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“You said two things? And the other?”

“The press supported the Democrats Sir, most of it anyway. They saw what they wanted to see, not what was actually happening. It’s a common thing, everybody does it, but this time it was worse than usual. Perhaps because of the way Joe Kennedy kept stirring things, I don't know. There's no harm in being part of a self-validating community as long as one remembers that's what it is. Only that got forgotten this time. The press experts assumed that people would vote the way they expected because they couldn't imagine them going any other way. My guess is, if they'd taken the second-preference votes of the independents and forecast using those, they'd have got pretty close,”

President Dewey nodded. “How is your uncle doing Stuyvesant? I heard the shipyard shut down. Must have been a blow for him, he loved that yard.”

“Indeed so Sir, but he knew its time was gone. The war showed that, it just couldn't build anything really useful, just a few PT boats. So he and the yard retired together. I believe he looks forward to living in retirement now.”'

“And well-deserved it is. He did well by this country, served with honor and made public service something to be respected. You'd do well to follow his example.”

“I intend to Sir, my uncle and I were always very close. I sincerely wish to continue his work,”

“Good. Stuyvesant ... or do you prefer to be called 'The Seer'?”

“The Seer Sir, if you have no objections. That means my Uncle's reputation and name will remain his alone.”

“Odd code-name. How did you get it?”

“It's based on a time when I taught some people a lesson sir, one they didn't want to learn. But that was a long time ago.” The Seer leaned forward a little expectantly. President Dewey had a pattern in meetings like this, a few minutes of harmless generalities then straight down to business.

“And you taught the Germans another. The whole world in fact. Seer, a few minutes ago you spoke of people only seeing what they want to see, not what really was there. Did you mean that?”

“Certainly sir. I'd say most problems people face come down to that.”

“Hmmm. People, I don't know about that. Governments, it’s certainly true. Anyway, the way you people planned the destruction of Germany has been noticed and a lot of my colleagues have been thinking about its lessons. You, targeteers you called yourselves, were contracted to do a job and you did it. Fast, efficiently and without outside interference. That's a capability we want to keep. That's not true, we don't want to keep it, we want to exploit it and develop it.

“We are proposing that a new agency be started, the National Security Council. This will be a completely independent agency, outside the normal bureaucratic structure of Washington. It will be run by the same consortium of contractors who planned The Big One and its remit will be to provide independent and objective analyses of the threats facing the United States.

“The NSC will have the duty of calling the shots the way it sees them, without fear or favor. If I or my successors are wrong, it will be up to you to say so. If we are ignoring important things, tell us. You'll have full access to all intelligence and any other information you want. The contract under which the NSC will be run will stipulate your budget and your objectives. How you achieve those objectives is your business. That contract will run for ten years and be renewable at the end of each period. It will not be cancelable within that period. So no matter what you say or do, the NSC and its staff can't be fired.

“Seer, I want you to run the NSC. You will have the title of National Security Advisor and you will have full access to me at any time. It’s a Cabinet-level post and you will be expected to attend cabinet meetings. Sorry about that. You accept?”'

“Sir; It's an honor.” The Seer grinned. “The Democrats are going to go ballistic.”

“Some will. Not as many as you think. I talked this over with Harry Truman before the election. If his party had won, this plan would still have gone ahead, and you'd still have got the offer. If there's one thing the world's learning, it’s that we can't afford bad decisions anymore.”

Dewey looked through a file. “There's a US Army Corps of Engineers project for a new office building not far from here. It’s been decided that building will be the headquarters of the National Security Council. Once the contracts are signed, go and see them and make sure the building is suited to your requirements. How will you get your staff?”

“We'll build on the core from the planning staff for The Big One Sir. i know many useful people we can bring in. We can draw on a widespread range of expertise, there's a lot of experience for us to make use of.”

More than you can possibly know, thought the Seer although no sign of the reflection passed across his face.

“That's the advantage of a country like ours. There's always somebody who knows what we need to know, even if one has to look in all sorts of strange places to find them.”

President Dewey's face was thoughtful. “You can start your new job now. We ran the election on a policy of no foreign entanglements, keeping ourselves to ourselves and only intervening when our vital national interests are at stake. And when we do, it is with our bombers, not by sending troops. Is that right?”

“Neo-Isolationism. In the short term, Sir, I think so. At the moment, our nuclear monopoly puts us top of the heap by a margin so large we can't measure it. We can destroy anybody we want to, and nobody can stop us. That won't last Sir, I give it five years, six at the most, before Japan gets its own nuclear weapons. Even then, they won't mess with us, it just isn't worth it for them.

“We're entering the Pax Americana Sir, the era when we keep the peace. We won't get thanked for it but it’s a good thing to do. How long will ii last? That depends, the Pax Britannica lasted for almost a century but that was a different era. We don't rule the world, Sir, we don't want to and we couldn't even if we did. The Pax Americana just means that we'll stop anybody else who does want to be Emperor of the World. That should be good enough.”

“The Pax Americana. “ Dewey's voice was thoughtful. “I like the sound of that. NSC will generate a report exploring those ideas further. Make it your first priority,”

The Seer left the office and left, picking his hat and coat up as he did. His car was waiting for him outside, its driver a young woman. Naturally a blonde, like most fair-haired girls, she'd dyed it dark brown. Looking like a German was not a tactful thing in an America that had only just ended the bloodiest war in human history.

“Inanna, take me our home in Georgetown. We've just got everything we wanted. I'll need to talk to Nefertiti on this one. I really ought to let Eldest know what's happening as well.”

“He won't like it you know. You know what he thinks about interfering.”

“I do and he's right. But we've got a new situation here, something we've never faced before. I don't think we've ever had weapons that can wipe the whole species out before. Anyway, we're not interfering; we're not going to tell people what to do. We're just going to try and stop everybody from making any serious mistakes while they follow their own plans.

“That's something that should have done that a long time ago and this country fought a civil war because of it. I think if Sam Grant had known that war could have been stopped and hadn't been, he'd have shot everybody on the spot.”

The Seer was silent, seeing a picture of a meeting around a camp fire at three in the morning as the casualty results from Spotsylvania had come in, the image haunting his mind. Grant's words echoed in his mind complementing the image. “After this war is won, I hope to God that I never fight another one.” Sam had been drunk enough to see too clearly and say things that were too true. Far too true. Would the Pax Americana mean that he could think the same, that he would never have to plan another war?