The printer churned, and paper piled up in the out-tray.
A name caught Lessing’s eye. He bent down and read: “Arthur Shapiro. Consultant: American Zionist Action Committee of New York. Age fifty-nine. Male. Divorced.”
He saw a white-wrapped mummy spreadeagled amidst glittering implements. Horror
Ice-blue
The printer stopped.
“What… where… these people?” Liese glared at Goddard.
The big man scowled back. “Not with us. Not PHASE. Ask Wrench, there, or Lessing.”
“You’re thumbing prisoners!” Lessing accused angrily. “Vanishing ‘em… like in South America… death squads!”
“Bullshit!” Goddard roared back. “Not my people! PHASE is more disciplined than that! Your half-assed toy soldiers, now…!”
“Eighty-Five, list the units that took custody of the people who disappeared,” Wrench ordered. “There must be documents… authorizations, transport, food, supplies, fuel for trucks. Records, damn it!”
The machine said, “PHASE Special Unit F near Sacramento. PHASE Special Unit M at Red Bluff. I can provide details, if you wish.”
Goddard shoved his ruddy face forward, almost into the camera lens. “What the pog’re you talking about? We don’t have any such units! There is no ‘Special Unit F’… no ‘M’ either! Somebody’s fuckin’ well lying!”
His eyes swivelled right to stare at the screen in PHASE headquarters. Lessing and his companions saw the same thing on theirs: a blue-and-gold shield, upon which the words “U.S. GOVERNMENT: ACCESS RESTRICTED” now flashed angry scarlet
Before they could speak, the hologram changed again. The shield was replaced by a man’s face: squarish, mottled pallid-pink, with ice-chip-blue eyes, and hair like tendrils of white frost. His expression was a mixture of surprise, wariness, and something like hostility.
“Just what is it you’re looking for?” Janos Korinek inquired mildly in his high-piping, reedy voice.
The Party of Humankind will shortly have enough votes to become the majority party in the Congress of the United States. Now it is time to look ahead several years, to an era when our views will be the only ones of any importance across this great land. As we have said, achieving a revolution is not as important as what we do after it. The Party has a clear agenda for the future. We will select a leader— one with intelligence, courage, and vision— and we will surround him with experienced and talented subordinates. Each of these will be given specific responsibilities, and he will in turn be personally responsible for carrying them out. This was never possible under the inefficiency of a “democracy.”
“What of the Constitution?” some will cry. What happened to the principle of “one person, one vote?” We will not abrogate this right for members of our own ethnos. Each of us will have a vote. Yet the Constitution nowhere precludes more than one vote per person! We therefore propose a system of multiple votes. We must have talented, qualified, and experienced people to lead us, rather than wealthy drones, professional politicians, or rabble-rousers. We certainly cannof go on letting ourselves be governed by the whims of illiterates who persist in electing sports heroes. Banger stars, and charismatic TV preachers!
How will our system of multiple votes work? In addition to the one vote per person guaranteed as our basic right, we propose to grant one further voie for each of the following: (a) membership in good standing in the Party of Humankind; (b) high office in the Party of Humankind; (c) education to a university graduate degree— e.g. , a Ph.D. , a law degree, an M.D. , or the like; (d) earned— not inherited -assets of one million U.S. dollars or more; (e) service in certain higher-level public offices (this vote will remain even after the person’s term has expired); (f) recognized humanitarian service or heroism; (g) ten years of service in a branch of the armed services, the police, or as a firefighter; (h) special recognition in science, humanities, or industry; and (i) such further awards as shall be approved by Congress. Multiple qualifications in the same area— such as two Ph.D. degrees, several acts of heroism, etc. — will not earn further votes, of course. Theoretically, under this scheme one citizen can cast nine — and, later, perhaps even ten or more-votes. In fact, it would be a citizen of rare talents indeed who would have as many as six or seven votes, although three or four votes might not be uncommon.
Oh. but this is “elitist,” the liberal will accuse. Yes, it is. We are elitist. Yet we do not support father-to-son aristocracy, the divine right of kings, the “old boys’” clubs of the Ivy League, or other outmoded ideas. The rewards given to our elite are earned through positive social action and service. Each member of our ethnos has the same right to work for multiple votes as every other. How does that deprive anyone of his or her rights?
Ah, but what about persons in our society who are not members of our ethnos? I shall not mince words. We are not responsible for members of such groups. This is our society. We live here, and we shall govern here. We thus strongly encourage others to go and live where their own ethnos-groups hold sway. We see no need for them in our land.
The sad state of our welfare system is bound up with social patterns prevalent among our less-affluent classes. Unassimilable minorities are a major factor in this chaos. Welfare was originally intended to help the jobless, as well as those who simply could not cope, for whatever reason. Now we have added modern dilemmas that defy rational solution: for example, single parents, frequently burdened with infants they cannot support; the sick, whose insurance cannot cover the horrendous cost of medical bills; the homeless; habitual misfits, who refuse to participate in society; disaffected urban adolescents; drug addicts; petty criminals; alcoholics; unassimilated immigrants; the mentally ill who have been cast out onto the streets because we can’t afford to institutionalize them; and other categories. Some of these actually may deserve care— and compassion. Yet our “paper monster” bureaucracy fails to render effective aid. Some of these unfortunates can be retrained; we will provide them with schools and jobs. For our young people, we will provide a youth corps, similar to the Reicnsarbeitsdienst of the Third Reich, every young person will spend some time serving either in the armed forces or in this work corps. The days of the “gravy train” are over! Those on welfare will either be truly deserving, or else they will work for their bread like the rest of us!
What can we do about the single welfare mother who cannot support her children? We do not favor the abortion of genetically normal infants belonging to our ethnos, but we may have to employ this unpleasant measure. Pacov and Starak have removed the danger of overpopulation for the present; now we are more concerned for the quality of our children. We are determined to see that children born into our society are not defective and that they receive the most love, the best care, the best home life, and the best education we can provide. If the parent or parents cannot support their offspring, then we will do it for them. A stipend will be provided so that the first child can live at home; any further children will be taken over by the state. They will be cared for in state creches, educated in state schools, and trained for jobs according to their capabilities. I emphasize that this will be done with all the love and kindness possible. This goes against the liberal hypocrisy of “individual freedom.” of course: a freedom that is often a license to do anything one wants, whatever the cost to society. We do not subscribe to the “right” of the individual to become a burden upon his or her fellows. There is no “right” to procreate mindlessly, no “right” to free and untrammeled access to society’s funds and services, and no “right” to create more poor, ill-nourished, and uneducated mouths to feed! That is the worst sort of selfishness.