"Hogan, James P - The Genesis Machine p174-259" - читать интересную книгу автора (Hogan James P)

УWe wouldnТt want them muscling in,Ф he said.
УThey would,Ф Clifford said, suddenly in a sober voice. УYou see, we know what it could lead to.Ф
УAnd weТre outa their line of business,Ф Aub completed.

Later on that evening, accompanied by Sarah, they all went for dinner to MorelliТs spacious home on the shore of Lake Boone at Stow. Nancy Morelli, AlТs cheerful, homely wife already well known to all the guests, produced a delicious German meal of veal in wine sauce followed by Black Forest cake, with plenty of Moselle Golden Oktober and a selection of liqueurs to finish. Throughout the meal they talked about life at Lunar Farside, SarahТs work at Marlboro, NancyТs memories of childhood in New York, and CliffordТs rock-climbing experiences at Yosemite. Zimmermann and Morelli swapped stories of the times they had spent in Europe, Sarah talked about England, and Aub raised roars of laughter with accounts of his hilarious escapades at Berkeley and before. Not once did the men deviate from their dutiful observance of the unwritten rule that declared the earlier events of the dayЧif the truth were known, still the most pressing topic in the mind of each of themЧstrictly taboo for this kind of occasion.
After the dishes had been cleared away and everybody had spent another half-hour chatting and joking over drinks, Nancy took Sarah outside to show her the lake and the surrounding pine woods by sunset. As soon as the back door to the kitchen clicked into place, an entirely different atmosphere descended upon the room before anybody had said anything.
Nobody had to broach the subject; they all felt it. Zimmermann was the first to speak.
УI suppose you did think of bringing the affair to the attention of 1SF headquarters in Geneva, Al. One way round some of the difficulties might have been to have other 1SF locations place your orders for you, and then have the material shipped to Sudbury as an internal transfer.Ф
УYeah, we thought of that,Ф Morelli said. УBut this is our own matter . . . local. If IТve gotten into the bad books of the powers that be, I figure we oughta keep it that way. It would do more harm than good in the long run to go dragging the whole of 1SF into it. Besides . . . as Brad said earlier today, if they get wind of what weТre working toward, the place would be swarming with them.Ф He took a sip of his drink and frowned into his glass. УIn fact, from the things that have been happening lately, it wouldnТt surprise me if theyТve gotten some kind of a sniff already.Ф
УI suppose I must agree with you,Ф Zimmermann said with a sigh. УWere I in your place, I would come to exactly the same conclusions. By and large, 1SF enjoys an extraordinary degree of independence in its activities, which it is naturally very anxious to preserve. We must not do anything that might prejudice relationships between 1SF and governmentЧany government.Ф The professor reflected upon what he had just said, then shook his head. УNo, you are right. We cannot go higher in 1SF.Ф
УThen where do we go?Ф Aub asked.
УI have been considering that question ever since this afternoon,Ф Zimmermann replied. УGentlemen, you have a problem. To solve it, it will be necessary for you to sacrifice at least some of your commendable ideals and come to termsЧat least to some degree
Чwith some of the less appealing realities that sur
round us. I have seen this kind of thing before. lieve me, you will not beat the system. This is on] beginning; it will get worse. DonТt underestimate people you are up against. Many of them are stu but they have powerЧand that is a fearsome c~ bination. They will destroy you if they can, spiritu if not physically. Destruction is their business.Ф
УSo, what do we do?Ф
УIf you continue to refuse to acknowledge that power to make or break your project ultimately outside your own immediate sphere of influence will grow until it overwhelms you. Therefore, must accept that it exists and will not go away being ignored. That is the first step. Only when accept that it exists can you think of using it to y own ends.Ф
УUsing it?Ф Clifford was confused. УHow dТ mean, Сusing itТ?Ф
УQuite simple. You are obviously aware of I much the state commands in terms of resources, nance, and sheer weight of influence. Just think the difference it would make to your research i gram if all that were to be harnessed to help it aloi
УBut that would be going backward, Profess Aub protested. УWe donТt need their kind of h Brad and I burned all our boats getting out of ti not so long ago. The whole point is, we want to clear of them. WeТve done fine up to now with providing all the resources and stuff.Ф
УBut that is precisely the point I am makii Zimmermann replied calmly. УUnfortunately, you not have the luxury of a choice any longer. The se ments that you have expressed are fine just as lonl the decision for you and the system to ignore e other and go separate ways is mutual. But when I begin to take notice of you, I am afraid that an
tempt on your part to continue ignoring them will lead only to disaster. You are obliged to react. I am suggesting that, since it appears that you have no choice but to become involved with the government departments anyway, we endeavor to make that involvement constructive to our purpose.Ф The professor spread his hands in an appealing gesture. УYou have to get involved with them. If you donТt, they will just squeeze harder. Use it.Ф
Clifford stared out through the window for a few seconds, then turned abruptly to face the room.
УThatТs all very well as a theory,Ф he said. УBut we already know their attitude. ItТs totally destructive, probably because theyТre worried how it might look if two guys who had told them to screw themselves got the edge on the bunch of whiz-kids they were getting together when we left. I just donТt see any way theyТre gonna suddenly like us. I donТt see any reason why they should want to.Ф
УThat is where I might be able to help,Ф Zimmermann stated softly. УAs you know, my position with 1SF causes me to maintain regular contact with highranking people in the government, many of whom are close personal friends of long standing. Even before I joined 1SF, my work with the federal European Government involved considerable dealings with persons in Washington who are very close to the President.Ф
Zimmermann paused to let the gist of what he was saying sink in. Three pairs of eyes watched him intently. УI hope all this does not sound too immodest, but perhaps you can now see my point. DonТt be misled by the people who you have had to put up with. Thankfully, there still are some extremely intelligent and perceptive individuals in charge of this country, where you would expect them to beЧat the top, where the real power lies. IТm not talking about
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the petty tyranny that is reveled in by the riffraff exalted office clerks whom you have had the fortune of running up against. Now, suppose th could open the right eyes to what you are d here. . .У Zimmermann left the sentence unfinished.
Morelli looked at him with a new respect. Cert~ if some kind of involvement was the only alterm to wrapping the whole thing up, then that wouli the kind to have. Even if some form of commitr to more mundane objectives were called for, at I their basic research would have to continue be such could be realized. That meant they would be to carry on unhindered, and in the long term what the hell?
УWhat do you plan on doing then?Ф Morelli a Zimmermann.
УFirst thing in the morning I will rearrange schedule,Ф Zimmermann answered. УThen I will n some appointments and fly to WashingtonЧI I straight away. That part you must leave to me. A~ you . . .У his gaze swept the room to take in all t of them. УYou will need to take off your scien hats for a short while. I want you all to get use the idea of becoming salesmen.Ф
Clifford and Aub looked at each other mysti They both shrugged together.
Zimmermann grinned. УIt is very simple,Ф he УWhat we have to arrange is . . .У The noise of kitchen door closing interrupted him. Feminine la ter flooded the room. He glanced over his shou УOh dear me. It would appear, gentlemen, that busi for today is over. I will explain everything in morning. Ah, there you both are at last. We ha most run out of things to talk about. What do think of the lake?Ф
Late that night, while Clifford and Sarah were ~driving Aub home, the two scientists explained to her the gist of what Zimmermann had said.
УSounds as if heТs offering to wheel in some big guns for you,Ф she commented after they had finished. УThings could get interesting. Do you really think he could pull off something like that?Ф
УWell, Al reckons he knows all the right guys, all right,Ф Aub answered from the back seat. УAnd it didnТt take him any time at all to get us into 1SF when we had the whole world on our backs. IТd give him my vote. What do you think, Brad?Ф
УI remember a long time agoЧthat first time we called himЧhe said heТd never make promises he couldnТt be sure of keeping,Ф Clifford replied. УI donТt think he would, either; he doesnТt seem to be that kind of person. ThatТs what this world needs more ofЧ more credibility in high places. HeТs got it, and thatТs why he is where he is and knows who he knows, and the rest are a load of bums.Ф He became quiet for a while and then his face broadened into a smile of gleeful anticipation in the darkness of the car. УBoy,Ф he said over his shoulder. УI canТt wait to see the carnage when ZimТs big guns start blasting. If this all works out the way IТm beginning to think it might work out, I think IТm gonna enjoy it.Ф
УYes,Ф Sarah agreed. УMinions and office boys have been a pain in my life lately. I think I might enjoy it too.Ф
Chapter 15

