“We don’t know what they’ll do, when men start to bleed,” said Rigg. “Our army isn’t composed of men who love battle. Only of men who hated Hagia’s and Haddamander’s rule, or who wanted to move their families out of danger. Not soldiers by choice or temperament.”
“But we do have a force of extraordinary fighters,” said Square.
“Are there enough of you to make a difference?” asked Ramex.
“You’re the one with the magnificent electronic brain,” said Square. “Work it out and advise us.”
“It is not possible to predict the outcome of battles with certainty,” said Ramex.
“So let’s have the first battle and see how things work out,” said Square. “And let’s have Rigg or Umbo take all my Vadeshfolders back to meet ourselves, so we can double our strength. And then quadruple it.”
“No more copying people,” said Rigg. “It’s a terrible thing and you shouldn’t put anyone else through it.”
“We won’t do it anymore after we win,” said Square. “You do what you must to win the war.”
“And what if all your facemasks come through alive?” asked Rigg. “Which ones are married to their wives? Which are now single men, who remember having wives and children, but have them no longer?”
“Let’s see how our first time through turns out,” said Loaf, “before we go copying anybody.”
“I think Queen Param’s proposal is a—”
“It wasn’t a proposal,” said Param quickly. “It was merely a question about the defensive versus the offensive.”
“I think Queen Param’s question is one whose answer we’ve taken for granted,” said Olivenko. “We should use our untrained troops on the defensive. But this may be a gross mistake. On the defensive, it is vital that the troops stand firm, give ground slowly, retreat in good order when necessary. Loaf and his sergeants have trained them wonderfully well, but when comrades fall beside you, war becomes a different thing—according to all the histories. And it’s easier to get ignorant green troops to charge than to stand against a charge.”
“There’s no doubt that we could achieve tactical surprise,” said Square.
“We can’t bring the whole army through at once,” said Rigg. “Not unless we have them all in one compact body, so they can all hold hands.”
“Bring everybody through in as many groups as you need,” said Square. “Just bring them all to the same moment.”
“That means Umbo would have to do it all,” said Rigg. “I can do that moving into the past, but only he has precision moving into the future.”
Everyone looked at Umbo.
“I assume you meant to say King Umbo,” said Param gently.
“He doesn’t have to call me that,” said Umbo softly.
“He must do it above all others,” said Param, “because he is as much heir to the Tent of Light as I am, and there are those who would prefer his claim. He must speak of King Umbo by his title and with all authority, so no one has any doubt that Rigg supports his claim and mine.”
Umbo shook his head. “Let’s not get off the topic again.”
“Olivenko,” said Loaf, “are you advocating that we make a new plan, to appear in the midst of their camp and slaughter them in their sleep?”
“Not in their sleep!” cried Param.
“Queen Param,” said Olivenko. “The goal is a victory so decisive the enemy can’t recover from it. If we can kill one man in five before he even gets his weapon, the battle is nearly won.”
“Except,” said Loaf, “if we appear throughout their camp, then what happens to the organization of our army?”
“A mess,” said Square. “Nobody knows which way to face. It becomes a melee, till the enemy forms a line somewhere.”
“Haddamander entrenches and walls up wherever he camps,” said Olivenko. “Attacking from the outside would be brutal.”
“And attacking from the inside would reduce us to chaos immediately,” said Loaf.
“And we’re back to every plan having risks and benefits.”