L. Ron Hubbard

“ It was just enough to carry the fog of marshes continually up to London. The flotilla made no effort, today, to be quiet. Booms creaked and canvas slatted and sweeps groaned. In the foggy dark, they offered no targets, though the shore troops began to light up the world before the sun with a wild fanfare of shooting. They had gotten their batteries moved again and now the air shrieked as slugs and rocks and pieces of pipe sought blindly for a mark. A mosquito boat was hit and sunk without casualty beyond its ammunition and food, for the crew grabbed hard to the next boat in line. ”

“ A few madmen gripped rifles, but were so obviously blinded that no one wasted ammunition upon them but merely wrenched their weapons away and pushed them into the crowds.
"Clear the chimneys," said the lieutenant. "Anyone who happens to have a mask, go below and clear the grates."
"I would never have surrendered," said the leader, groping toward the voice of command. "But they were going out down there! For the love of Heaven, don't kill us! We are friendly. Truly we are friendly. We shall show you the storehouses, give you beds, women, anything, but don't kill us!" ”

“ Both Swinburne and Carstair were aghast at the wanton execution of the shore officers, not because men had died, but because of the result which was inevitable. Every man available, every gun which could be fired would be rushed to this place to wipe them out of existence. Such a maneuver would outnumber them and make it quite impossible to effect a landing. For once it was obvious that the Lieutenant's luck was not holding, or else that his hopes of being received peaceably had gone glimmering with the replacement of rage for wisdom. ”

“ A new influx of population now will restore that chaotic stupidity which your civilian friend calls 'culture.' The only good government is that government under which a people is busy and, as an individual, is valued for himself. Such a government exists. We want no machines, no colonizers, no foreign 'culture.' We are not an exhausted people, but a small, compact band that was strong enough to survive bullets and bombs, starvation and disease.
"I am neither a politician nor a statesman; I am a soldier. ”

“ It was all quiet now. Not even a rat scuttled in the dead gloom. These voices which should have called out a welcome were forever stilled, these faces were decomposed in some common grave out in the endless leagues of mud. Only the ghosts were here, crying a little, naked and cold and forgotten—or was it just the wind?
The runner tiredly indicated a door and slumped down on the bench outside as though the effort had been too much. Mawkey entered and finally found the trap which opened the helio-mirror.
The apartment was littered with scraps of baggage, Gladstones and locker trunks and valises. ”

“ Hastily snatching their packs and trying not to breathe, the Fourth Brigade leaped into the corridor. Gian whiplashed the carriers into moving guns and caissons. Men were already beginning to gag and vomit.
Pollard's bellow brought eyes to him. He sorely missed his lieutenant but it was up to him and he had to act. He pointed up the least defended incline and they sped along it. Behind them Carstone's pneumatics were covering their retreat by hammering back the mob of garrison soldiers.
When the last of Gian's artillery rumbled by, Carstone began to have his machine guns shifted at intervals. ”

“ Here and there stone walls showed brokenly in the undergrowth; less frequently the gashed sides of a house stared forlornly with its gaping windows. A city had once flourished here. But the lieutenant's only interest in it was to see that the squirrels, rabbits and birds, those Geiger counters of the soldier flourished through it with the ease of familiarity. It was not radio-active then. Nevertheless the rubble made the walking hard. And they clung to the outskirts, choosing rather an old battlefield than the tomb of the civilians. ”

“ The lieutenant, accompanied by Mawkey, came from cover and joined him.
"I smelled fresh earth," said Bulger, "and here it is. But where the seven devils is the trail?"
"There," said Mawkey, slightly disdainful. The tunnel looked as if it would refuse to admit anyone larger than a rat terrier, but Mawkey's eyes had seen a broken twig and so had been directed to this covered hole in the undergrowth.
"If they got energy enough to plow, they must have something to eat," reasoned Bulger with his usual single-mindedness. ”

“ The lieutenant slid into his shirt and was about to speak when the smallest whisper of a challenge sounded some two hundred yards away. Instantly the clearing was deserted, all men instinctively taking cover from which they could shoot with the smallest loss of life and the greatest damage to the foe. There had been a note of anxiety in that challenge.
The lieutenant, pistol in hand, stood with widespread boots, playing intelligent eyes through the misty woods. A bird call sounded and the camp began to relax, men coming back to their fires and again addressing their synthetic tea. ”

