
AS IT WAS IN THE BEGINNING by Edward P. Hughes was written especially for this volume. Copyright © 1989 by Edward P. Hughes.
TRIGGERMAN by Jesse F. Bone was first published in the December 1958 issue of Astounding Science Fiction. Copyright © 1958 by Street & Smith Publications. Copyright © 1989 by J. F. Bone.
AN OLD BANKRUPTCY, A NEW CURRENCY by Jerry Pournelle and Dean Ing first appeared in Mutually Assured Survival. Copyright © 1984 by Jerry Pournelle.
THROUGH ROAD NO WHITHER by Greg Bear was first published in Volume I of Far Frontiers in 1985. Copyright © 1985 by Greg Bear.
LOGAN by Paul Edwin Zimmer was first published in Wyrd in the Fall 1977 issue. Copyright © 1977 by Paul Edwin Zimmer.
THE WORLD NEXT DOOR by Brad Ferguson first appeared in the September 1987 issue of Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine. Copyright © 1987 by Davis Publications.
SIEGE AT TARR-HOSTIGOS Copyright © 1989 by Roland Green and John F. Carr.
Introduction: Armageddon
Jerry Pournelle
The first battle historians can reconstruct took place at Armageddon. Revelation 16:16 tells us the last one will be there. “And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.”
There really is such a place. It is called Megiddo. There are ruins of an ancient fortress on the heights dominating the valley below. In biblical times the Plain of Megiddo lay astride the trade routes north from Egypt to Lebanon. You will find it today in the modern state of Israel. It lies south and west of the Sea of Galilee, somewhat west of a line connecting Mounts Tabor and Gilboa, about forty miles due north of the ancient city of Samaria.
There have been many battles at Megiddo, although none in modern times; histories of the Arab-Israeli wars mention Megiddo only in passing. In ancient times the place was not so fortunate.
The writer of Revelation couldn’t know that the first battle we can reconstruct with any historical accuracy took place at Armageddon. Brigadier J.F.C. “Boney” Fuller in his monumental three-volume Military History of the Western World describes it this way:
When Thutmose III succeeded his half-sister Hatsheput in about 1481 B.C., “the king of Kadesh headed a revolt of all the city kings of Syria and Palestine against him. In answer, on about April 19, 1479 B.C., after he had assembled his army at Thara (Kantara), Thutmose marched by way of Gaza to Yehem (Yemrna), a town on the southern slopes of the Carmel range, and arrived there on May 10.
“Meanwhile the forces of the city kings, under the command of the king of Kadesh, had occupied the fortress of Megiddo (Armageddon) which lay on the northern slope of the Carmel ridge and which blocked the main road from Egypt to the Euphrates. Moving along this road on Megiddo, on May 14 Thutmose led his army through the pass traversed by Lord Allenby 3,397 years later. He debouched on the Plain of Megiddo, south of the fortress, and the next day he advanced with his army in battle order against the king of Kadesh, whose forces were encamped outside Megiddo. With the southern horn of his army resting on a hill south of the brook of Kina, and the northern pointing toward Megiddo, Thutmose, ‘like Horus armed with talons,’ in a shining chariot of electrum, led the attack and in one charge he scattered his enemy, who fled headlong toward Megiddo ‘as if terrified by spirits.’ The men of Kadesh abandoned their chariots of gold and silver and, finding the city gates closed to them, were hauled up its walls by the citizens.
“Unfortunately for Thutmose, instead of assaulting the city when all was in confusion his soldiers pillaged their enemy’s camps and, in consequence, Megiddo had to be invested. The siege was a short one; but when the city was surrendered it was found that the king of Kadesh had escaped. The spoil taken was immense. It included 924 chariots, 2,238 horses, 200 suits of armor, the king’s household furniture, and a vast quantity of gold and silver.”
