[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
the number of divisions--and warheads behind them-
backing them up. And if, when all else failed, the only way left for a nation
to look after its interests was to defend them by force, then the best chance
for survival lay with ' promoting the cause totally and using every expedient
that came at hand; half measures were fatal. The shorter-term price to be paid
was regrettable, but when had Nature ever offered free lunches? And in the
longer term, what did it mean anyway7 The
Soviets had taken twenty million casualties in World War II and emerged to
fight World War III
three-quarters of a century later. And in that conflict the U.S. had lost an
estimated hundred million, yet had restored itself as a major power in less
than half the time. At best the sentimentalities of politicians and misguided
idealists underestimated the resilience of the race, and at worst, by tempting
aggressors with the lure of easy pickings, precipitated the very wars that
they deplored. Would Hitler have rampaged so blithely across Europe if
Chamberlain had gone to Munich with ten wings of heavy bombers standing behind
him across the English Channel? And when all the hackneyed words were played
and spent, hadn't everything worthwhile in history been gained
file:///F|/rah/James%20P.%20Hogan/Hogan,%20James%20P%20-%20Voyage%20from%20Yes
teryear.txt (61 of 143) [1/19/03 5:19:46 PM]
file:///F|/rah/James%20P.%20Hogan/Hogan,%20James%20P%20-%20Voyage%20from%20Yes
teryear.txt in the end by its generals?
Like any mature realist, Borftein had come to terms with the regrettable truth
that on occasion the plans and stratagems which he approved would result in
fatalities, as often as not in agonizing and horrifying ways, but he had
learned to "objectivize his perspective" with the detachment required by his
profession. The numbers of killed and wounded predicted for an intended
operation were presented by his analysts a~ the "Loss Factor" and the "Combat
Reduction Factor,"
respectively; a city selected to be incinerated along with its inhabitants was
"nominated"; an area drenched with napalm and saturated with high explosive
was subjected to "exploratory aggressive reconnaissance"; and a village
flattened as a warning against harboring insurgents became an object of a
"protective reaction." Such were the rules.
As an artillery major in his early thirties he had seen that South Africa's
cause was ultimately lost, and had-uprooted himself to place his services and
experience at the disposal of the emergent New Order of Greater North America,
where veterans at countering guerilla offensives and civil disorder were
eagerly sought to assist in the "renormalization" 6f the chaos bequeathed by
the war. Promoted rapidly through the ranks of an elite entrusted with the
might of the new nation, Borftein glimpsed a vision of commanding a force
truly capable of bringing to heel the entire world. But the vision had been
short-lived. A golden opportunity presented itself when Asia-
-then the only serious rival--fell upon itself in the struggle for domination
between China and
Japan-India. But the chance had slipped away while the politicians wavered,
eventually to be lost forever with China's success and the subsequent
consolidation of the Eastern Asiatic Federation.
Page 84
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
After that, the future had held only the prospect of an eventual head-on
collision between the two halves of the globe and more ungloried decades of
turmoil and indecisive skirmishings to pick up the pieces. Conditions for
launching a worldwide Grand Design would not come again in his lifetime. And
so he had left to seek a more rewarding destiny with the Mayflower II. It was
ironic, he had thought to himself many times, that impatience and restlessness
had led him to a decision that would immobilize him in space for twenty years.
