Chapter 23 Chapter Twenty Two

We continue to buy grain from farmers, which somewhat cushions the blow to farmers - but the checks are printed with a warning: a free moon government is not responsible for them, not even a guarantee that the lunar authorities will be in government notes Redeem them, etc.Some farmers sold their grain anyway, some didn't, but were mad with rage whether they sold or not.But there was nothing they could do, the catapult had stopped working, and the conveyor belt for loading was motionless. In other areas of the economy, the "Great Depression" is not imminent.Almost all ice drillers became defenders, and the rest could reap handsome profits by selling their ice on the free market.The Moon House Steel Subsidiary employs all the available labor it can find, and Wolfgang Korsakov has prepared banknotes called "moon dollars" that look like Singaporean monthly coupons and are worth the same value as Singaporean monthly bills. Coupon linked.The moon has a lot of food, a lot of jobs, and a lot of money, and people's lives have not been affected much. "Beer, gambling, women, work", everything goes on.

The so-called "monthly yuan" is really just the currency of inflation, times of war, and times of depression.On the first day of issuance, part of its value was discounted, but it was concealed as a "transaction service fee".The monthly yuan does work, and it never depreciated to nothing, but it continued to depreciate.The exchange shows this fact.The new government is using money that doesn't actually exist. But that's another story. As for now, we deliberately provoke the earth and the United Nations.We order United Nations ships not to enter space within ten times the diameter of the Moon, to circumvent it at any distance, and to destroy it without warning.

(No mention of "how to destroy" because we don't have that kind of skill.) For private vessels, docking is permitted if: A) declare its flight track in advance; B) The ship is strictly guaranteed to operate on an approved orbit within 100,000 kilometers under the control of the lunar ground (Mike's control); C) Only three spaceship officers are allowed to carry three guns, and are not allowed to equip any weapons; D) Inspections are required when docking, and no one is allowed to leave the ship before the inspection, and no one is allowed to add fuel to the ship, the reactor and other services.Any disobedience will result in the confiscation of the vessel.

No one is allowed to land on the moon except for the crew of those earth nations that have recognized the "free moon" can load, unload or receive services on the moon. (Only Chad has recognized "Free Moon" - but Chad has no ships. The professor expects a fleet of private ships registered in Chad.) We issued a manifesto stating that those Earth scientists who are still on the moon can go back in any ship that complies with our regulations.The declaration also calls on all freedom-loving countries on earth to stand up and criticize the evil deeds committed by the moon government on earth, criticize the plan that the United Nations will implement against us, and call on them to recognize us, trade with us freely, and have friendly exchanges with us.At the same time, it is also pointed out that there are no tariffs or any obstacles that are not conducive to trade on our moon. The previous trade obstacles were all caused by the policies of the moon government.We welcome immigration, unlimited immigration, and point out that we are short of labor so that any immigrant on the moon will be able to support himself immediately.

And we brag about our food: more than four thousand calories per adult per day, high in protein, low in price, and free of rationing.Stu insisted that Adam Mike price the vodka at fifty cents a liter in Singapore Monthly Coupons, free of tax.This price is less than one-tenth of the retail price of South American vodka, and Stu believes that people on Earth will be moved by it.Adam was "born" a teetotaler, it never occurred to him - one of his rare oversights. We invite members of the Lunar Government to gather somewhere away from everyone else, say somewhere in the Sahara Desert, and we'll give them the last free shipment of food -- smashed straight down their heads.

Then we made another arrogant speech, implying that we were ready to do the same to anyone who threatened our peace.We already have a number of fully loaded ejection pods near the catapult ready to be sent out in this "rude" fashion. We waited. Very busy while waiting.We did have a batch of catapult pods that were finished with food, but we unloaded the grain, reloaded the rocks, and changed the catapult pod guides to keep out of Pune's control center.Their brake rockets were removed, leaving only the thrusters, and the brake rockets were converted into booster rockets for use by other ejection bays.The hardest part is the steel, which we cast into a shell and put on the stone—steel is our bottleneck.

Two days after our announcement, "secret" radio transmissions to Earth began.The sound wave is very weak, so weak that it almost disappears. It seems to be hidden in some big pit. It can only be received for a few hours. It was not until later that the brave earth scientists who secretly sent the message were equipped with an automatic repeating device, and the listening effect was not good. it has been improved. "Secret Sound" broadcasts on a frequency so close to that of "Voice of the Free Moon," whose screeching braggadocio almost drowns it out. (In fact, the earthlings stranded on the moon had no chance of sending a signal at all. These scientists who continued to study were under our surveillance at all times and locked in barracks while they slept.)

