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"Is that what caused the blinking lights and the power fluctuations?"
"Before we shut the grid down? Yes."
"What else?" asked the tallest general, Guiteres, the Chief of Staff.
"Second, as I mentioned earlier, this was a replicating program. Each
connection transferred the program to the new terminal and left it displayed
there, as well as printing it wherever possible."
"You mean, there are hundreds copies of this . . . this monstrosity
printed all over Byzania?"
"More like thousands, but the distribution would be very uneven. When we
shut the grid down, the penetration of Conuno was close to ninety percent.
Probably only about seventy percent for Conduo, and less than twenty-five
percent for Contrio. Most of the terminals don't have power-fail memories. By
killing the power we automatically destroyed close to ninety percent of the
vidterm duplicates."
"What about hard copy?" asked the Chief of Staff.
Colonel Gwarara frowned. "A rough estimate would be close to fifty
percent of all hard-copy facilities with power-fail memories."
"But every dwelling in Illyam has a hard-copy capability. That's more
than two million."
"It would be less than that, General," corrected the colonel. "The
access was only to vidterms with on-line printers, not backup units."
"The point is the same," sighed General Guiteres. "There are more than
enough copies available that anyone who wanted to repeat the program could."
"No, ser. We can shield against this program being used again by
anyone."
Guiteres stared at the colonel. "You can shield against this particular
program. Can you shield against another that has a different introduction? Or
a different mechanism? Can you hide the basic concept?"
Gwarara looked at the hard and gray plastic of the bunker floor. "No,
General."
"Gentlemen," Guiteres said softly, "the revolution is over. And we have
lost."
"What?"
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"Are you insane?"
The Chief of Staff waited until the shock silenced the other two
generals. The colonel said nothing.
"I do not propose admitting this publicly. Nor have we lost the
immediate control of the situation. But the society we have today is doomed,
no matter what we do. We have been able to maintain control because we held
all communications, because the distribution of food, information, and
transportation was monitored and regulated through the communications network.
"Ser Corson, whoever he really is, has handed those who oppose us both
the format and concept of shutting down those communications channels. How
many blockages can we take before the entire fabric unwinds? Three . . . five
. . . a dozen?
"He has also destroyed orbit control, somehow. We do not have the
resources to replace it, nor can we purchase a replacement if Byzania is
quarantined, which seems likely. Further, without the satellite control links,
our access to the relay monitors is limited to line of sight. That will give
the savages more time to act and to avoid our patrols. To keep the
communications relays operating will require maintenance from the shuttle
port, which is expensive and energy intensive."
"So . . . ?" asked Taliseo. "So it costs us more. So it requires a
stepped-up patrol effort to keep the savages in line. So what?"
"Don't you see?" responded Guiteres. "To maintain control under our
present system will require more troops, more force. More overt use of force
will create more resentment and unrest, which will generate other blockages,
requiring greater force."
He stopped and looked around the bunker, wiping his own forehead with
the back of his left hand.
ôAssuming you are correct, and I have some considerable doubts, what do
you suggest?" asked Taliseo.
Somozes frowned as he watched the two senior generals debate.
"In general terms," answered the Chief of Staff, "the answer is clear.
We have to build a more decentralized system and society, using the existing
political framework and economic structure, and we have to begin before the
savages and the other opportunists understand the real situation."
"I disagree," interjected Somozes. "Why should we give anything away?
We've given them prosperity, eliminated most crimes, and a pretty honest
government."
"How many dissidents have vanished? How many radical friends of students
have taken `trips' and never returned? Do you think that a prosperous people
ever considers the hardships that otherwise might hay-a been?"
'That doesn't matter. We still hold the power."
"How many personnel in the armed forces?"
"Three hundred thousand."
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"How many people on Byzania?"
"Thirty million."
"How many spacecraft?"
"One cruiser, one light cruiser, ten corvettes, ten scouts, and five
freighters. Plus the orbit patrollers."
"And how many savages in the outer forests? How many student dissidents
we know nothing about?"
Somozes shrugged, as if to indicate that he didn't know and could have
cared less.
"More than four thousand, on all three continents," answered Taliseo.
"That's not counting the underground within the cities."
"Half our armed forces is required to keep the forest groups in check.
Half! Do you not understand?" Guiteres glared at Somozes, who seemed to ignore
the look. "With our credit account system, we could isolate individuals. Does
Miguel order more food than a family of three needs? We knew. Who does he
call? We knew. What electronic components are produced and shipped? To whom?
For what? We knew, and we could cross-check. Now, it is only a matter of time
before the dissidents discover that they can destroy that tracking and control
system. Even a single blockage will allow uncounted tons of material to be
diverted."
Guiteres raked the three others with brown eyes that radiated contempt.
"Because we controlled the education, we could keep track of those who
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