Several years later Thutmose took Kadesh. Later he subdued the Mitanni, Aryan battle-axe people who occupied the great bend of the Euphrates. His fleets ranged the coast from Egypt to modern Turkey. Aleppo fell to his armies. Even Crete and Cyprus were under his influence. In his final campaign he took Kadesh once more, this time leveling the city. In the spring of 1447 B.C. and the fifty-fourth year of his reign he died peacefully at home, having become the world’s first emperor.
Breasted notes, “today two of this king’s greatest monuments, his Heliopolitan obelisks, now rise on opposite shores of the western ocean, memorials of the world’s first empire-builder.” Sure enough, they do so to this day: one is in London. The other stands in Central Park, New York City, where it is known as “Cleopatra’s Needle.” In fact, it dates from a time nearly as far in Cleopatra’s past as she is to ours.
The Egyptian Empire controlled the area we now know as Palestine for a great deal longer than the modern state of Israel has existed; but eventually the Children of Israel conquered the land and established an empire of their own. First Saul, then David conquered the cities of the Phil
A generation later the Empire was in ruins, split in half by the unbending arrogance of Solomon’s son Rehoboam. Not long after that the Plain of Megiddo once again rang with the clash of sword and shield, and the screams of the dying. The Assyrians came; writers of the time called them The Death of the Earth.
The Ten Tribes of Israel were carried away, followed by Judah. Cyrus the Great allowed those who would to return to their homeland; not long after they fell under the rule of the Greeks, the successors to Alexander the Great; then to Rome.
Modern prophets tell us that Megiddo will again be important, but only after the rise of a new Roman Empire. Some see that in the Common Market established by the Treaty of Rome.
Perhaps. Whatever the truth of the prophecy, Armageddon, that one last battle which will settle the fate of mankind, looms large above us.
Herewith stories of Armageddon.
Still Time, by James Patrick Kelly
Editor’s Introduction
In “Still Time” James Kelly tells us the story of Quinn Hutchins, a survivalist—a man who was prepared for the unthinkable. Yet, even Quinn has his headaches.
What about the rest of us who are totally unprepared? The government of Switzerland has built the world’s best civil defense system for its citizens: they have great fortresses buried deep inside the Alps; a post-nuclear communications network, doctors trained to deal with the wounded and radiation sick, civil defense workers knowledgeable in how to build blast doors and secure buildings against radiation. In essence, they are prepared for the worst.
The Soviets have GBMD, an upgraded antiballistic missile system protecting Moscow. It has been claimed that the Soviets feel GBMD is worth the investment if it assures the survival of only 40 percent of its population. They also have twenty-million Soviet citizens involved in civil defense. Obviously, the Soviet Union intends to survive a nuclear holocaust.
How well has the United States done? Can the U.S. Government provide for the common defense in the event of a nuclear war?
Not bloody likely.
About thirty years ago, the U.S. built the Interstate Highway System, the greatest and most costly engineering program in history. In part, this was to be justified by building fall-out shelters under each approach ramp for civil defense. Then we adopted Mutually Assured Destruction, MAD. The logic of MAD—never accepted by the Soviet Union—is that civil defenses are an act of aggression.
If we protect our citizens, we must believe the Soviets would attack them. The only reason they would attack is in response to our attack. Therefore, if we protect our citizens, we must be planning to attack the Soviet Union. If they’re properly deterred they’d never think of doing that. Therefore we don’t need to protect our people, and lest we threaten the Soviets, we’d better not.
Note also that the deterrence is assumed. We never investigate what it takes to achieve it. Everyone knows nuclear war is irrational, and no one would ever start one coldly and for gain.
On the other hand, pure deterrence promised considerable savings. Since both sides were, in Arthur C. Clarke’s memorable phrase, “like small boys standing in a pool of gasoline accumulating matches,” there’d be no need to collect matches. If the Soviets kill us, we’ll kill them right back, so there. All we need, then, is to have some nukes.
Albert Wohlstetter pointed out many years ago that the balance of terror is rather delicate, but the McNamara’s of this world never wanted to learn that.
