REVOLT OF THE OUTWORLDS
By Milton Lesser
Alan Tremaine knew Mars received its water
via the space-warp from Venus. If this life-line
were cut it meant war—and mankind's destruction!
[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from
Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy
December 1954
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]
Amplifiers swelled the clarion call of the trumpet above the keeningMartian wind which swept into the great central plaza of Syrtis MajorCity. Two hundred thousand outworld citizens, the entire population ofSyrtis, huddled together in the cold and watched the blue and goldbanner of the Outworld Federation run up the pole to flutter proudlybeside the globe-and-stars flag of Earth.
There was a tremendous roar from the crowd as Alan Tremaine climbedthe long flight of steps leading to the platform in the center ofthe plaza. It's really my father they're applauding, Alan Tremainethought. The elder Tremaine, dead these two weeks, had made the dreamof independence a reality for the Outworlds. Then, on the eve ofsuccess, he had been struck down by a still unknown assassin. Alan hadbeen rushed from New Washington University on Earth by the OutworldFederation, to bring the magic name of Tremaine to the ceremony on Mars.
Above him now, Alan could see the military governor of Mars, LieutenantGeneral Roderick Olmstead, waiting alongside the banks of hugetelevision screens which showed similar scenes on Venus, on Saturn'sgreat moon Titan, on the four large Jovian satellites. But the eyesof all the Outworlds were here on Mars as Alan Tremaine mounted theplatform to accept the Declaration of Sovereignty from the governor.
A hush descended on the crowd as General Olmstead unrolled thescroll and held it before the television cameras. "On behalf of thegovernment of Earth," he said, his voice booming across the Syrtisplaza on the amplifiers, "I present this Declaration of Sovereignty tothe people of all the Outworlds. The five hundred million citizens ofMars, Venus, Titan and the Jovian Moons will hereafter march alongsidethe peoples of Earth in Equal Union."
Two hundred thousand voices rose in a thunderous peal of acclaim.
"It is to your everlasting credit," General Olmstead went on, "thatyour great struggle for freedom bears fruit today bloodlessly. Historyshall long remember this moment, for the grim alternative of war wasalways present but shunned by your very great leader, Richard Tremaine."
There was not a sound now in all the vast crowd. Alan Tremaine thoughtit must be the same elsewhere, with half a billion Outworld citizenswatching on their television screens across the solar system.
"The one tragedy of your greatest moment," General Olmstead concluded,"is that Richard Tremaine did not live to see it become a reality. Inow place this scroll in the hands of his only son, Alan Tremaine."
His eyes suddenly misty, Alan accepted the Declaration of Sovereigntyfrom General Olmstead. The long political struggle, climaxed today onthe windswept plaza of Syrtis Major City, was not his. Attending NewWashington University on Earth, he had missed the dramatic sequence ofevents which led to this day. Almost, he felt like an outsider. But hebelieved in their fight even if he had had no active part in it. Andthe name Tremaine was now lifted into the pale sky above Syrtis Plazaon two hundred thousand voices.
"Tremaine! Tremaine! Speech! Speech!"
Alan took a