“ It seemed that all men with nerves had died of them, leaving a strange corps of beings above such things as human weakness and death, men who had evolved for themselves a special art of living. Malcolm had no hopes for the mercies of the lieutenant; they did not exist. And he was thinking to himself, following that cape, that the race of fighting men, while laudable in many ways, had degenerated in others. ”

“ Thomas O'Thomas didn't miss anything as he came down the barrack. He saw haversack after haversack bulging with food and loot, belt after belt full of ammunition. This outfit was wealthy!
"And Heaven blind me!" said O'Thomas. "Artillery!"
"Yes-s-s, indeed," said Gian.
"There are some guns around here but they're shot out until a crew won't touch them. And these here weapons look like new."
Gian beamed happily and was greatly taken with Thomas O'Thomas.
Pollard seated his guest at the table and signaled to Bulger to have a man bring some barley soup and bark tea and real flour bread. ”

“ He came suddenly to his feet now, white of visage and harsh of voice. "Who are these liars?"
"The heads of the British army in France," said Frisman. "General Victor and his adjutant, Colonel Smythe."
Swinburne had swiftly capped the Lieutenant's holster flap. Frisman completely missed the byplay.
"We cannot allow," said Frisman, "a continuance of such affairs. Our people would denounce us. As the chosen representative of a powerful government I must demand that a place be made for these two officers so that they can be certain their land will not be completely shattered. ”

“ What will we do for a leader? There are only seven hundred of us in this village and only a hundred and fifty of those are men—"
"If he is alive by morning, let him live. You have your orders, Pollard."
"I'll give them full rights!" wailed the leader. "A share in the fields, a voice in the council—"
"You might communicate that to those fellows," said the lieutenant to Pollard. "No man is good for a soldier if he allows himself to be trapped in the first place. Carry on."
The leader was led away and the lieutenant relaxed again. Greta filled his dixie with wine and he sipped at it. ”

“ I've never heard it said that you neglected that brigade. And yet you can conceive of allowing us to fall into the hands of two renegade tools of a powerful and voracious—"
"You talk like that Frisman," said the Lieutenant tiredly. He sat a little straighter then. "I've never neglected my command. To do other than grant the wishes of these people would be to wipe out England completely. They ask only for an incident to take us over for a colony. Can't you see that? Only if our government here behaves perfectly can we stave off becoming part of another nation. ”

“ Victor's very large head turned this way and that, taking it all in. He saw that a machine gun company was stationed in such a way as to command the expanse and that riflemen were posted so as not to interfere with the machine guns. It appeared very much as if the garrison was about to be executed to a man.
The staff's eyes were burned by the light, to which they were not accustomed. And their courage also burned very low, for they bethought themselves of the possibilities of firing squads. Their consciences, where field officers were concerned, were very, very bad. ”

“ But I learned long ago that there is only one way to rule, and that is for the good of all; that the function of a commanding officer of a company or a state is to protect the rights of the individual within the bounds of common good, but never to trifle with the actual welfare of any man or to attempt to carry any man beyond his own ability and strength, for to do so weakens the position of all and is not for the common good. A state, gentlemen, is not a charity institution. ”

“ Water tanks leaned crazily—great blobs of rust against the sky. Buildings were heaps of rubble, overgrown with creeping vines and brown weeds. Within a few years the place would be swallowed except for the few battered walls which made ragged patterns against the hazy dusk. Fused glass crunched under foot and twisted chunks of metal attested the violence of thermite bombs and shells.
The brigade, having ascertained that the place was not radio-active, filtered through the tangle, alert and silent. ”

“ Half hidden by the persistent underbrush were several dark holes; down awry steps lay the abandoned depths of a once-great fortress, garrisoned now by skeletons which mildewed at their rusty guns.
Though not yet wholly awake, the attitudes of the men were alert through long practice. Each man with half himself was intent upon each slightest sound, not trusting the sentries who lay in fox holes round about. ”

