Marooned in Realtime

Wil sat back and-just like in the old days-tried to come up with something that would satisfy the inflated expectations of his customer. 'Yelen, I agree that governments are a form of deception-though not necessarily for the rulers, who usually benefit from them. Most of the citizens, most of the time, must be convinced that the national interest is more important than their own. To you this must seem like an incredible piece of mass hypnotism, backed up by the public disciplining of dissenters.'

Yelen nodded. 'And the 'mass hypnotism' is the important thing. Any time they want, the NM rank and file could just give Fraley the finger and walk away; he couldn't kill 'em all. Instead they stay, his tools.'

'Yes, but in a way this gives them power, too. If they walk, where's to go? There are no other groups. There is no ungoverned society like in my time.'

'Sure there is. The Earth is empty, and almost a third of the low-techs are ungovs. There's nothing to keep people front settling down to their own interests.'

Wil shook his head, surprised at his own insight, surprised at his voicing it to Yelen. Before, he wouldn't have thought to argue with her. But she seemed sincerely interested in his opinion. 'Don't you see, Yelen? There are no ungoverned now. There are the Peacers, the NMs-but over all the low-techs there is the government of Yelen Korolev.'

'What? I am not a government!' Red rose in her face. '1 don't tax. I don't conscript. I only want to do what's right for people.' Even if she was changed, at that moment Wil was glad for Lu's auton hovering above his house.

Wil chose his next words carefully. 'That's all true. But you have two of the three essential attributes of government: First, the low-techs believe-correctly, I think-that you have the power of life and death over them. Second, you use that belief -however gently-to make them put your goals ahead of theirs.'

It was pop social science from Wil's era, but it seemed to have a real effect on Korolev. She rubbed her chin. 'So you figure that, at least subconsciously, the low-techs feel they have to choose sides?'

'Yes. And as the most powerful governing force, you could easily come out the most distrusted.'

'What is your advice, then?'

'I, uh...' Wil had painted himself into a corner. Yes. Suppose I'm right. What then? The little settlement at fifty megayears was totally different from the society of Wil's time. It was entirely possible that without Korolev force, the handful of seeds collected here would be blown away on the winds of time. And separately, those seeds would never bloom.

Back in civilization, Wil had never thought much on 'Great Issues.' Even in school, he hadn't liked nitpicking arguments about religion or natural rights. The world made sense and seemed to respond appropriately to his actions. Since he had lost Virginia, everything was so terribly on its head. Could there really be a situation so weird that he would advocate government? He felt like a Victorian pushing sodomy.

Yelen gave him a lopsided grin. 'You know, Marta said some of the same things. You don't have her training, but you seem to have her sense. My gentle Machiavelli didn't shrink from the consequences, though. I've got to be popular, yet I've still got to have my way....'

She looked at him, seemed to reach a decision. 'Look, Inspector, I want you to mix more. Both the NMs and the Peacers have regular recruiting parties. Go to the next Peacer one. Listen to what they're saying. Maybe you can explain them to me. And maybe you can explain me to them. You were a popular person in your time. Tell people what you think even what you don't like about me. If they have to choose sides, I think I'm their best bet.'

Wil nodded. First the Dasguptas and now Korolev: Was there a conspiracy to get W. W. Brierson back in circulation? 'What about the investigation?'

Yelen was silent for a moment. 'I need you for both, Brierson. I mourned Marta for a hundred years. I traced her around the Inland Sea a meter at a time. I've got records or bobble samples of everything she did and everything she wrote. 1-1 think I'm over the rage. The most important thing in my life now is to see that Marta didn't die in vain. I will do anything to make the settlement succeed. That means finding the killer, but it also means selling my case to the low-techs.'

NINE

That night he took another look at Marta's diary. It was a very low-priority item now, but he couldn't concentrate on anything more technical. Yelen had read the diary several times. In their literal-minded way, her autons had gone over the text in even more detail, and Lu's had cross-checked the analysis. Marta knew she had been murdered, but said again and again that she had no clues beyond her description of the evening of the party. According to the overdoc, she rarely repeated the details in later years, and when she did it was clear that her earlier memories were the more precise.

Now Will browsed the earliest sections. Marta had stayed near Town Korolev for more than a year. Though she said otherwise, it was clear she hoped for rescue in some small multiple of ninety days. Even if that rescue didn't come, she had lots of preparing to do: She planned to walk to Canada, halfway around the world.

T ,.. but klick for klick it barely qualifies as an intermediate survival course, t she wrote. T It will take years, and I may miss a lookabout back here at Town Korolev, but that's okay. Along the way, I'll put billboards at the West End mines and the Peacer bobble. Once I get your attention, give me a sign, Lelya: Nuke the sky for a week of nights. I'll find open ground, and wait for the autons. t