But the "secret" radio station managed to transmit the "truth" to the earth: the professor has been detained for being politically deviant, and I have been executed for treason; Singapore Moon City has long since withdrawn and declared self-government... There are different opinions on the reasons for this. ; a riot broke out in Xinlien; all food production has been collectivized, and the price of eggs on the black market in Moon City has risen to three yuan per egg; an army of women is being recruited, and each of them vows to kill at least one earthling. Practice on the corridor of Moon City.

The last one is pretty much true.Women desperate to do some military sex work formed a National Guard -- the "Daughters of Hades."But their drills are purely practical.After Hazel was furious that Mum wouldn't let her attend, she formed Young Debs.This is a junior guard unit that mainly supports the youth military organization. After school drills, no weapons, mainly practice first aid and hand-to-hand combat.Even Mumu may not be aware of these activities. I don't know how much I should talk about.It is impossible to tell everything, but the records in the history books are really ridiculous!

I am neither a competent "Minister of Defense", nor a qualified "Member of Parliament".I don't have to feel guilty because no one taught me how to be.For everyone, the revolution was just a hobby, and it seemed that the professor was the only one who knew what he was doing, and even for him, this was all new - he had never participated in a successful revolution before, and had never been a member of the government. A member, let alone a leader. As Secretary of Defense, I can't think of anything else to do other than deploy youth anti-aircraft units outside the districts and laser cannons around ballistic radars.If the United Nations insists on bombing, I don't think I can stop them.We can't put interceptor missiles all over the moon, I mean, we can't build fusion weapons to shoot back rockets.