The world of 2005 had polarized itself virtually a lineup of the white versus the nonТ races, a situation that had been developing foi best part of a century.
The buildup toward a final showdown had i begun to gather momentum in the early 1980s С.С after a spasmodic series of clashes and coups ai the emerging African nation-states, the white re~ in the South were finally overwhelmed and the c nent began welding itself together into a closely alliance of anti-West, antiwhite African power 1985, the Treaty of Khartoum cemented relation between this bloc and the Federation of Arab tions, popularly known as the Afrab Alliance, marked the intensification of a joint economic paign against the Western world. In the second of that decade, Israel was overrun by Afrab ar during the course of which tactical nuclear we~ were employed in the Sinai by both sides anc U.S. Mediterranean Fleet went into action. As rect consequence of the war, forces from the Ame mainland invaded and occupied Cuba.
China had allied herself firmly with the Afrab ers; a major East-West confrontation at that timc averted only by an unexpected attitude of moder from Moscow. By 1990, the Persian Gulf states
sided with the China-Afrab consortium and 1rpm that time onward a never-ending series of border skirmishes and local wars continued along IndiaТs eastern and western frontiers, ostensibly over disputed territories that were claimed by her neighbors on both sides. In the Far East, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, and Indonesia concluded mutual defense pacts to counter the relentless spread of Chinese influence southward and eastward.
During all this time, the split in the Russian ranks that had first showed itself during the final Middle East War had widened progressively. European Russia, following the lead set by the Moscow government, embarked on a policy of a growing understanding with the West, while the Eastern Siberian Provinces retained a hard-line Marxist posture, aligned with that of China. By 1996, the Eastern Revolt had spread to Central Siberia, and regular Chinese forces were fighting alongside the rebels against the Moscow Army. The war reached its peak in 1999 and after that died down to a succession of skirmishes roughly along the line of the Urals. Siberia declared Vladivostok its new capital and moved rapidly from there toward full integration with the Afrab-China consortium, the conclusion of which process was proclaimed as The Grand Alliance of Progressive Peoples Republics in Canton in
2002.
European Russia, encouraged by the fruitful results of operating manned orbiting laboratories and lunar bases, developing nuclear-powered spacecraft, and staging a manned mission to Mars, all as joint ventures with the West, finally merged into the Federation of Europe that had been established in 1996. In 2004, an integrated command structure was established for the armed forces of America, the Australian Federa
tion, and the new, Greater Europe. Thus the Alliance of Western Democracies formally came into being.