"Hogan, James P - The Genesis Machine p260-end" - читать интересную книгу автора (Hogan James P)

УThe emotions that tempt us toward acting in sively, however real they might be now, will SO( forgotten,Ф Sherman continued. УHistory would condone the indiscriminate use of a weapon ol kind, whatever the circumstances. If the West survive as the defender of all the things it has a:
claimed to stand for, it must uphold its prin even in war. It cannot and must not permit itsi precipitate the wholesale slaughter of civilians b:
means, or to embark on an orgy of mass destrt by methods against which there can be no defens
УBut the deadlock has to be broken,Ф Cliffor plied at last. УWithout an imbalance, it must rc a deadlock permanently.Ф
УYes, I agree with you. Clearly it would be a for us to concede any form of parity with the now; your weapon should enable us to dictatc terms we choose. What IТm really saying is tha message is so obvious that there should be no nec us to let loose a worldwide holocaust to spell it have conferred with our allies on this, and they Europe, Australia, and Japan feel the same way Russians are all for going straight in with the 1 but theyТre outvoted.Ф
УI understand, of course,Ф Clifford said. УBut did you have in mind as an alternativeЧsome of token demonstration?Ф
Sherman shook his head slowly, apparently h been expecting the suggestion. УMmm . . . no. W discuss such a possibility, but we came to the elusion that even that would be too risky. Yo~ Dr. Clifford, the kind of people we are up agains shall we say, unpredictable. Much of the EasternТ has plunged straight from the Stone Age int twenty-first century, without having any of the to adjust in the same way the Western nations
but even in the case of the West, the transition was far from easy. Many of their leaders still think and react in the manner of tribesmen rather than statesmen; that was why the UN collapsed and why any form of rational negotiation has been impossible for the last twenty years or more.
УBut these people now possess enormous arsenals of the most sophisticated weapons systems knownЧapart from this latest, of course. It took our own experts a long time to realize the full implications of the bomb. The problem with a demonstration is that our adversaries might react first and think afterward; they might see it as a bluff and try to call it. If they did, we could end up taking a lot of casualties on our own side before we convinced them, and thatТs the one thing IТm here to prevent if I can. I know that it looks as if the J-bomb would neutralize anything they tried to do, but we havenТt actually proved that yet. Until weТre more sure of that, I think we have to keep the element of surprise as an added insurance. ThatТs one advantage that it would be foolish to sacrifice prematurely.Ф
Clifford sipped his drink again and nodded slowly. None of this came very much as a surprise. He thought he knew what would follow next, but chose not to interrupt.
The President leaned forward and rested an elbow on the arm of his chair. УWhat I wanted to ask you about was the feasibility of using the J-bomb for a no-holds-barred surprise strike, but selectively. We want to be able to knock out the offensive capability of the other side in a single, lightning blow, especially the means of delivering any form of retaliation against our own territories. If we could first of all, without warning, eliminate their ORBS system, ICBM sites, and missile subs before they even knew what was
happening, then it wouldnТt really matter hoТ rationally they react, since they would no longer a position to do anything drastic.
УAfter that, if they saw sense, the whole would be over and only purely military targets С~ have been attacked. If they still refused to buy it, just keep hammering at their ground forces whe theyТre engaged in offensive actions against us they did. Once again, the targets would be mu thereТd be no mass killings of civilians, and we take all the time in the world since there would 1 threat to our own population or to our cities.Ф H back and waited for a reply.
УThat would be no problem,Ф was all Clifforc to say. He made the destruction of the military i of half the world sound like a simple matter of control.
УEasy, huh?Ф Sherman could not contain a smile as he gazed with a strange mixture of fascin and admiration at the young man, barely half his age, who was casually accepting the challenge to on virtually single-handed a thousand million fa~ equipped with every device of devilment tha armorers of modern warfare could provide.
УI wasnТt meaning to be flippant,Ф Clifford swered with sincerity. УI know what the machi capable of, and what you ask is well within its I Have I ever failed to deliver anything once IТve r ised it?Ф
УNo, you never have, and I donТt think you would. YouТre not the kind of person who ~ promise something he didnТt mean to deliver iT first place. SoЧI can carry on from here on tli sumption that itТs feasible?Ф
УYou can.Ф
Sherman caught the curious inflexion of~ the scientistТs voice.
УYou agree to being instrumental in the execution of a strategic plan along the lines IТve just indicated,Ф he stated, just to be sure.
УI didnТt say that,Ф Clifford replied quietly. УI said you could carry on and assume itТs feasible.Ф
Sherman looked at him with a suddenly puzzled frown as, for a few seconds, he backtracked mentally over the most recent part of the conversation. He was suddenly a trifle suspicious.
УLetТs make certain we understand one another, Dr. Clifford. Exactly what is it that you are promising to deliver?Ф
УWhat IТve always promisedЧan end to the power deadlock that is destroying this world.Ф
УAnd exactly how do you see that being achieved?Ф
A long time seemed to pass while Clifford returned
an unblinking stare. УI canТt be any more frank than
I am being right now,Ф he said, in barely more than
a whisper that seemed to add to its firmness.
The eyes of the two men met and in a brief moment an indefinable understanding flowed between them that could not have been expressed in a thousand words. Sherman gazed into the unwavering stare of absolute composure, instinctively seeking to divine the purpose that the extraordinary mind behind was unable to disclose. He became acutely conscious that only a quirk of fate gave him the right to question and command a brain that could comprehend and harness the workings of mysterious realms of time and space that no man before had even suspected to exist. Could he presume to be the infallible arbiter of its deepest workings? For a long time his instincts grappled with the objectiveness and caution demanded by his office.

