Despite himself. Kinsman grinned. "I thought you said Lunagrad was filled with exiles."
"Yes—but they are Soviet exiles. Not citizens of some new nation called Selene."
"And they're not sufficiently intelligent to see that a free Selene is to the advantage of everyone, including Mother
Russia?"
Leonov's voice went from scornful to curious. "What do you mean?"
"If we declared our independence it would startle both America and Russia. If we stopped supplying oxygen and water and supplies to the space stations, it would upset their orbital operations quite a bit . . ."
"For a month or two, possibly. No longer."
"All right." Kinsman glanced at the ungainly Apollo lander squatting nearby. He could not see the plaque from where he was standing. "But we'd cause enough of a fuss, enough of an upset to their plans, that they'd be forced to delay this war buildup. This Antarctica incident would be pushed from their minds. By turning their attention to us we could stop them from going to war against each other."
Leonov sighed heavily. "I wish it were that simple, my friend. But it is not. Nothing will stop them from fighting their 356 war. They will bow only to superior force, and there is no force superior anywhere on Earth or the Moon. History is inexorable, just as Marx said."
"No, it doesn't have to . . ."
"Chet, you are being naive! Assume the best possible results. Assume that your most optimistic hopes come true:
We become independent and the UN recognizes us. Your nation and mine do not interfere, and we are allowed to remain independent. Their war is averted. For how long? Six months? A year? Have we provided more food for anyone on Earth? More energy? Sooner or later we will be exactly where we are now: standing here helplessly and watching them build up for war. There is no way to avoid it! The Earth is too crowded, resources too scarce. Why do you think they are shooting at each other in Antarctica? Both of them need that coal!"
Kinsman agreed reluctantly. "With the oil running out, there's not enough for everybody."
"Even with the success of the fusion experiments," Leonov said, "they won't be able to produce enough energy to make any difference for another ten or twenty years."
"If we could hold off the war for that long . . ."
"We could not hold it off for ten months," Leonov said.
"You're right," Kinsman admitted.
"So, my idealistic friend, declaring independence for Selene will achieve nothing. It will change nothing."
Kinsman said, "It will guarantee that more than a thousand human beings will survive the war, without being killed off later by disease or starvation."
Leonov went silent. He turned and paced toward the landing module, then stopped as the American flag came into view from behind its spidery body.
