Part 6 (1/2)
”Ben. Just Ben. Yes, they do, Ralph. I would have died fighting before I would have allowed myself to become what West made of you people.”
”I won't become angry at that, Ben. Some people might, but I won't. I was quite a fan of yours, Ben. Not during your short tenure as President, mind you; but when you were writing books for a living.”
”I did my best to warn the people what was coming dead at them.”
”Yes, you did. You and a dozen other writers.
But we just wouldn't listen, would we?”
”Sure as h.e.l.l wouldn't,” Ben muttered.
”And now the great, indomitable, long-suffering Ben Raines, with a long sigh of resignation, will gather upall his hundreds of survival experts, and travel the battered nation, setting up little outposts of civilization, kicking the civilians in the b.u.t.t, jerking them out of their doldrums, saving them from themselves.
Right?”
”You're the one talking, Doctor. But you're in a pretty sorry state for a man who has all the answers.”
”Oh, you're right. But you enjoy it, General.”
”What?”'
”Stop running from the truth, General. You wouldn't have conditions any other way. You see, it's always easy for men like you. I envy you: you and those that follow you.”
”Barnes, I don't know what in the h.e.l.l you're talking about.”
The doctor studied the man for a long moment.
”Maybe you really don't, General. I have all your books, Ben. I really do. St. You could have been a great writer, but you chose to write pulp.
Oh, it was good pulp-contradictory statement, yes.”
”Doctor, get to the point of this, will you, please?”
”You're an idealist, General. You refuse to take into account the many weaknesses of human beings.
You took what you considered to be the cream of the crop and built your Tri-States-was ”It worked, Doctor,” Ben cut him off. ”You can't deny that.”
”I won't try to deny it. Yes, it worked. How could it fail when you gathered the best around you?”
Ben smiled. ”Here it comes. After all that's happened, you're still a liberal at heart.” .
”To some degree,” Barnes admitted.
”There is no middle ground with you, Ben. Everything is either black or white. No gray in-between.”
”Doctor,” Ben said patiently. ”One can train a dog to obey basic rules. Now if a dog can be taught the difference between right and wrong, it should be very simple to teach a human being.”
Barnes shook his head. ”You're a hard man, Ben Raines. But,” he sighed, ”perhaps it's time for hard men. One philosophy, right, Ben? No taking into account different cultures, backgrounds, early upbringing-anything like that, right?”
”You stick to healing, Barnes,” Ben told him.
”Leave the rest for people who have the stomach for it.”
”General Raines, you want what never was and never will be: a perfect society. But you cannot build a perfect society when the architects are imperfect human beings.”
Ben smiled again. ”The man said, quoting Ben Raines.”
The doctor's smile matched Ben's. ”That's right, you did write that, didn't you? I'll live in your society, General. But I'll do so because of thesafety it affords me, not because I agree with its basic philosophy.”
”Then that makes you a hypocrite, doesn't it, Mr. Barnes?”
The doctor chose not to reply. He studied Ben for a moment, then walked away.
Ben noticed the seat of the man's jeans had been crudely patched with a piece of canvas. For all his education and lofty thoughts, the man could just barely keep his a.s.s from showing through.
Chapter 5.
”Still angry at me?” Ben asked Judy.
”Mad!” she said.
”Very well. When you get your rabies shot, let me know. I'll be around.”
She grabbed his arm with surprising strength and spun him around as he turned to go. ”Ben, these people were beaten down-whipped. Now they've had a small victory and they're happy. And you think it's funny.”
”Judy ...” Ben stepped closer. ”I'm amused, but not in the way you think. My Rebels have played out this same scenario for years. Has it occurred to you that we just might be weary of it?”
”Then why don't you and your people just quit?” she asked hotly.
”We can't. For our own sake, we can't.
It's never-ending for us. I see that now. If I- we comh a destiny, this is it.”
”Yeah, you said that-something like it-back in the truck.
But you don't have to act so ... so smart-a.s.sed about it!”
He laughed at her and took her hand. ”Come on, fireball. We've got to start setting up a defense line against West and his people.”
”And it annoys you that you have to remind the people to do it, right, Ben?”
”Oh, not really. I guess it's second nature for me.” He smiled. ”Just one of my many talents.”
Judy muttered something extremely profane under her breath.
”You don't know the exact location of West's base camp?” Ben asked.