But I still pretended to be very busy, and I asked the Chinese engineers who made the laser guns to solve the problem of intercepting bombs or missiles.Intercepting bombs or missiles is really the same problem, only the missiles are launched faster. Then I started focusing on other things.I just hope the UN doesn't bomb residential areas.Some settlements, especially those in Moon City, are very deep and may withstand a direct hit.The government complex (in the center of which Mike lived) was at the bottom, and the architectural design was quite good enough to withstand the most violent explosions.Instead, Lower Tycho, like the old dome, was just a large, naturally formed hole with a roof only a few meters thick, and a seal underneath that was insulated with hot water pipes to ensure that new cracks were quickly glued together.For bombs, blowing up Tycho's lower city is almost effortless. However, there is no limit to the size of a fusion bomb.It's entirely possible that the United Nations could create an atomic bomb large enough to destroy the entire Moon City—or, in theory, even blow up the moon to pieces.If they do, there's nothing we can do to stop them, so there's nothing to worry about. I spent my time on what I could fix, helping out with the new catapults, trying to get the laser cannons around the radar to aim better (while trying to convince the drillers to stick to their posts - when the price of ice goes up, Half of them left the army and returned home to work in their old profession), trying to disperse the engineering maintenance personnel into small groups and place them in all regions.The location of the maintenance team was designed by Mike. We got our hands on every general-purpose computer we could find (purchased in "moon dollars" with freshly printed ink on them).I handed over the job to McIntyre, the former chief engineer of the lunar government. He did it with ease, and even if I tried my best, I might not be able to do it well. We chose the largest computer that used to count bills for Yuecheng Bank in Singapore, which used to be the bank's bill transaction processing center.After reading its manual, I concluded that the computer was smart enough for a dumb machine.So I asked Mike if he could teach it to do ballistic and flight trajectory calculations?We temporarily connect the two computers so that the two machines can be familiar with each other.After a while, Mike reported that it could handle the simple job we asked it to do (controlling the new catapult).Mike said it wouldn't mind flying in a spaceship controlled by the computer.Even so, it is terribly unimaginative, discriminating, and, in a word, stupid. We don't need it to whistle or joke.We just need it to be able to calculate the precise trajectory within a millisecond, launch the catapult pod, then monitor the catapult pod's approach to the earth, and give it a little push. The Bank of Singapore is in no rush to sell the computer.But they have our Patriots on the board, and we promise to return the aircraft as soon as the emergency is over. This computer is too bulky to be transported by pipe iron, and can only be transported to the new site by Luo Lingang transport truck.We had to build a temporary airlock to get it out of the Singapore area.I hooked it up to Mike again.Concerned that the link at the new location might be severed by an attack, Mike began teaching it ballistics. (Do you know what the bank uses to replace this computer? It uses two hundred staff to dial the abacus. Do you know the abacus? It is the thing with beads in a frame. The most primitive computer, no one knows who invented it , It has been used since prehistoric times. It was commonly used by the Chinese, Russians and Japanese in the past, and it is still used in some small shops today.) In contrast, it is relatively simple to transform a laser drill into an anti-aircraft weapon, but it has taken a detour.We had to mount them on the original brackets, and without steel and mechanics it was impossible to make new brackets.We're putting our energy into better aiming gear.We need telescopes.This one is hard to find.Indeed, what exile would carry a pair of spy glasses?Besides, there is no market for such goods.All that could be found were the miner's detection tools and helmet eyepieces, and optical tools confiscated from the Earth lab.In the end, we finally installed a low-power large field telescope on the laser drill, which was the only thing we could use for training.Using a high-powered telescope for precise aiming, coupled with the axle, goniometer, and telephone, Mike was able to direct the gunner to aim.Four of the rigs were also fitted with remote synchronization drives so that Mike could control them himself (the synchronization sensors were obtained from the Richardson Observatory, which was originally used by astronomers on astronomical telescopes). But the biggest problem is people, not money - we keep raising wages, but it's not working.Drillers are people who want to work, otherwise they wouldn't be in the business.Sitting in the waiting room day after day, the only thing to do is wait for the alarm to go off.Even when the alarm goes off, it often turns out to be just a drill—they're driving them crazy!They are on strike. One day in September, I sounded the alarm, but only seven people showed up. I talked to Wyoh and Sidiris about it that night. The next day Wyoh asked the professor and I if we could approve a grant.She formed an organization, which Wyoh named the Lister's Legion. I didn't ask how the money was spent, because the next time I checked the standby room, there were three girls, not a few of the drillers.The girls wore the same uniforms as the men of the 2nd Regiment of the Defense Volunteers (before the drillers were too troublesome to wear uniforms).One of the girls even wore the sergeant's mouth stripes and the gunner's armband.But that inspection I was over very quickly.Most girls aren't strong enough, and I really doubt that girl would be able to lift a rig and live up to the honor she's wearing with that armband. But the actual gunners were there too, and it wouldn't hurt to have the girls learn how to operate the lascannon anyway, not to mention the obvious morale of the soldiers.From now on, I don't have to worry about it anymore. The professor underestimated his new parliament.It is clear to me that he didn't have much hope for this Parliament before, only to use it as a rubber stamp to make what we do "the voice of the people".But it turns out that this new council is not as useless as he thought, and their actions have exceeded the professor's estimates, especially the revolution, government affairs, and standing