Chapter 13 Sanctioned #2
“Fort Rustin and the surrounding community are sure to vote Dominion Party, but our seat of power is here, in the central region, and the scattered villages of the west. Not a lot of seats come from there, as the population is so sparse, but the capital’s votes make up for it.
The people here love you, and they’ll vote for your party against their own interests if it comes to it.
Mr. President, I believe if you were to travel, go on tour to the east, you could win them over.
Do something the Agrarians want—show them you’re on their side—and they’ll switch parties. ”
“Out of the question,” declared Vexler. “It’s too dangerous. Even if you rode the train, you’d have to pass the craters of death, no-man’s-land, and bandit country before you reached Fort Rustin. Your life is too important to risk.”
“I’ll think on it. Anything else?” He steepled his fingers and glanced back at Graves.
“There is the matter of the dissenters who were arrested for protesting against the anti-miscegenation laws.”
Maddox’s neck tensed. This was a prickly subject in the army.
Many Black and Hispanic soldiers served with honor, but new laws Maddox had pushed through Congress forbade mixed-race applicants from being accepted.
He’d had the unfortunate duty of dismissing over a thousand soldiers who had signed on before the law was passed.
He’d fought to grandfather them in. Lost.
“Protests are serious business,” Luther stated gravely.
“Everyone thinks it’s the riots, the rock-throwing, the bashing of windows, and looting that are the problem, but they aren’t.
Violent protests are inherently unpopular.
Law-abiding citizens reject whatever cause they’re pushing out of principle.
It’s the peaceful ones you have to watch out for.
Words are power. We can’t allow the wrong ones to be heard. ”
Luther Irons always talked about freedom in his speeches.
But the more Maddox thought about it, the fewer freedoms he could identify that the current regime protected.
Rationing of water, food, clothing, and fuel was practical.
Necessary. Prioritizing a state religion as a unifying factor had been agreed upon early on, long before Irons’ rise to power.
But all this doctrine of racial purity …
And I have a niece who lives with her Black woman friend.
What if the government got nosy? What if they persecute them?
They aren’t hurting anyone. They can’t even produce children, let alone half-breeds. Still …
“I’ve just completed a new study,” Dr. Venz asserted. He turned on his electronic tablet. Maddox stuck to paper notebooks. More reliable.
“I conducted a battery of tests in my lab on subjects Ms. Graves supplied and have concluded—without question—that mixed-race mongrels are defective, inferior in every way to purebreds. Intellect, muscle tone, immunity to disease, and so forth.”
The overhead lights gleamed off his frizzy tufts of gray hair as he hunched over his information pad.
“Now, people might ask, how can one study be conclusive? Although we can’t make it public, I’ve been in contact with scientists in Clover Hollow, in the Spires.
They’ve concluded the same. Their Oracle, their all-knowing AI, matches couples to marry—which I would never suggest we do,” he swore.
“But it never pairs partners of different races.”
“The Tower of Babel,” pronounced Reverend Quell. “The Almighty separated people by language, which means by race, and sent them out to be separate. It is heresy to disobey His directive.”
“We could make a public example of the protestors,” Vexler suggested. “A beating or a hanging. Put some fear into the people’s hearts.”
“That could backfire,” Graves countered. “President Irons must be viewed as a champion of the people, not a vindictive bully. Your strategy risks turning the criminals into martyrs. I can make them disappear. Quietly. Permanently.”
Maddox glanced across the table at Colt. His head was bowed, hands clasped together. He’s not on board with this, he considered. I can tell.
“You could take them for a swim in the Scalding Wells, give them a taste of the Pit,” Luther proposed, a calculating expression on his face.
“Send them home with a warning—and disfiguring scars. We’ll tell people that, after the protest, they hid in the outer ring, an off-limits underground.
Fell in. Terrible accident. If they open their mouths to say otherwise, then a trip to Tucson can be arranged. ”
“I think that’ll cover it,” Vexler agreed.
Maddox felt sick to his stomach. The springs, once a life-giving symbol of health and vitality, transformed into a toxic pit of boiling torture.
And Luther Irons, whose bid for president Maddox had supported?
Had he always been unethical, cruel, and unrestrained, or had power corrupted him?
There’s nothing I can do, he told himself.
Anyone who calls him out gets fired. At least while I’m in command of the army, I can ensure a minimal loss of life on the battlefield.
I can be a voice of reason on the council.
“Colt,” Irons said, turning to his son. Colt perked up, facing him with quiet dignity.
“I’ve decided you can accomplish several objectives with one trip.
I’m sending you on an important mission to Fort Rustin—I know you won’t let me down.
” He grinned proudly at Colt. “Take the shipment of munitions and supplies to the front, and, while you’re there, I’ll arrange for you to give some speeches, let the good folks know President Irons hasn’t forgotten them.
That farm bill the Agrarians want? It’ll pass Congress before you arrive. ”
Colt nodded. “Yes, sir. I can do that—no problem.”
“Good. You need to be in charge of more operations, you hear that, General?” His commanding stare landed on Maddox.
“Yes, sir, Mr. President. Captain Irons is a fine officer.”
Luther smiled at the response, then held out his palms innocently.
“It’s not like every elected official must belong to the Dominion Party.
We have to maintain the mirage of democracy.
” His gaze hardening, he added, “But it’s imperative we keep a strong majority at all times—no matter what it takes. ”