Having taken over the ground installations and the Surya, Zeigler was effectively in control of the mission. Thinning down his forces to physically seize the Varuna beyond placing guards in the Control Center and Communications Room was not necessary, since with its power module down at Serengeti the ship wasn't about to go anywhere, and without cooperation from the ground it could accomplish little else. Its occupants were not equipped to resist armed boarders, and the ship could be taken over fully when the time was convenient.
The real reason why the SA contingent had been included with the mission and why such a large proportion of them were disgruntled young Terrans who couldn't fit into the Kronian system, was now glaringly clear. They concealed a hard core of Pragmatist sympathizers who, given they were prepared to act ruthlessly enough, might well be sufficient to maintain their position.
Maintain their position until what? For the moment, the majority of the base's inhabitants were at a loss. Even those who might have been capable of acting had been taken by surprise, with no plan or chance to organize. But that would change. The Terrans had a long history of finding ways to resist coercive violence, and Kronians were fast learners. Yes, for now Zeigler and his followers had the guns; but they couldn't imagine it would be possible to dictate to such a numerical majority indefinitely. Hence, they anticipated being reinforced in some way before very much longer, and consolidating their position.
To Keene's mind, it said that taking over the Aztec had to be part of their plan tooit was already on its way to Earth with more equipment and materials, accompanied by another flotilla of supply rafts. And who knew how many more Pragmatist supporters might be included among its numbers? But it didn't necessarily follow that they would make their move there at the same time as Zeigler. In fact, it would make more sense for them to bide their time until the events on Earth could be concealed no longer. That meant there was a fair chance that the most effective way of throwing a wrench into the Pragmatists' works might be to contrive some way of getting a warning out to the Aztecthus depriving the Pragmatists of that whole factor in the equation.
But how? Zeigler's people controlled all communications beyond the Varuna. Keene still hadn't come up with a means that seemed viable a day after Zeigler's coup. Then Zeigler summoned him to be brought over to the Operations and Communications Dome for a "discussion."
Zeigler summarized from behind the desk in the room he had taken over in the office section on the upper level. Two armed guards stood inside the door, a short distance behind Keene's chair.
"I expect you and your staff to maintain power from the Agni module as normal. Failure on that account will merely prevent the continued growth of the base toward full functionality, putting everyone out there that much the more at risk. I trust I make myself clear."
It was blackmail. By "everyone out there" he meant all of Keene's kindthose who were not part of the takeover. Zeigler and his cohort had moved in to take full control of the OpCom dome, installing quarters for themselves on the lower level, surrounding it with a wire fence, and posting guards at the two gates. OpComs had its own standby generator, which meant that if Keene cut off the power from Agni it would only be depriving everyone else, and stopping further development of the facilities. In other words, it wouldn't do Keene a lot of good, but it could cause friction between him and some of the others out there. It was Keene's call.
Right now, Keene could see nothing to be gained by creating further disruption. He was up against a classical no-win bind: either cooperate or risk incurring the kind of resentments that those who would divide and conquer just love to precipitate. Zeigler had also intimated without threatening openly that if forced, he would resort to taking hostages. Keene had no doubt that he meant it. Zeigler was past the point of no return and had nothing to lose by going to any extreme now. Maybe that had been his purpose.
"Do you really think you're going to get away with this?" Keene asked. No prizes for originality, but he was fishing. In his answer, Zeigler might give away something useful.
"Why don't you let us worry about that, Dr. Keene?" Zeigler suggested.
"Gallian said it all. Do you think you're ever going to sleep easily at night now?"
"I've tried to address that issue tactfully. We'd prefer not to be driven to taking extreme measures. But if you compel us . . ." So the victims, not the perpetrators, would be responsible. The old terrorists' and kidnapers' ploy. But some of the Kronians had already halfway bought it.
"Time isn't on your side," Keene said.
"Don't you believe it."
"Really? Why not?" What did Zeigler think was going to happen to change things?
But Zeigler showed no inclination to elaborate. "In fact, time could be something you might profitably put to use yourself while you have it," he said. "Eventually, a new state will take root here. A state based on realistic understanding of the forces that must inevitably emerge and then clash in the running of a complex society. We have a world rich with resources. Kronia has a few balls of ice. Don't be caught on the wrong side when the real test comes." Zeigler paused pointedly. "Ours could be very generous in its rewards for those who worked with us from an early stage."
Keene's fists snapped shut, and he almost sprang from the chair, but checked himself as he remembered the guards behind. "I already told you, you're out of your mind," he said tightly.
"I wasn't asking for an answer now, or expecting one," Zeigler said. "But something for you to think over, nevertheless. As I suggested to you before, things would be considerably eased for all if a single spokesman were appointed for the others. Perhaps we can resume this conversation when the time is more opportune." He nodded to the guards. Keene started to say something but Zeigler cut him off. "That will be all for now."
One of the guards came forward. Keene stood. The other opened the door, and they ushered him out.
