—S. H., a prisoner

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—Howie in the Max

—J. M., of Northridge, California

“The pressure exerted upon the Bebeyem, upon us, upon the Nem, is relentless, like the holding up of a weight.  No matter how strong the arm, no matter how determined the man, the weight never tires but the man eventually does.”
The Speaker paused, poured liquid from a decanter, and took a sip.  He moved his gaze across the hall, an unreadable expression upon his face.  Now, he had his audience in his hands.
“After the Stone Place,” he continued, “the Berserker threat seemed bearable.  We survived and even flourished.  Eventually we established frontiers that could be defended.  For the past 500 years, the systematic aggression of antiquity has eased.  Relatively few humans are killed by Berserkers today.  Even fewer become Berserker prisoners.  But the frontiers that we defend so effectively can be thought of in another way.  Perhaps they are Berserker frontiers.”
The Speaker paused, as if pondering what would follow.
“The Directorate of Old Earth,” he said, and at the mention of those magic words the silence in the auditorium changed, as if a collective breath was being held.  “The Directorate of Old Earth”, he repeated, “wondered about that.  Wondering, they conducted a study of the Berserkers.  You might wonder why another study of the Berserkers would be needed after 2,726 years of conflict.  But it seems that there is always more to be learned by studying the enemy.  The most important information isn’t always about the enemy.  Sometimes, it is about ourselves.”
“The men of the Directorate wondered about the Berserkers’ tactics for the last 500 years.  Yes, Berserkers do occasionally pop out of hiding and nab somebody, but not often.  The damage they do isn’t commensurate with their ability.  The pressure on the border is relentless, but the question arises, why should there be a border?  They could easily penetrate our space, but they don’t.  Most people, if they ask these questions at all, gratefully assume only that we’re winning.  That, as I have said, isn’t the case.  We forget that the Berserkers lack our particular orientation toward time, our sense of urgency.  Such differences blind us to their way of doing things.  Sadly, they make no such errors in their understanding of us.”
“The present situation, a situation that appears to us to be one of stability is, from their point of view, a strategy.  When the men of the Directorate began to analyze the implications, they were reminded of two things that we’ve tended to forget.  First, gentlemen, the Berserkers exhibit a subtlety straight out of Hell.  Second, they know us better than we know ourselves.  Over 500 years ago they began an attack upon us that we didn’t even recognize as an attack.  It has taken this long for our very best men to discover it.”
“The Berserkers were clever enough, then, to recognize that the harder they fought us, the stronger we got.  They were subtle enough to perceive that, left to ourselves, we would eventually fall prey to our own petty conflicts and amusements.  We are and always have been our own worst enemies.  The Berserkers have made of us a worthy ally in their attempt to destroy us.  They employ our own tendencies against us with a wonderful subtlety.”
There was a wide range of expressions on the faces in the audience.  The Speaker watched them carefully, gauging reactions.

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Equivalence
Sam Aurelius Milam III
The Big Bang Theory and the Biblical creation story are exactly equivalent in all important respects.  They’re equally logical and defensible, based on equally valid assumptions, and believed by equally intelligent people.
 
Remembrance
Sam Aurelius Milam III
Five thousand years from now, our descendants, if there are any such descendants, will remember us, if they remember us at all, as the gods of their ancient myths and legends.

Origins
Sam Aurelius Milam III
Our species began the first time that a bunch of apes had to find someplace else to live because they overloaded their tree and it collapsed under them.  Since then, human history has been the same kind of thing, changing only in magnitude, but not in kind.

Understanding Water
Sam Aurelius Milam III
A principle of physics:  Water flows downhill.
A principle of history:  Water flows toward wealth and power.

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— editor

—David Coleman

—Bobby Robson

—Greg Norman

—David Coleman

— Sam Aurelius Milam III, editor

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