Read Online Volk by Piers Anthony - Free Book Online Page B

he tried. But if war should occur, there are others already under arms. Thee has no need to seek combat.”
    â€œHow does that saying go?” Lane asked rhetorically. “All that is necessary for evil to flourish is for good men to do nothing.”
    â€œBut thee can do something! Thee can complete thy education, and then work with greater effectiveness for peace in the world.”
    He gazed somberly at her. “You can’t concede that maybe prevention is better than cure?”
    â€œIt is bad education that leads to much mischief. I prefer to deal with the underlying problems of society before they lead to war. Fighting is not prevention; it is a sign that the wrongness has proceeded too far. I would have preferred to have treated other nations in such manner that they never experienced the frustration that caused them to turn to their worst elements for salvation. Perhaps even now there can be amelioration and healing.”
    â€œI think it is way too late for that. Hitler is a cancer that will kill the body of Europe. Now he must be cut out, painful as the process may prove to be.”
    She looked at him, shaking her head, trying to keep the tears from her eyes. “Then I fear we must agree to disagree, Lane. I can not support thee in this.”
    He went to her. “I love you, Quality. But this is a matter of principle.”
    â€œAnd I love thee, Lane. But it is principle for me too.”
    â€œI know it is. I always liked your pacifism. But I just see this business a different way. Maybe—maybe we should separate for a while, in principle, each doing what we feel is necessary, and when this ugly business is done there won’t be that difference between us any more, and we can marry. I want you to keep my ring.”
    â€œMaybe that is best,” she said. “I will keep thy ring.”
    Then they kissed, and spoke no more of war. But both knew that a fundamental break had occurred.
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    They finished their terms, and then drove to Canada, because there Lane could train as a pilot and later transfer to the Royal Air Force in England. He was determined to qualify, because he knew that that was where the action would be. England was right on the edge of Europe, and would soon feel the consequence of Germany’s militarism. Its air force would be the first in a position to strike back at the Nazis. Though France put on a brave front and had its Maginot Line, Lane had little faith in that. The Germans could go around it or blast a hole through it. The Great Wall had not stopped the Mongols from invading and conquering China, and walled cities had not survived gunpowder. Air power was the strength of the future, and he was determined to be part of it. Quality understood all this because others had spoken of it; despite her agreement of silence with Lane, she listened to whatever she knew related to his interests. She couldn’t help it. But the information only strengthened the rift between them. How much better it would have been for the Mongols simply to have lived in peace with the Chinese, and the energy expended in building the Great Wall used for the mutual improvement of life.
    Lane was accepted into the program. Quality bade him a tearful farewell outside the induction station, exactly like any other girlfriend, but they both knew that their separation was deeper than physical. They would be apart, yes, and he might get killed in action, but whether apart or together, alive or dead, their difference of principle remained as a gulf between them. Would that disappear when the war did? She wasn’t sure.
    Now it was time for her to return home. She had a bus to catch, but did not hurry. Somehow she was loath to return home alone, as if this made her culpable. She was strangely out of sorts. Why did she feel so guilty, when she had done what she could within the bounds of propriety to dissuade Lane? There was nothing she could do to