Forwarded by the ASC-VSO Posted: 05 Apr 2004 14:08:06 GMT In: alt.startrek.creative From: sisko2374@aol.com (Sisko2374) Preview: Coming Soon, this Spring! :"Eugenics Wars: Courtesy Check" Khan was reviewing his Mombai memorial speech when Joachim entered the Presidential office from the secretarial side door. "There is a delegation from the Central Committee of the Indo-Pakistan Communist Party asking to meet with you." Khan looked up from his lap top, raising his eyebrows in mild surprise. "Well, by all means show them in." The five men who entered from the main door were moderately dressed in conservative suits and ties, two wore turbans, sporting beards. Khan sized them up immediately as Joachim presided over introductions and handshakes. These were not the communists of strikes, demonstrations and revolutions. These were only the communists of parliamentary procedure, of motions and laws, social reform, voting blocs and governmental coalitions. Joachim had the guards bring in three more chairs. As Khan walked back to his desk, he invited his guests to be seated. "Gentlemen, to what do I owe the honor of this visit?" The tall dark man in the center with a white turban leaned slightly forward. "We wish to enter your government." Bemused, but hiding it, Khan rested his left index finger across his lip. They were behaving as if the old parliamentary system was still in force; coalition governments with ministerial posts. Still, they had a considerable following, especially among the poor and the enlightened middle classes. They might prove of some service in the future. "I see. You have entered governments before... but this is different." The General Secretary of the Party nodded in earnest. "Exactly. We would like to form a government of national defense, for the successful prosecution of the war against the imperialists. After the bombing of Mombai..." A small intense man to the left of the General Secretary interrupted. "Despite the fact that we all support the war of national defense, some of us had serious reservations about entering a government composed of men who had the blood of our Afghani and Soviet comrades on their hands." The General Secretary turned sharply in the man's direction. "Comrade! You are out of order." Khan smiled, meeting the insubordinate Communist's determined stare. Good, very good, open honest hostility. Most refreshing. He turned to the General Secretary. "That is quite all right. We are aware that you have suffered ... a split in your organization, yes? Approximately a third of your membership left and merged with the Trotskyists, precisely over this very issue. Most unfortunate. But men of reason such as ourselves are capable of rising above the tragic old quarrels of the past for the greater good, to defeat our mutual enemy, yes?" The General Secretary seemed relieved. "Of course!" Khan smiled. "I'm sure we can reach a mutual understanding on your participation. I will have Joachim review our situation and submit some proposals to you in the next few days. In that regard I would like to invite you to be present on stage at the memorial meeting for Mombai on Tuesday." The General Secretary solemnly nodded. "We will be there." Khan rose to see his guests out. "By the way Doctor, I read your three volumes on the history of the philosophy of ancient Indian materialism last year. A difficult topic to research, most impressive. The idea that an undeveloped form of the dialectic was grounded in our civilization before the rise of the caste system tantalizes the imagination with possibilities of what could have been. " The General Secretary positively beamed. "Thank you! The fourth volume will be out soon. May I send you a copy?" Khan nodded and shook his hand. "That would be most appreciated." Joachim shut the door behind the Communists. "What do you make of that?" Khan shrugged and turned towards the window. "Nothing out of the ordinary. They simply do not wish to be left behind by the war. Give them some important but non-strategic posts; agriculture, education, health and social welfare, things of that sort. Nothing strategic. Certainly nothing military. As long as they are in the government, we can keep an eye on them ... and deal with them when the time comes. In the meantime we can co-opt some of their less controversial social reforms for our own purposes." Joachim smiled. "Of course. But what about the group that merged with the Trotskyists?" Khan clasped his hands behind his back and sighed. "That is another matter entirely. Keep the security services on top of them night and day ... even if they do support the war. We may have to deal with them first." Khan turned from the window to face Joachim. "And I want a complete list of all communists in the Army, of every sect and all ranks, from privates to colonels." "Eugenics Wars: Courtesy Check" Coming soon! -- Stephen Ratliff ASC Awards Tech Support http://www.trekiverse.us/ASCAwards/commenting/ No Tribbles were harmed in the running of these Awards ASCL is a stories-only list, no discussion. Comments and feedback should be directed to alt.startrek .creative or directly to the author. Yahoo! Groups Links To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ASCL/ To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: ASCL-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ From ???@??? Wed Apr 07 23:41:02 2004 X-Persona: Status: U Return-Path: Received: from n8.grp.scd.yahoo.com ([66.218.66.92]) by eagle (EarthLink SMTP Server) with SMTP id 1bbqpn5Rx3NZFji0 for ; Wed, 7 Apr 2004 20:40:53 -0700 (PDT) X-eGroups-Return: sentto-1977044-13360-1081395653-stephenbratliffasc=earthlink.net@returns.groups.yah