Accordingly, the United States installed the Minuteman system and quit. Since the Soviets were assumed to be rational, and therefore to think like U.S. university and think-tank professors turned strategic theorists, they would understand this unambiguous signal. No one wants to feel inferior in this modern world; therefore the Soviets might build a few more weapons than we have, enough to let them feel secure and even to compensate for a kind of national inferiority complex; but soon enough they’d stop. Once they caught up and knew they had, there’d be no reason to build more weapons, which could only harm their economy. It would be silly for them to go on collecting expensive matches…
The theory was brilliant but the Soviets didn’t buy it. Then the Soviets caught up—they didn’t halt. They didn’t even slow down. They have set up four separate assembly lines to produce ICBM’s three shifts a day, and the fact that they can’t afford to do that hasn’t stopped them, not even in this era of glasnost.
Meanwhile, it wasn’t necessary for them to mount a campaign of opposition to U.S. Strategic Defenses. We did that ourselves.
Now meet Quinn Hutchins, a man who takes all this seriously.
Still Time
James Patrick Kelly
Quinn Hutchins was planting marigolds on his roof. For two years he had feverishly built his underground dream house into the south flank of Flatrock Mountain. Now that the place was nearly finished he was squandering a little time on landscaping. Judy and Kitty had chosen the flowers; Quinn had grown them from seed in the solar greenhouse. He firmed the seedlings into the ground and pinched off the growing tips to encourage branching. Come July they would make a spectacular display. If July came.
Since the crisis had begun Quinn had seldom been out of earshot of a radio. His multi-band portable Sony was propped against a bale of peat moss. It was tuned to an all-news station in Boston.
“This just handed to me.” The news reader paused maddeningly. “The Associated Press reports that the president has left Washington. This unconfirmed—repeat, unconfirmed—report states that the president was flown by helicopter from the White House and arrived at Andrews Air Force Base at ten-thirty-one Eastern Standard Time. There he boarded the National Emergency Command Post, a specially-equipped 747 jet often referred to as Kneecap. His destination is unknown. To repeat…”
“Son of a bitch!” said Quinn. He threw his tools into the wheelbarrow and muscled it down the side of the house to the garage. “God-damned idiots!”
He had hoped for more warning: a parting volley of words in the Security Council, orders putting all available Tridents to sea and dispersing the bombers to auxiliary airfields, perhaps even evacuation of the cities. Kneecap was the penultimate step and Quinn Hutchins’s little family was scattered all over Strafford County. If he had not spent most of his sleepless nights planning for just this situation he might have panicked.
Even so, his finger slipped as he dialed Judy’s number and he had to start over. Seconds lost.
“Dr. Davidson’s office,” said Becky the receptionist.
“Judy Hutchins, please.”
“Quinn, is that you? How’ve you been, haven’t talked to you in ages. She’s with the doctor, you want me to take a message?”
“Get her. Now.”
There was a rude clatter on the other end. Becky had always thought him peculiar. Now he did not care what she thought.
“Quinn?” said Judy.
Finally. “Come home.” He tried to sound calm. “It’s starting.”
“Are you sure?” She sounded wary of another false alarm. “It’ll mean trouble with Davidson. He’s got a full schedule…”
“Damn it, Judy!”
“And the car has been acting up again. I was going to stop in at Smitty’s on the way home and have him look at it.”
“There’s no time. Just come home. I’m going for Kitty now.”
“It’s really starting?” Her voice trembled. “All right, I’m coming.”
“I love you.” He tried not to think about the junkyard water pump in her decrepit Vega. “We’re going to make it, sugar.”
It was only ten minutes to the Merrymeeting Children’s Center; Quinn decided to secure the house before he picked up Kitty. Although the south facade was glazed with sheets of three-quarter inch unbreakable acrylic, it was designed to withstand vandals, not the searing gusts of a thermonuclear wind storm. There were winches concealed in the wall; he thrust a handle into each and cranked furiously. Rolling aluminum shutters reinforced with steel rattled down their exterior tracks and locked shut.