~~7Q
УI could rule that we donТt use it at all,Ф he said eventually.
УThen you would have won your gamble of a year ago, without collecting any winnings.Ф
Another long silence ensued. The sound of the clock on the mantel above the fireplace and the subdued hum of the air conditioner became noticeable for the first time. The noise of a low-flying vehicle came from the darkness outside the window.
УLet me ask you a hypothetical question,Ф the President said. УIf you had a free hand to use the J-bomb in any way that you pleased and you set out to achieve the objective that you have specified by whatever means you consider it requires, would the situation that you visualize involve any unnecessary loss of life to any citizen of this country or of its allies, or the acceptance of any casualties that could be avoided by other means?Ф

УWould it entail any form of indiscriminate use against the civilian populations of hostile belligerents?Ф
ССl~~o.ТТ
Sherman took a deep breath and set his glass down on a small side table.
УIf the people who elected me could hear what IТm going to say next, theyТd probably kick me out of office without a second thought,Ф he said УI am not going to demand an explanation of what has been implied IТm going to forget that we even said it~~
Clifford remained expressionless and said nothing The President thought to himself for a while before resuming.
УEarlier this evening it was reported that the Chinese and Afrab forces in northern India have begun using nuclear weapons on a limited scale in certain key areas The Indians are retaliating in kind Unnon
doubtedly this will spread and escalate if tl~ings are left to run their course.
УIt was agreed between myself and the heads of allied governments less than three hours ago that we would issue a joint ultimatum calling upon the invading forces to cease hostilities in all theaters and to withdraw immediately to the recognized international frontiers. This ultimatum will almost certainly be rejected, at which point it was our intention to proceed immediately with the first phase of our selective strategy I describedЧan instant J-bomb strike at their means of nuclear retaliation.
УNow, going back to our hypothetical situation, if you were free to use the weapon in the way that you visualize, would there be any reason for me to change my mind? Would there be any reason for me not to convey to the allied governments confirmation of my intent to endorse the ultimatum as planned?Ф
УNo reason at all,Ф Clifford replied. УIn fact, if that were the position, it would be important that you did.Ф