Songs of Stars and Shadows by George R. R. Martin

Author:George R. R. Martin [Martin, George R. R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Sci Fi & Fantasy
ISBN: 9780671812775
Google: TRukAAAACAAJ
Publisher: Pocket Books
Published: 1977-07-14T23:00:00+00:00

Ted Warren looked tired. He had taken off his jacket and loosened the formal black scarf knotted around his neck, and his hair was mussed. But still he went on.

“Reports have been coming in from all over the nation on the sighting of the pirate planes,” he said. “Most of them are clearly misidentificadons, but no word has yet come from the administration on the hunt for the stolen jets, so the rumors continue to Sow unabated. Meanwhile, barely an hour remains before the threatened nuclear demolition of Washington.”

Behind him a screen woke to sudden churning life. Pennsylvania Avenue, with the Capitol outlined in the distance, was choked with cars and people. “Washington itself is in a state of panic,” Warren commented. “The populace of the city has taken to the streets en masse in an effort to escape, but the resulting traffic jams have effectively strangled all major arteries. Many have abandoned their cars and are trying to leave the city on foot. Helicopters of the Special Urban Units have been attempting to quell the disturbances, ordering the citizens to return to their homes. And President Hartmann himself has announced that he intends to set an example for the people of the dty, and remain in the White House for the duration of the crisis.”

The Washington scenes faded. Warren looked off-camera briefly. ‘I’ve just been told that Chicago correspondent Ward Emery is standing by with Mitchell Grinstein, the chairman of the A.L.F.’s Community Defense Militia. So now to Chicago.”

Grinstein was standing outdoors, on the steps of a gray, fortress-like building. He was tall and broad, with long black hair worn in a pony tail and a drooping Fu Manchu mustache. His clothes were a baggy black uniform, a black beret, and an A.L.F. medallion on a length of rawhide. Two other men, similarly garbed, lounged behind him on the steps. Both carried rifles.

“I’m here with Mitchell Grinstein, whose organization has been accused of participating in this evening’s attack on a California air base, and the hijacking of two nuclear bombers,” Emery said. “Mitch, your reactions?” Grinstein flashed a vaguely sinister smile. “Well, I only know what I see on the holo. I didn’t order any attack. But I applaud whoever did. If this speeds up the implementation of the Six Demands, I’m all for it.” “Douglass Brown has called the charges of A.L.F. participation in this attack “vicious lies,’” Emery continued. “He questions whether any attack ever took place. How does this square with what you just said?” Grinstein shrugged. “Maybe Brown knows more than I do. We didn’t order this attack, like I said. But it could be that some of our men finally got fed np with Hartmann’s fourth-rate fascism, and decided to take things into their own hands. If so, we’re behind them.” “Then you think there was an attack?”

“I guess so. Hartmann had pictures. Even he wouldn’t have the gall to fake that”

“And you support the attack?”

“Yeah. The Community Defenders have been saying for a

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