[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

"No," says Hilthi. His voice is loud, echoes harshly from surrounding steel.
"Invading another metropolis can only make matters worse. Our other neighbors
will learn a lesson indeed, but the wrong one. The only thing the Polar
League ever accomplished was demilitarizing the region a couple centuries
ago if we invade and conquer a neighbor, that's the end of stability for the
whole region.
Sorya's ambiguous smile does not fade: destabilizing the region is not a
problem for her, but rather a solution. "Wars, once begun, generate their own
logic," she says. "The opportunity exists now. At some point soon, I
imagine Lanbola will awaken to the fact they are in danger, and act to correct
the situation.
"But neutrality.. .," Faltheg murmurs.
"All neutralities are imaginary," Sorya says. "When a third party to a war
chooses neutrality as a policy, in reality the neutrality always favors one
side or another. Our neighbors' neutrality in the present conflict favors our
enemies it demonstrates that neighboring states have already taken sides
against us. We should show our neighbors that such a neutrality is more
dangerous for them than they believe.
Sorya's genius, Aiah realizes, consists in doing just what she always says she
will do. She wants to enlarge her scope, increase her power. All
neutralities are imaginary. . . . All truces are temporary. It is all of
a piece, a perfectly consistent view of the world.
It's other people, she thinks, who see something else in Sorya, who think she
is something other than what she has always said she is.
"I agree with Miss Sorya's premises," Hilthi says, "but not her conclusions.
Wars do have their own logic, and the logic of war is to grow ever larger and
more destructive, and for war's energies to engulf entire nations, entire
economies. Occupation of Lanbola would create a cascade of events that would
soon run outside our control the entire region could be endangered.
"I support the idea," Parq says. His normally silky voice is forceful, angry.
"The Lanbolans have caused enormous harm to our people, and our people demand
justice and punishment for the criminals. If our neighbors object, we can
point out that they initially invaded us, albeit by proxy.
"The Polar League can put the Lanbolans' protest on their agenda for next
month," Sorya mocks. Parq laughs, and there is a rumble of amusement from
Constantine.
Belckon gazes uneasily at the room from beneath his shock of white hair. "I
must say that, diplomatically, this action would create insuperable
difficulties for us. Our perpetual difficulty is in convincing our neighbors
that our regime has any legitimacy, and if we prove ourselves not only
illegitimate but hegemonist, we can expect only hostility from people who were
formerly our friends.
"Have we any friends?" Sorya wonders aloud.
Belckon looks at her. "Sympathizers, yes.
Faltheg looks in Belckon's direction not at Belckon directly and ventures to
ask a question. "Our neighbors considered the Keremaths legitimate, but not
us?
Belckon considers his words before answering. "They were used to the
Keremaths. It is not a characteristic of diplomacy to enjoy change for its
own sake.
A deep laugh rolls out of Constantine. "Seize power, and it makes you a
bandit," he says. "Hang on for twenty years, and you become a statesman.
A perplexed look crosses Faltheg's face. "What would we do with Lanbola?" he
mutters.
"Civilize them, of course," says Parq, head of the Dalavan Militia.
"Make them pay." For once Sorya is not smiling. "They supported the
countercoup one understands their motives, I suppose, but once their little
adventure was defeated, they didn't quit the field like gentlemen, they
started a war. And I think the Lanbolans should not cease to pay until every
damaged building is rebuilt better than before, every orphan is guaranteed an
education, and our treasury has overcome any embarrassment, present or
future.
"That's brigandage!" Hilthi says, outraged. Faltheg gives the ceiling an
abstracted look Aiah suspects he may be adding up sums in his head.
"Miss Aiah?" he says, and Aiah starts. His eyes wander in Aiah's general
direction. "Our plasm reserves," he says, "are sufficient for this action?
"We can support a campaign of a few days," Aiah admits with reluctance.
"It is not possible from a military point of view," Constan-tine says.
Aiah's heart rejoices. The others look at Constantine.
"All our forces are in the line," Constantine says. "We hold exterior lines,
and therefore we use more troops to hold the same line than our enemies do.
We would have to pull out large numbers of soldiers, and our opponents would
of course observe this. Prepositioning two corps for an invasion of Lanbola
would not go unnoticed. We will have to build our forces to a greater
strength before we can even consider this option.
"Well," Faltheg says flatly, "that's that." He seems relieved.
No disappointment shows on Sorya's face. She removes her boot from the table
and reaches a languid hand to one of the crystal vases. She takes a
carnation, sniffs it briefly, unbuttons one of the fire-gilt buttons of her
uniform tunic, and puts the flower in the buttonhole.
"In that case," she says, "we can hope only for a military stalemate, which is
what our enemies most desire. We will have to consider what we will offer to
Lanbola, and to the other powers who support the Provisionals. Because we
will have to outbid our rivals, and that will be difficult Kere-horn and his
friends may promise that which they do not possess, whereas we must give away
that which we have worked so hard to win.
Belckon and Hilthi look down at the table. No one, it seems, has an answer to
her argument.
FOUR
TEEN
While the armies settle into stalemate, terror is unleashed anew in Caraqui.
Once again bombs begin detonating in crowded streets, and unknown mages fill
entire districts with fear. Huge tenements are burned down, unshielded [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]