Fall Revolution 4: The Sky Road

nuclear posture. Leave aside
the fact that the Third World War did for nukes what the First
did for gas. At least in terms of using them on Earth – the
UN got away with the Heaviside Layer blasts, but that was a bit
of a fluke. Leave aside the fact that the big money in orbit is
becoming virtually Green with paranoia about nukes in space,
too.’
    Aha, Myra thought. She would not leave that aside, at all.
This was the crux, however valid the rest of Sadie’s points
were.
    ‘Leave aside the fact that there simply aren’t
that many big nukes left around. Suppose somebody came to us
with, I dunno, a stash of old post-Soviet city-busters:
laser-fusion jobs, long shelf-life, low maintenance. They still
wouldn’t be any use to us, because our whole military
doctrine has shifted away from reliance on nukes. There’s a
lot more to maintaining a credible strategic nuclear deterrent
than maintaining the actual weapons. You need missile and bomber
crews, tactical boys, analysts, constant practice. Hell, I should
know, I worked hard enough at dispersing the teams and scrubbing
the records, back in my disarmament days. We don’t have
people with the relevant skills any more, and we don’t
havethe people to train new ones. We need all our available skill
pool to keep our stealth fighters flying, and our teletroopers,
smart-battle tactics and techniques up to scratch.’
    ‘I think I see your point,’ Myra said dryly.
‘So, by the same kind of reasoning, our offer of, uh,
mining rights in Kazakhstan isn’t really of
interest.’
    ‘You could say that. That is the analogy,
yes.’
    Myra doubted that their reversal of analogy and actuality
would have fooled any snoop for a second, but there was a
protocol to be followed on these things. It was, she recalled,
illegal for public officials under UN jurisdiction – after
the Fall Revolution as much as before – to even discuss nuclear deterrence as a serious policy option.
    And of course they hadn’t. Not in a way that would stand
up in court, which was all that mattered.
    ‘There is of course one advanced country that
isn’t a banana republic just yet…’ Myra said.
‘Never even rejoined the UN, come to that.’
    Sadie shrugged. ‘Go to the Brits if you like,’ she
said; lighdy, but she acknowledged the implied threat. ‘Not
my problem. But it will be somebody else’s.’
    ‘Just so long as we know where we stand,’ Myra
said, likewise taking the hint. ‘OK Forget about the
package deal. What about ground troops and air
support?’
    ‘The latter, maybe. At a pinch. And hardware. Hardware,
we got. Troops, no.’
    ‘Oh, come on. Even mercenaries. We can pay good
rates.’
    ‘Mercenaries?’ Sadie laughed. ‘Mercenaries
are the best we have. We use them to put some backbone
into our crack regiments. And the crack troopsare about all
that’s left. It’s become just about impossible to
raise ordinary grunts. Conscription? Don’t even think about
it.’
    Myra still looked sceptical. ‘I’ll show
you,’ Sadie told her.
    They chatted amiably for a while longer, agreeing to dump on
Khamadi and Ibrayev the detailed work of negotiating what little
aid the US had to give; but basically, the discussion was over.
Myra settled the bill, left a generous tip and followed Sadie
out. As they recrossed the crowded pavement to the limo, Sadie
startled Myra by walking boldly up to a bunch of Andean lads
hanging around a headware stall. The boys looked her up and down,
lazily curious.
    ‘Hi, guys,’ she said. ‘How’re you
doin’?’
    ‘Fine, lady, fine.’
    ‘How ‘bout work?’
    ‘This our work.’ They grinned at the stall’s
owner, who smiled resignedly back.
    ‘Ever thought of joining the Army? Good pay, great
conditions. Tough guys like you could make a good go of
it’
    They had to hold each other up, they were laughing so
hard.
    ‘Not gone get killed fighting hicks and geeks,’
one of them said. The sweep of his arm took in everything from
the Two Mile Tower to the stall’s bristling headware
whiskers. He spat away, on to the pavement.
    ‘You preferred tech to men,’ he said. ‘Let
tech defend you.’

 
11
The Rock Covenant
     
     
    I followed Druin out of the tunnel and into the gallery of the
seerstone growers without any idea of what he intended to do.
Like him, I had my rifle slung and my hands empty. He strolled
across the floor to a central aisle between the ranks of stone