committees of permanent institutions. We have lost control of Parliament because of the amount of work at hand.Professor, Finn Nelson and Wyoh are the permanent leaders of the council.But the professor only shows up when he wishes to address MPs - an occasion that is rare.He either worked with Mike to study the plan, analyze and speculate (during September 2076, the probability of success has reached 1 in 5), or work with Stu and Shine Sheen to conduct propaganda, control the official news transmitted to the earth, and The information that is completely different from the official news and transmitted to the earth by "secret" radio stations also has to deal with distorted reports from the earth's side.Other than that, he was in charge of almost everything and I reported to him once a day, as did the other ministers. I had Finn Nelson too busy, my "commander of the armed forces."He already had an infantry regiment with lasguns to manage.That force had grown from six minions, armed with the weapons captured that day during the storming of the Warden's mansion, to eight hundred soldiers all over the moon, with weapons copied from the Conville district.In addition, Wyoh's series of organizations: "Youth Air Defense Force", "Affy Debz", "Pluto's Daughter", "Militia" (retained for inspiration, renamed "Peter Pan Pirates") ”) and the Lister’s Regiment—all of these semi-military groups reported to Finn through Wyoh. I passed the job on to him, I had other things to do, try to make myself a "politician" and become a computer expert to deal with things like working on new catapults, installing computers, etc. Besides, I'm not really cut out to be an administrator, and Fern has a lot of talent for it.I also passed on to him the responsibility of leading the 1st and 2nd regiments of the Liberty Moon Defense Volunteer Corps.But first I would like to unite these two main regiments into a "Brigade" and appoint Judge Brody as "Brigade Commander".Brody, like me, knew nothing about the military, but was well known, respected, and knowledgeable.A driller before he lost his leg, Fern wasn't a driller, so he couldn't direct them directly, they wouldn't listen to him.I had thought of using Greg, but the new catapult in the Underland Sea was in dire need of Greg, and he was the only mechanic involved in the construction from start to finish. With Wyoh helping the Professor and Stu, managing her own organization, and visiting the Onderaine, Wyoh had little time to preside over the Council.The burden of parliament then fell to the chairman of the committee, Wolfgang Korshkov... who was busier than any of us.The Moon House Company was responsible for all the work of the previous lunar government, and also took on many new tasks. Wolfgang's committee was working well, but the professor should have held on tighter.Wolfgang made his boss, Moschal Baum, the vice-chairman, seriously demanded that he come up with a draft for a permanent government, and then let it go. Those busy guys are divided into several groups, and they are really starting to formulate the government draft.Or study forms of government at the Carnegie Library, or hold group meetings, often in groups of three or four (groups are small, and that alone would surely worry a professor if he knew). The parliament met in early September to approve several appointments and elect more members representing the whole moon. Comrade Baum beat the gavel to call the meeting, and without waiting for adjournment, he elected his own group to the parliament and passed a resolution . Immediately afterwards, we watched the entire parliament become a constitutional assembly divided into several working groups, and the former research groups became short-lived decorations. I think the professor must have been shocked.But he can't cancel it, because everything is legally operated according to the regulations he wrote himself.He went to Neulieuen (where the Parliament met) and spoke with his usual good-natured countenance, only mildly skeptical of what they were doing, without outright criticizing them for being terribly wrong. After thanking them gracefully and politely, the professor began to tear up their draft step by step: "Comrades, like fire and nuclear fusion, the government is a dangerous slave and a terrible master. You are now free— May you too be free. But remember that you may soon lose your liberty, not because of some despotic tyrant, but for your own reasons. Constitution-making must be done slowly, taking every The possible consequences of a sentence. I wouldn't mind if the current results were the result of ten years of research - but in fact it's less than a year, and I'm horrified by it. "Don't trust the obvious and be skeptical of the tradition...for the human race has historically not done a good job of solving the problem of government. For example, I noticed a draft proposing the creation of a committee to divide the Moon into For several council districts, the number of councilors in each district is adjusted from time to time according to the population. "This is the traditional approach, so it should be viewed with skepticism and a 'guilty until proven innocent' approach. You may think that this is the only way to draw districts, but I will now There are several different ways one can come up with. It really doesn't matter where a person lives. We can also divide a constituency by what a person does...or by age...or even alphabetically, or not at all. Constituencies, see the moon as a whole, from which to choose members - don't object to this proposal on the grounds that not every candidate is familiar to the people of the whole moon, on the contrary, it may be better for the moon . "We could even consider electing the candidate with the fewest votes: the persona non grata might just be the best person to help us out of a dictatorship. Don't dismiss the idea just because it seems absurd - think about it Think! Historically, elected governments with the support of a large majority have sometimes been no better, if not worse, than governments that were overtly tyrannical! "Of course, even if you all want a representative system, there are still better ways to achieve this goal than by dividing up districts. For example, each of you now represents 10,000 people, and about 7,000 people out of 10,000 people have the right to vote. —and some of you were elected by a narrow majority. Imagine if there were no elections, how about another way? For example, four thousand citizens signed the support to be elected. Then he represented the four thousand people , different from the current election, all of these four thousand people support him, and there is no minority who does not