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for mankind instead of for war, we would all be better off than we are. Except for those who profit from
the misery of others." I glanced at Tocsin. He was no longer on the holo, but my audience would
understand.
"Earth was on the verge of self-destruction back in the twentieth century," I continued. "Only the onset
of the gravity-shield, that enabled man to expand from Earth to the Solar System, enabled us to avoid
that fate. The gee-shield made it possible to lift objects of any mass from the surface of any planet, and
to approach the giant planets without being trapped or crushed by gravity, and to enhance the gee on
moons locally to match Earth-norm. All else followed from that single breakthrough. The System was
apportioned to the several nations of Earth according to their natures and the nature of the available
territories, and the expansion of several centuries commenced. In that time the threat of war abated; the
resources of each nation went to the development of its major colony. Only in the past century has our
past returned to haunt us, as our cultures reenact the conflicts that threatened to destroy us before. We
have filled the Solar System, and the pressures of increasing population and diminishing resources,
coupled with the absolute folly of warfare, are threatening again to destroy us. We have to have a new
direction for our energy, to avert forever the negative consequences of our nature. We have to look
outward, not inward; to reach for new riches beyond our current knowledge, instead of competing and
eventually warring for larger shares of a shrinking pie. When that very competition destroys the
resources we seek."
I gazed into the holo of the planet of Jupiter, knowing that my eyes were fixing on every person
watching. "This is the Dream that Chairman Khukov had, and that I share, and that the entire System
must share. It is the Dream of the colonization of the galaxy itself. We have made the technological
breakthrough; we can travel to the stars. By means of the light drive we can reach any other point in
space at the speed of light and no matter how far that is, how long it takes, we shall not age in the
process. I have used this drive a number of times; it is like stepping directly planet to planet. I am
confident that if we use this method to travel to the stars, and to the planets of those stars, it will be no
different; it will be in effect instantaneous. Any one of us could board a ship today, and be in Sirius
tomorrow, and return the day after, no older. Or anywhere else in the galaxy. The risk is minimal,
because now we do not even need a receiver; our ships are to be self-receiving. This is how I came to
Ganymede, despite the defenses of Jupiter. Our ships will set out fully equipped for colonization, as they
did when they left Earth for Jupiter; they will expend virtually no fuel in transit, only some for the
process of rematerializing at the destination. If no suitable bodies for colonization are found, new
projection stations will be set up, and the ships will travel as readily elsewhere. It is true there will be
challenges, and losses but perhaps no more than there were in the colonization of the Solar System.
The rewards are potentially much greater. War will be a thing of the past, for each nation can have an
entire system to colonize, or a complex of systems. There will be no need for competition for resources
or living space. Only for peaceful trade between systems. This is the Dream, and this is what I bring to
Jupiter. The rest of the Solar System has embraced it; only Jupiter remains excluded because of the
selfish desire for continued power of a few leaders. I am here to remove those leaders and bring the
Dream to Jupiter. Are you with me, people of Jupiter?"
Now we turned on the response feedback circuit. It hardly seemed to take six seconds; a roar of music
came forth. There was no question: the people were with me. They wanted the Dream.
"It's a lie!" Tocsin shouted. "He's just making it up so as to seize power for himself!"
He was the one who was lying. But I was ready to counter this, regardless. "I need no further power for
myself," I said. "My time is limited. I seek this power only as the means to the end of the salvation of
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the future of humanity. Before I die, I want to establish the Dream for everyone." Then, forestalling
Tocsin's objection, I undid my belt and dropped my trousers, remaining on holo broadcast. "You see, I
am no longer healthy," I said as I undressed. "I have lost my kidneys, and am sustained only by
hemodialysis, because my system rejects all other mechanisms. Here are the scars on my legs where my
blood has been tapped; here is the bandage that secures the loop that taps into my blood at present." I
undid the bandage and showed the blood-filled tube. "The doctors will be able to verify the validity of
this condition," I said, lifting my leg so that the tube showed clearly. "I have only a few years to live,
because my sites are running out; when I can no longer be dialyzed, I shall die. I have no further use for
power, other than to forward the Dream."
I had won my point; the feedback reaction showed that. The people of Jupiter were with me, and,
perceiving that, the officers of the Jupiter Navy were stepping down and stepping up according to my
listing. My bloodless coup was proceeding. I had been out of power here for five years, but I had been in
power for ten years before that, and active elsewhere in the System in the interim, so the people knew
me. They knew what kind of government I stood for, and it was clear that it was superior to what they
had now. They also knew they could trust me to tell them the truth, and the truth I was telling them was
the Dream. The victory was not yet complete, but it was clearly going to be mine. Rue had done what [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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