Lucifer's Hammer - Larry Niven [303]
"Or eating each other," someone shouted.
"Exactly," Hardy said. "And by spring we'll be able to take their land. Tim, not only do we not need to turn any of our friends away, we need new people to work the lands we have taken or will have in spring. I don't mean for your friends to run. I mean to welcome them as our guests, friends, as new citizens here. Does everyone agree?"
There were shouts. "Hell yeah!" "Glad to have them."
Tim Hamner spread his hands, palms outward, pleading. He wobbled on his damaged hip. There were the beginnings of tears in his eyes. "Don't you understand? The power plant! We can't leave it, and without help the New Brotherhood will destroy it!"
"No, dammit," Harvey muttered. He felt Maureen stiffen. "No more wars," Harvey said. "We've had enough. Hardy's right." He looked for approval from Maureen, but only got a blank stare.
George Christopher was laughing. It carried, like Al Hardy's voice. "They're too damned weak to attack anything," he shouted. "First we crunched them. Then you did. They won't stop running until they're back to Los Angeles. Who needs to worry about them? We chased the bastards fifty miles ourselves."
More laughter in the room. Then Maureen broke away from Harvey and moved past her father. When she spoke her voice did not carry the way Hardy's did, but it commanded silence, and the crowd listened to her. "They still have their weapons," she said. "And, Tim, you said their leaders are still alive … "
"Well, one of them is," Hamner said. "The crazy preacher."
"Then some of them will try to destroy the power plant again," Maureen said. "As long as he's alive, he'll keep trying." She turned to Hardy. "Al, you know that. You heard Hugo Beck. You know."
"Yes," Hardy said. "We can't protect the plant. But again I invite everyone there to come live here. With us."
"Damn right, the Brotherhood's no threat to us," George Christopher said. "They won't be back."
"But they—" Whatever Al Hardy had been about to say, he cut himself off at a wave from Senator Jellison. "Yes, sir," Hardy asked. "Do you want to come up here, Senator?"
"No." Jellison stood. "Let's cut this short," he said. His voice was thick with either drunkenness or exhaustion, and everyone knew he hadn't been drinking. "We are agreed, are we not? The Brotherhood is not strong enough to harm us here in our valley. But their leaders are still alive, and they have enough strength to destroy the power plant. It is not that they are strong, but that the plant is fragile."
Hamner jumped on that. He was interrupting the Senator, but he didn't care. He knew he should speak carefully, weighing every word, but he was too tired, the sense of urgency was too strong. "Yes! We're fragile. Like that whale!" He pointed to the glass case. "Like the last piece of Stueben crystal in the world. If the power stops for one day—"
"Beautiful and fragile," Al Hardy's voice cut in. "Senator, did you have something else to say?"
The massive head shook. "Only this. Think carefully. This may be the most important decision we have made since … that day." He sat, heavily. "Go on, please," he said.
Hardy looked worriedly at the Senator, then motioned to one of the women near him. He spoke to her, too low for Harvey to hear what he said, and the woman left. Then he stood at the lectern again. "Fragile and beautiful," he said. "But not much use to a farming community—"
"No use?" Tim exploded. "Power! Clean clothes! Light—"
"Luxuries," Al Hardy said. "Are they worth our lives? We're a farm community. The balance is delicate. Not many weeks ago we did not know if we would live through the winter Now