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your pumping days are over, son. They'll have to get
along without you at the inn from now on. You're my new
apprentice.”
     

Chapter 7
     
Peter: “let these words answer”

    The letter his envoy brought back from
Denver was hardly satisfactory. Peter read it again, sometimes
snorting, sometimes chuckling. She hadn't changed a bit.
    “ To: His Excellency Peter
Martinez, the Honcho of Texas
    Greetings.
    We trust this missive find you in robust
health as usual. We are the same, and expect this condition to hold
for the foreseeable future. So don't go getting hopeful! Here are a
few points to bear in mind:
    1. We both know that armies have to be
exercised or they get soft. But must it really come to this, after
all that we've both accomplished? I am well aware of the advantage
you believe yourself to possess from your discovery of the
apparently untouched weapons cache hidden under the remains of
Abilene. Let us not pretend that we do not both of us have our
spies in foreign soil. I will only say that I, also, have certain
advantages that you would be well advised to take into
consideration in your own deliberations. Think carefully, and
reconsider.
    2. I can only agree with you that the
current fractured condition of the former United States of America
must not be allowed to continue indefinitely. We disagree only in
the means by which it should be ended. Shall it be restoration,
albeit with a radically new infrastructure? Or, instead, as you
suggest, should it be replaced by a different form of government
altogether, a continent-wide empire, with you as the first of a
line of hereditary American monarchs?
    You should be able to predict my answer by
now. We have known each other for a long time. If, however, you
cannot, then let these words answer.
    I am perfectly aware that my present
position as absolute ruler of the former State of Colorado is
contrary in spirit to that form of government first created on this
continent so long ago. I am equally aware of the many millions who
have died over the centuries protecting that dream, until the chaos
of the Fall seemingly demolished it forever.
    But a dream cannot die. Not until the very
last person who cherishes it dies or abandons the noble ambitions
it embodies. And my late husband the General entrusted me with
it.
    I assure you that I have not died. Nor have
I abandoned the Dream, even if it might seem so because I do not
yet have the means to rekindle it in enough hearts and minds to
make it manifest and tangible again for all.
    3. Please be aware, therefore, that I shall
do all in my power to nurture and foster the Dream in my
associates. If I do not manage to bring about its restoration in my
own lifetime, then I shall do my utmost to ensure that those who
continue after me vow to do the same.
    Respectfully,
    Her Excellency, Kristana D'Arcy, the
Governor of Colorado.”
     
    He tossed the letter on his desk and turned
to Brutus. “You have to admire such determined foolishness. She's
dedicated, if misguided. I'll be sad to see her go. How are the
preparations coming?”
    His most senior officer twirled his mustache
before answering. “Quite well, Excellency. As you know, once we
were able to finally disable all of the booby traps and enter the
Armory, our most learned scholars began studying the manuals and
diagrams. I won't pretend there isn't a lot to learn about all of
it, but the documentation is meticulous. It's only a matter of time
before we know enough to use any of the ancient weapons.”
    Peter leaned back in his chair. “Knowing
isn't the same thing as being able to apply that knowledge,” he
said. “What use is it to have armored vehicles if we don't have the
fuel that was used to power them?”
    Brutus leaned forward and lit his pipe from
one of the candles on the desk. Peter did not exactly approve of
the habit, but allowed the trade with the Eastern potentates in
Dixie because it was one of several ways of infiltrating his spies
into the region on