Schismatrix plus - Bruce Sterling [44]
"It is our policy that ideological differences be settled by a process of negotiation. To that end, we have deputized our Secretary of State to establish preliminary terms, subject to ratification by the Senate. It is the wish of the Fortuna Miners' Democracy, as expressed in House Joint Resolution Sixteen, Sixty-Seventh Session, that you begin negotiation without delay under the Secretary's aegis, so that the interim period may be as brief and as secure as possible.
"We extend to our future citizens the hand of friendship and warm congratulations.
"Signed, President."
Lindsay looked up.
"You'll want a copy of this," he said, extending it. The Shaper woman floated closer. Lindsay saw that she was beautiful. It meant very little. Beauty was cheap among Shapers.
She took the document. Lindsay pulled more from a hip valise, with his left hand. "These are my credentials." He handed them over: a wad of recycled printout gaudy with Fortuna foil seals.
The woman said, "My name is Nora Mavrides. The rest of the Family has asked me to convey to you our impression of the situation. We feel that we can convince you that the actions you've taken are rash, and that you can profit by turning your attention elsewhere. We ask for nothing but the time to convince you. We have even shut down our main gun."
Lindsay nodded. "That's nice. Very good. Should impress the government very much. I'd like to see this gun."
"We are inside it," said Nora Mavrides.
ABOARD THE RED CONSENSUS: 22-12-'16
Lindsay said, "I played dumb. But I don't think she bought it." He was addressing a joint session of the House and Senate, with the Speaker of the House presiding. The President was in the audience. The Supreme Court Justices were manning the gun and control room, listening in on an intercom. The President shook his head. "She believed it. Shapers always think we're stupid. Hell, to Shapers we are stupid."
Lindsay said, "We're tethered just past the outlet of their launch ring. It's a long circular tunnel, a ring around the rock's center of gravity, cored just under the surface. It has magnetic strips for acceleration and some kind of magnetic launch bucket."
"I heard of those," said Justice 3, over the intercom. He was their regular gunner, a former miner, close to a century old. "It starts with just a little boost, get that bucket up, magnetized. Rides on a magnetic cushion, then you accelerate it, let it zip around a while, then brake it just behind the outlet. The bucket slows but the cargo shoots out at klicks per second."
"Klicks per second?" said the Speaker of the House. "That could blow us away."
"No," said the President. "They'd have to use a lot of power for a launch. This close, we'd pick up the magnetics."
"They won't let us in," Lindsay said. "Their Family lives clean. No microbes, or only tailored ones. And we have Zaibatsu stuff in every pore. They're going to offer us loot to go away."
"That's not our assignment," the Speaker said.
"We can't judge their loot unless we see their quarters," Rep 1 said. The young Shaper renegade brushed at her hair with enameled fingertips. She had been dressing well lately.
"We can dig our way in with the excavator," the President said. "We'll use the sonar readings we made. We got a good idea of the closest tunnels to the surface. We could core in in five-ten minutes, while State negotiates." He hesitated. "They might kill us for it."
The Speaker's voice held cold certainty. "We're dead anyway, if they keep holding us off at arm's length. Our gun is short-range. That launch ring can plaster us hours after we leave."
"They didn't do it before," said Rep 1.
"Now they know who we are."
"There's only one thing for it," the