can see a future for humanity. We see a man who will stop at nothing to get there. We see a man who knows that, yes, we are in a situation where the ends justify the means. That ends is the survival of our species.”
“So I should kill the people in New Winnabow to save the rest of us?”
“Yes!” Gordon nearly shouted. “If we are fortunate to win this war then in two hundred years our great grand children can second guess everything you did like they second guessed Truman for dropping the bomb. If we don’t win…it’s all over. There will be no one to pass judgment on you.”
“If I destroy these people for the greater good, what will our grand children say of me?”
Gordon narrowed his eyes, shook his head in the slightest, and with a combination frustration and awe, told him, “That’s why we follow you, Trevor. Because you don’t care what they will say. You know how important this is. You do whatever it takes. You’re not some slimy politician, you’re a leader.”
Knox’s words sparked something in Trevor.
“That’s it,” Trevor said. “A politician.”
“What?”
“Evan Godfrey. He has a silver tongue. He’s just the man I need for this.”
Gordon smiled but not in humor.
“You’re going to ask for his help? You’re willing to swallow your pride that much?”
“You said it, Gordon. I’ll do whatever it takes. If I have to crawl on my belly and kiss Evan Godfrey’s boot I’ll do it, if he can get us through this town without bloodshed. Bring him to me. Now.”
Evan Godfrey and Dante Jones stood in front of Trevor’s desk in the old Command Center on the second floor of the mansion.
“You want me to what?” The shock in Godfrey’s voice carried out of the room and down the hall, practically through the entire house.
“I want you to go there and convince them to let our army pass.”
Evan glanced at Dante Jones then back to Trevor.
“But I agree with the guy down there. He shouldn’t let you pass through. They’re a sovereign country. Besides, I don’t think we should be pushing this war so much. Take this as a sign and pull the troops back.”
Trevor stood and snapped, “Evan!”
Godfrey, surprised, stopped talking.
Stone calmed and explained, “You’re not hearing me. You’re not listening, Evan. I didn’t call you in here to get your opinion. I have to go through that town, one way or another. Do you understand? We’re beyond the point of no return. Either he lets us pass or we push through.”
Dante chimed in, “When you say push through, you mean a fight. You mean we’re going to shoot up other humans.”
“Oh,” Godfrey nodded as he came to understand. “I get it. You think I can be more persuasive. You think I can trick him into letting us through.”
“ Convince him,” Trevor corrected. “Convince him that it’s in his best interest. Make sure he knows I have no choice. Promise him whatever it takes-food, fuel, medicine-whatever. But Evan, make sure he knows that if he doesn’t let us pass I must send the army in there. Tanks. Guns. Make sure he knows I will have to do that.”
Godfrey nodded, “You want me to convince him that all the blood will be on his hands. That the decision is his and his alone. You want your conscience to be clear, is that it?”
“Damn it, Evan! For once, can you see the big picture? Can you see the position we’re in?”
Evan fell quiet again.
Stone asked, “Will you do this?”
Evan stared at Trevor. He stared at him waiting in anticipation of the word he needed to hear. Trevor understood and made the concession.
“Please.”
“I can only imagine,” Evan said seriously. “How hard that was for you.”
“Not as hard as sending my men to kill other human beings.”
“Okay then, I’ll go to New Winnabow. I’ll try and convince them to let us through. “
“What does this have to do with me?” Dante asked.
Trevor swallowed his pride again.
“I’ve been on your case a lot, Dante. One thing hasn’t changed, though. I trust your judgment. I’m thinking maybe you can help figure out what it will take.”
“And our intruder?”
Trevor waved a hand and told him, “Leave it to your lieutenant. What’s his name? Roos?”
“Yeah. Ray Roos.”
“He can handle it,” Trevor said in what sounded to Dante’s ears as the closest his old friend would ever come to an apology.
“When do we leave?” Evan asked.
“Now.”
On Friday, August 28, while Nina Forest and the Hunter-Killers battled a Shadow and Stonewall McAllister’s forward elements moved to within twenty miles of the South Carolina border, Evan Godfrey arrived with Dante Jones on the outskirts of New Winnabow.
“As they used to say in the old days,” Robert Parsons said as he greeted the newcomers. “If I had a nickel for every tour I gave of our town, I’d be a rich man.”
Evan shook his hand, saying, “Fortunately, nickels are not the most important currency of our new world. My name is Evan Godfrey; this is Dante Jones. We are members of the council of our…our…”
Parsons finished for the man, “Your Empire. I see that word does not slip easily from your lips.”
“It is not a word I like. You must be Robert Parsons. Chief of the New Winnabow council.”
“Yes,” he said. “My people elected me. How about you, Mr. Godfrey?”
“I’m afraid I was appointed. If it means anything to you, I wish it were otherwise.”
The group moved away from the Eagle airship that had delivered the two representatives. Both Evan and Dante entered the town unarmed and without escort.
“So tell me, Mr. Godfrey. Why are you here?”
Dante Jones decided to join the conversation, “We’re here to find a solution to our problem.”
“It is not my problem, Mr. Jones. I hate to be so blunt but we are not associated with this in any way. We did not ask for your armies to come along the road.”
“I am afraid, sir, that it is your problem,” Dante corrected. “You need to understand that.”
“My friend is right, Mr. Parsons,” Godfrey agreed. “As is true in so much of life, we don’t always get to choose our problems. They choose us. I don’t know how much weight this will carry, but I am against the actions of my military. I oppose the plan they are executing. I oppose the demand that they go through your town. If it were up to me, I would turn those armies around and never return to New Winnabow.”
They reached the town proper and walked amidst the population. Some of those people carried baskets of bread baked in brick ovens; the aroma stirred the appetite. Others led livestock, one man pushed a wheelbarrow packed high with building materials.
Evan tried to dive into business, but the sight and sounds of New Winnabow took him by surprise. It had been one thing to hear the town described, another to see it in action. The more he saw, the more New Winnabow resembled the vision Evan held for the future of humanity. A far cry from the path of Trevor Stone.
“What do you think of our hamlet, Mr. Godfrey?” Parsons asked as they rounded a corner. A group of children ran by playing tag.
“This is…you have built something amazing here.”
“You might appreciate this,” Parsons directed them toward the arena in the middle of town.
“Wow, pretty impressive,” Dante said as he took in the sight of the outer walls that stood five stories tall.
“You built all this, by hand?” Godfrey wondered.
“For the most part, yes,” Parsons answered. “But out of necessity, not desire. We do not shun technology.