“ He was slender and hard and good-looking, having yet to celebrate his thirty-second birthday. His tunic was blue, faded but well pressed and clean, innocent of any bright work other than the simple insignia of his rank. He wore, as a habit too old to break, cross-belts of dull leather, to which was bolstered an automatic pistol. His small blue fatigue cap sat a little over one ear, but his helmet, with visor raised, was close by upon his desk. His cape, patched where a hundred and more bullets had struck, lay over the back of his chair. ”

“ He was used to men tanned by wind and sun and darkened with dirt, men who had hard faces and wasted few words or actions. These faces were like women's, and not very reputable women at that. They seemed to be somewhat amused by the lieutenant's appearance and, as soon as he had passed, went back to their ceaseless chattering.
The adjutant colonel's name was Graves and certainly he resembled nothing more than an undertaker. He sat at his desk as though it was a coffin and he was melancholy about the dear, dead deceased. ”

“ Frisman sagged a little. He felt like a man beating against stone. "Your—I mean, Lieutenant. It has been long since that cry, 'Hands Across the Sea,' was sounded. But now, at last, it can be cried out once more. We wish to do anything we can to rehabilitate your country. We can have shiploads of machinery and skilled workmen, planes, trains, steamers, which we can give you. Our only wish is to see this country blossom. And we mean to say not a word about debts, considering that the surrender of British colonies in the Americas has evened the score completely. ”

“ Victor! He sold out a dictator that placed all his trust in him. He was too slippery a turncoat to be kept even by Hogarthy! He bungled everything he ever did in France and cost Heaven knows how many millions of lives! And, having betrayed his army to set up his own régime, he now goes whining to the United States in the guise of a monarchist! And you," he cried, suddenly angry and facing the Lieutenant, "are agreeable to placing him in your place!"
Mawkey slipped in, his quick eyes not missing anything that went on. "Sir, Captain Thorbridge from Sheerness is here." ”

“ Not ten followers could have been found in all the land for a project which involved removing the Lieutenant. Hence, an aristocracy was founded on the basis of skill and leadership. And it was very far from a fascism, for money and military were not combined. There was no money as such beyond the food currency. And making money for its own sake has always been a thing which a real soldier finds hard to understand. ”

“ Why, there aren't ten thousand British troops left in the world outside of England. Not one man where there was once a thousand. We've battered French and German and Russian and Italian and German again until we're as few as they. First we came over to get machine tools and food. Then, with one excuse or another they began to tell us false tales of impending invasion but it has been two years since we could locate anything you could call a political entity on this continent. We can't go home because we'll take the sickness. ”

“ No man without knowledge of men had lived. No officer unfit to command had continued to command. Death had been the ultimate reward for foolishness in any direction. Thus they were an iron crew, those officers, able to gauge any situation by its true values and with neither attention nor patience for any slightest attempts to swerve from the issue. The troops alone might have been said to have suffered by the exodus from Europe. ”

“ Frisman smiled and shook his head. "So that is the direction in which this leads? It is wholly impossible. Do you consider us traitors?"
"You have all the force," said the Lieutenant. "It is not for me to bargain." He sat down, and for a little while, somberly regarded his helmet. "Very well. Bring those two men here and what documents you might have concerning any treaty, and tonight we shall arrange matters."
"You definitely agree?"
"I agree to make Colonel Smythe and General Victor the supreme heads of the English government." And he forestalled Frisman by adding, "Now you may go." ”

“ Thus, there was plenty of food and warmth and work for all, and the country settled down into cheerful activity, forgetting its wounds and its hates. For who, with a full body, can talk earnestly of revolt and sedition? Hogarthy's corpse had been borne on the tide to the sea. The Continent was licking its wounds and wanted only to be left alone. The King of Scotland was quick to send gifts when Hanley had taken the surviving soldier Scots home with their tales of the Lieutenant. ”

“ I'm told we've quite a force in Africa. Some two thousand men. Nobody knows, of course."
"You're saying they'll meet no opposition, then?" said the lieutenant. "Why, any village leader could cope with these half-starved soldiers and fizz-brain staff rabble."
"The soldiers will carry it through," said Swinburne. "The thousand which have been on constant garrison duty here are also immune to soldier's sickness by the process of natural selection."
"They'll have eighteen hundred men," said the lieutenant. ”