Shayle was still numbed when Keene joined her in the power distribution house, next to where Agni was sited, behind the workshop domes. She and two technicians were running power factor and frequency tests, watched by a couple of Zeigler's guards. Keene told her that it would better serve the interests of everyone if they carried on as normal for the time being. The decision didn't seem to come as any great surprise to her. As a Kronian, she would have been hard put to conceive in any concrete form exactly what else they were supposed to do. Just at the moment, Keene was far from having much of an idea himself. They moved through a switchroom annex behind the control room and went outside via a door at the far end, where they could talk away from unwelcome ears.
"What else did he say?" Shayle asked. She stood in the pose of women gripped by anxiety, pulling her jacket tighter around her as if she were cold. In fact the wind had shifted to the south and did have a chilly nip to it.
"The proposition about being a spokesman and making it easier for everyone, again," Keene answered. "Only this time laced with a dash of promise of being well looked after when they run their Brave New World."
"You didn't agree, did you?"
Keene shook his head. "No . . ." He let it hang for a moment. "But things could reach the point where something like that might be the best course. The strategy of people like that is always to divide the opposition among themselves. That's how tyrants stay in power. Speaking through one person could keep us united and make it more difficult."
"You mean you'd cooperate with them?"
Keene sighed. "See how they get you? They've got you doubting me already."
"I'm sorry, Lan." Shayle put a hand to her brow and shook her head. "I've just got no instinct for dealing with this. . . . None of us have."
"I know."
Shayle stared out past the domes and structures of the base at the hills outlined against a dark, angry sky. "So how bad could it get? How does a minority like this keep control over a whole community?"
"You've already seen how," Keene said grimly.
"But they can't shoot everybody. There's got to be a line. Push people beyond it and they'll simply revolt en masse because they've nothing to lose. I do know something about Earth's history, even if I never lived it."
Keene shrugged. "It's like I said. You divide them against each other. Single out individuals and make examples of them. Take hostages. And if you've got the guns, you can do things like control the food"he gestured at the wall shielding Agni"or the energy supply. When you have power over people's ability to make a living and survive, they'll do what you want." As an afterthought, he added, "Controlling the distribution of wealth created by others was how the elites who ran Earth operated for centuries. If 'slavery' means being coerced to work for the benefit of others, maybe it never really was abolished. They just replaced the blatant physical kind with things that were more subtle." He looked at Shayle curiously. "I never thought about that before. Maybe there are more reasons for Kronia's determination to stay away from introducing a monetary system than I realized."
"But for how long?" Shayle persisted. "How can something like this it last?"
"Look how long it lasted on Earth," Keene replied. "Even then, it took Athena to end it."
Shayle shook her head. "But surely this is different. That was a whole world of mutually supporting interests. We are just . . . this. They're obviously not so stupid as to believe that they can hold on indefinitely as things are. They must be expecting some kind of reinforcement."
Keene nodded. "Yes, I'd already come to the same conclusion."
"But who?"
"What else can it be but the Aztec?"
Shayle stared at him in the kind of disbelieving way that said it was too obvious. "Of course," she said tiredly.
"It's got the AG lithoforming prototypes to make big, secure constructions here. Profab equipment to create a diversified industrial base. That would give them a start to expand from."
"Would it be enough? Obviously there won't be any more follow-up missions from Saturn now."
Keene could only shrug. "Maybe that's a gamble they decided to take. With a whole planet full of resources here for the taking, waiting to be developed . . ."
"By whom?if they have to spend all their time keeping the rest of us in line."
"By us, working for them. That's what it's all about. And in any case, we don't know how many more of them there might be coming with the Aztec. That could change the balance of numbers a lot."
Keene gazed around restlessly. One of the guards had come through into the switchroom to keep an eye on them, but he was staying back at the far end. Keene dropped his voice. "Saturn will figure out that something's wrong here from the communications blackout, but it might take them awhile. So the Pragmatists might not have made their move on the Aztec yet. It still might not be too late to get a warning to the ship somehow. We need a way of getting access to the Varuna's or the Surya's communications."
Shayle stared at the bank of cable ducts and piping running from the power building through the shielding wall around the Agni, and then looked back into the room full of equipment behind them. Something was taking shape in her mind. Keene watched her face silently and waited. When she spoke, her agitation of a moment ago had given way to a deeper, more distant thoughtfulness.
"Suppose we staged some kind of problem with Agni's power system down here that needed diagnostics and repair directions from the Varuna to fix. At least that would put us in touch with the engineers up there."
"But Agni's self-sufficient. It wouldn't need any help from up there," Keene pointed out.
"You and I know that. But Zeigler doesn't."
Keene stared at her. Of course! The shadow of a grin softened his face. "And then we play it by ear from there," he completed.
"Something like that."
Keene checked it through in his mind again. There was no obvious flaw that he could see. And time was crucial. He nodded. "The sooner the better, then. We'll need to cue Gus and Blinda in on what we're doing." They were the two Kronians back inside the power house. He thought for a few seconds longer. "Can you dream up something, Shayle? It would probably look better if I weren't around when it happens. Let Zeigler's people come to me when you discover the 'emergency.' "
"That's fine. Leave it to me," Shayle said.
They made a cursory show of checking displays and equipment in the switchroom, then went back into the main distribution control center. "I'm done here for now," Keene said to the guards. "I need to go back to the dorms." It stuck in his throat to have to ask it, but the formality was already established. One of the guards nodded. Keene left via the door connecting through to the workshop domes.