support him. Voters who do not support this person can choose who they support. In this way, all People have MPs who represent their interests. It can also be done like this: a person with 8,000 supporters can have two votes in Parliament. There are difficulties, there will be opposition, practical steps are needed, and there are many, many problems It needs to be solved. But we can definitely solve it... In this way, we can avoid the chronic problems of the representative system of government and avoid the complaints of a few people-they are right to complain! The previous electoral law did deprive them of their right to vote! "But whatever we do, let's not let the past constrain us. "I have noticed a proposal that Parliament could be divided into two chambers. Very good - as far as legislation is concerned, the more obstacles the better. But let's not follow tradition. I propose one house for legislation and the other for repeal. .Laws can be passed with the approval of two-thirds of the legislators...and one-third of the other house can repeal a law. Absurd, isn't it? No. If a A bill cannot be approved by two-thirds of you, and it is clearly not a sound law. On the other hand, if as many as one-third of the people disapprove of a law, it is repealed Wouldn't it be better? "When formulating the Constitution, I implore you, never forget the importance of negation! Emphasize negation! Let us add negation to our constitution, and write down everything that the government is forbidden to do forever. Go in: Forced recruitment is prohibited, how do we pay?" He was silent for a long time, and finally said, "Manny, my only wish is that one day I will stop pretending to be the Chief Executive!" "you did not answer my question." "Your question has touched on the problems faced by all governments. It is also because of this problem that I became an anarchist. The power to collect taxes is incredible. Once approved, the government can use this power without limit. I Tell them to pay out of their own pockets, I'm not kidding. No government is probably not feasible - sometimes I really think government is a disease that cannot be shaken off of human beings - can you think of a better way to call those in power themselves Is there a better way to pay for it?" "You still haven't answered my question. How do we get money for what we're doing now?" "'How?' Manny, you know exactly how we got it. We stole! I'm neither proud nor ashamed of it, it's just the way we are. If they find out, they Might kill us — I'm ready to face that fact. Stealing, but at least we're not setting a nefarious precedent: collecting taxes." "Professor, I hate to say this, but I have to say—" "Then don't say it." "Oh my God! I'm in as deep as you right now...and I want to get my money back too! I hate to say it, but I have to say that what you just said sounds phony." He smiled. "Dear Manny, after all these years, have you realized that I'm a hypocrite?" "So you admit it?" "No. But if it makes you feel better to think of me as a hypocrite, feel free to make me your scapegoat, welcome. But I don't claim to be a hypocrite, because from the day we declared the revolution, I realized that we I will need money in the future, and I will need to steal. I am not bothered by this, because I think it is much better than food riots in six years and cannibalism in eight years. Now that I have made a choice, I will not Regretted." I fell silent, but not satisfied. Stu said, "Professor, I'm glad to hear you don't want to be president anymore." "Really? Are you as worried as our comrade?" "Just a little bit. I was born rich and I don't fuss about 'stealing' like he does. Not at all. But now that Parliament is working on the constitution, I'll find time to attend their meetings. I plan to nominate you as king. " The professor was shocked: "Sir, if I am nominated, I will reject it. Even if elected, I will resign." "Don't rush into a decision. I'm afraid that's the only way you'll get the constitution you want. Of course, I'm not very keen, like you. But just declare you king, and people will take you for king. Lunarians aren't born republicans, and this is what they'll love—the ceremonies, the robes, the courtroom, whatever." "no!" "Okay! When the time comes, you can't refuse. Because we need a king, and no one will accept anyone other than you. You are now Bernardo I, the king of the moon, and the king of the surrounding space. monarch." "Stuart, you shut up. I can't stand it!" "You'll get used to it. I'm a royalist because I support democracy. I'm not going to stop the idea because you don't like it, any more than you're going to stop the revolution because you're stealing." I said, "Enough, Stu. What do you mean you're a Royalist because you support democracy?" "Is it even necessary to say that the king is the people's only protection against despotism...especially in terms of protecting them from the most terrible tyranny (the most terrible tyranny is often brought about by the people themselves). It is really ideal for a professor to be in charge." But... because he doesn't want the job. His only flaw is that he is a bachelor and has no heir. But that's all right. I will name you as his successor, His Royal Highness, His Royal Highness Manny Della Paza, Duke of Moon City, Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces and protector of the weak." I was dumbfounded and put my head in my hands: "Oh my God!" I ran towards the airlock at home and once I walked through the airlock I yelled, "Put on your pressurized suits, everyone put on your pressurized suits! Call the boys back from the tunnel and close all the airlocks !" I only see two grown-ups, Mumu and Mira.Both looked terrified and panicked, speechless. I broke into the studio, grabbed the pressurized suit: "Mike! Answer!" "I'm here, Manny," he replied calmly. "I heard an explosion and the air pressure dropped. What's going on?" "The explosion occurred on the third floor of Moon City. Guantie West Station ruptured and has been partially contained. Six Earth spacecraft have landed, and Moon City has been attacked—" "what?" "Let me finish, Manny. Six warships have landed, Moon City is under attack by the military, and possibly Singapore too. Telephone lines have been cut at Buey Earl Transit Station, and Johnson City has been under attack. I have Closed the steel door connecting Moon City and the lower level of the government complex. I don't know the situation of Xinlien very well, but judging from the light spots on the radar screen, it should also be attacked. The situation of Churchill and Tycho's lower city Same. There's a ship climbing above me, it appears to be the command ship. No other radar blips!"