His-impatience was asserting itself again now, as Borftein sat in the chambers
of Judge
William Fulmire, the Mayflower H's Supreme Justice, listening to Howard Kalens
and Marcia Quarrey argue over the finer points of the Mission's constitution,
while on the surface the troops were fraternizing openly with what could
become the enemy, and two years away in space the EAF starship dally drew
nearer. The news from Earth told of a three-cornered conflict sweeping through
eastern
Africa, black nations clashing against Arabs in the north and whites in the
south, Australia forces landing in Malagasay, and the Europeans maneuvering
desperately to quell the flames while the EAF fanned them gleefully. That news [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl wyciskamy.pev.pl
the number of divisions--and warheads behind them-
backing them up. And if, when all else failed, the only way left for a nation
to look after its interests was to defend them by force, then the best chance
for survival lay with ' promoting the cause totally and using every expedient
that came at hand; half measures were fatal. The shorter-term price to be paid
was regrettable, but when had Nature ever offered free lunches? And in the
longer term, what did it mean anyway7 The
Soviets had taken twenty million casualties in World War II and emerged to
fight World War III
three-quarters of a century later. And in that conflict the U.S. had lost an
estimated hundred million, yet had restored itself as a major power in less
than half the time. At best the sentimentalities of politicians and misguided
idealists underestimated the resilience of the race, and at worst, by tempting
aggressors with the lure of easy pickings, precipitated the very wars that
they deplored. Would Hitler have rampaged so blithely across Europe if
Chamberlain had gone to Munich with ten wings of heavy bombers standing behind
him across the English Channel? And when all the hackneyed words were played
and spent, hadn't everything worthwhile in history been gained
file:///F|/rah/James%20P.%20Hogan/Hogan,%20James%20P%20-%20Voyage%20from%20Yes
teryear.txt (61 of 143) [1/19/03 5:19:46 PM]
file:///F|/rah/James%20P.%20Hogan/Hogan,%20James%20P%20-%20Voyage%20from%20Yes
teryear.txt in the end by its generals?
Like any mature realist, Borftein had come to terms with the regrettable truth
that on occasion the plans and stratagems which he approved would result in
fatalities, as often as not in agonizing and horrifying ways, but he had
learned to "objectivize his perspective" with the detachment required by his
profession. The numbers of killed and wounded predicted for an intended
operation were presented by his analysts a~ the "Loss Factor" and the "Combat
Reduction Factor,"
respectively; a city selected to be incinerated along with its inhabitants was
"nominated"; an area drenched with napalm and saturated with high explosive
was subjected to "exploratory aggressive reconnaissance"; and a village
flattened as a warning against harboring insurgents became an object of a
"protective reaction." Such were the rules.
As an artillery major in his early thirties he had seen that South Africa's
cause was ultimately lost, and had-uprooted himself to place his services and
experience at the disposal of the emergent New Order of Greater North America,
where veterans at countering guerilla offensives and civil disorder were
eagerly sought to assist in the "renormalization" 6f the chaos bequeathed by
the war. Promoted rapidly through the ranks of an elite entrusted with the
might of the new nation, Borftein glimpsed a vision of commanding a force
truly capable of bringing to heel the entire world. But the vision had been
short-lived. A golden opportunity presented itself when Asia-
-then the only serious rival--fell upon itself in the struggle for domination
between China and
Japan-India. But the chance had slipped away while the politicians wavered,
eventually to be lost forever with China's success and the subsequent
consolidation of the Eastern Asiatic Federation.
Page 84
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
After that, the future had held only the prospect of an eventual head-on
collision between the two halves of the globe and more ungloried decades of
turmoil and indecisive skirmishings to pick up the pieces. Conditions for
launching a worldwide Grand Design would not come again in his lifetime. And
so he had left to seek a more rewarding destiny with the Mayflower II. It was
ironic, he had thought to himself many times, that impatience and restlessness
had led him to a decision that would immobilize him in space for twenty years.
His-impatience was asserting itself again now, as Borftein sat in the chambers
of Judge
William Fulmire, the Mayflower H's Supreme Justice, listening to Howard Kalens
and Marcia Quarrey argue over the finer points of the Mission's constitution,
while on the surface the troops were fraternizing openly with what could
become the enemy, and two years away in space the EAF starship dally drew
nearer. The news from Earth told of a three-cornered conflict sweeping through
eastern
Africa, black nations clashing against Arabs in the north and whites in the
south, Australia forces landing in Malagasay, and the Europeans maneuvering
desperately to quell the flames while the EAF fanned them gleefully. That news [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]