But this bit of common sense was shouted down by someone who seemed to consider it an excuse to avoid action— a Marsfirster, apparently, who advocated immediate mass ecotage, and armed assault on the cities.

Quite vividly Nadia recalled an argument with Arkady about this very matter, and suddenly she couldn’t stand it. She walked down to the center of the room.

After a while everyone went silent, stilled by the sight of her. “I’m tired of this matter being discussed in purely military terms,” she said. “The whole model of revolution has to be rethought. This is what Arkady failed to do in sixty-one, and this is why sixty-one was such a bloody mess. Listen to me, now— there can be no such thing as a successful armed revolution on Mars. The life-support systems are too vulnerable.”

Sax croaked, “But if the surface is vivable— is viable— then the support systems not so— so . . .”

Nadia shook her head. “The surface is not viable, and won’t be for many years. And even when it is, revolution has to be rethought. Look, even when revolutions have been successful, they have caused so much destruction and hatred that there is always some kind of horrible backlash. It’s inherent in the method. If you choose violence, then you create enemies who will resist you forever. And ruthless men become your revolutionary leaders, so when the war is over they’re in power, and likely to be as bad as what they replaced.”

“Not in—American,” Sax said, cross-eyed with the effort to force the right words out in a timely manner.

“I don’t know about that. But mostly it’s been true. Violence breeds hatred, and eventually there is a backlash. It’s unavoidable.”

“Yes,” said Nirgal with his usual intent look, not all that different from Sax’s grimace. “But if people are attacking the sanctuaries and destroying them, then we don’t have much choice.”

Nadia said, “The question is, who’s sending those forces out? And who are the people actually in these forces? I doubt that those individuals bear us any ill will. At this point they might just as easily be on our side as against us. It’s their commanders and owners we should focus on.”

“De-cap-i-ta-tion,” Sax said.

“I don’t like the sound of that. You need a different term.”

“Mandatory retirement?” Maya suggested acidly. People laughed, and Nadia glared at her old friend.

“Forced disemployment,” Art said loudly from the back, where he had just appeared.

“You mean a coup,” Maya said. “Not to fight the entire population on the surface, but just the leadership and their bodyguards.”

“And maybe their armies,” Nirgal insisted. “We have no sign that they are disaffected, or even apathetic.”

“No. But would they fight without orders from their leaders?”

“Some might. It’s their job, after all.”