Promise of Joy (38 page)

“America is fortunate to have so strong a leader at such a time. Nothing has better become the courage and integrity of Orrin Knox than the calm and imperturbable fashion in which he is handling this greatest crisis ever to confront the inhabitants of the globe.”

And on “Opinion” that night Frankly Unctuous sang the same fond tune, and on the other networks, and from all of America’s other influential journals and public voices, came the same sweet grateful caroling.

Fear was doing great things to the media, too. Orrin Knox was a great man at last. With an ironic set to his mouth and an ironic gleam in his eye, he saw, read and heard them all in the Oval Office, which was now the hub of the world; made no comment, issued no further statement, appeared no more in public that day. The next morning, as he had directed, the United States asked for a special emergency session of the United Nations Security Council, to convene at noon.

“Delegates to the United Nations,” Australia said, and his deep-set eyes blinked away tears and his fine, white-haired head shook visibly from the tensions he was under, “you will forgive the President of the Council if he is somewhat distraught this morning. My country is still under threat from the atomic cloud, as are our colleagues from the Philippines, Indochina, Malaysia, Indonesia, New Zealand and all our sister island states and races of the South Pacific Basin. I am advised by the President of the United States, who has just telephoned me”—there was a stir in the full-to-spilling-over room—“that there are some signs the cloud may be starting to dissipate. But we don’t know yet for sure, and until we do—until we do,” he said almost humbly, “we must all be very concerned. So you will please forgive all of us from that area if we labor under handicap today.…”

He paused and looked around the table at the strained and somber faces of the nations, his eyes coming to rest finally on Nikolai Zworkyan of the U.S.S.R. and Sun Kwon-yu of the People’s Republic of China. Both looked gray-faced, ridden by many devils, haunted by many ghosts; but in one last show of professional bravado both were striving desperately not to show it, to look stern, arrogant, contemptuous of the rest of the world and of each other, as they had on so many other occasions when they were deliberately subverting world peace and withering the hopes of mankind.

Their expressions brought a sudden anger into the voice of Australia as he resumed.

“This emergency session of the Security Council has been convened at the request of the United States of America. It is undoubtedly the gravest and most important meeting that has ever been held by this body or by any other international organization in the history of the world. I would suggest delegates address themselves to it with the solemnity and responsibility demanded by the awful crisis that confronts humanity.

“The distinguished delegate of the United States.”

“Mr. President,” Ceil said, her lovely face showing strain and worry but her lovely voice steady and clear, “the United States has requested this session for the purpose of introducing two resolutions which my government hopes will be speedily passed by the Council. I send the first to the desk for the Secretary-General to read.”

In his grave and measured tones, very deep, very impressive, the dignified old man from Nigeria complied.

“Whereas, the President of the United States has been requested by the governments presently in power in the Soviet Union and the People’s Republic of China—”

“Mr. President!” Nikolai Zworkyan and Sun Kwon-yu cried angrily together, but Australia brought down the gavel with a harsh and uncharacteristic violence that revealed the terrible tensions he was under.

“The delegates will be in order!” he cried. “There will be time for debate later! The Secretary-General will proceed with the reading!”

“—governments presently in power in the Soviet Union and the People’s Republic of China,” the Secretary-General repeated calmly, “to arbitrate the dispute which has brought war between their two countries, unloosed atomic devastation and jeopardized the peace, health and safety of the entire world; and,

“Whereas, the President of the United States, agreeing to arbitrate, has imposed certain conditions designed to restore and strengthen world peace; and,

“Whereas, these conditions have been endorsed and supported by the overwhelming majority of the nations but have been summarily rejected by the governments presently in power in Moscow and Peking:

“Now, therefore, be it resolved:

“That the members of the United Nations, acting through the Security Council, demand that the governments presently in power in the Soviet Union and the People’s Republic of China immediately accept the conditions of the President of the United States and permit him to begin immediately arbitration of their dispute, so that peace may be restored to their two countries and the threat of atomic destruction of the earth may be swiftly and permanently removed.”

“Mr. President,” Ceil said quickly as the Secretary-General concluded, “I move that the Security Council—”

“Mr. President!” Zworkyan and Sun shouted again, together.

“The delegate of the Soviet Union,” Australia said in a tone that begrudged every word; and added with a bitter resentment he could not quite keep out of his voice, “The delegate of the present government of the Soviet Union.”

“Yes!” Nikolai Zworkyan cried, and this time his anger, which had so often been phony before, was obviously so genuine that he could hardly speak clearly through his rage. “Yes, that is exactly what is going on here, an attempt to undermine and ruin us! That is what is happening in this great United Nations which is supposed to be so vital to peace! An attempt to subvert and ruin us, Mr. President! An attempt to destroy and subvert us! There is your great United Nations, this wonderful thing!

“That is not,” he said, breathing heavily but managing to calm his voice a bit, “what the United Nations is supposed to be, Mr. President. It is supposed to save nations, not destroy them. It is also,” he added, casting a sudden savage glance across the table at Sun, “supposed to stop aggression. It is supposed to stop threats to world peace. It is supposed to punish aggressors.
Punish them,
Mr. President!
Punish them!”

“Running dog of a capitalist whore,” Sun said quietly. “Your worthless country has betrayed the revolution and you will be destroyed for it.”

“Mr. President!” Zworkyan exclaimed, again so angry he could hardly articulate. “Mr. President, I demand that the United Nations expel the so-called People’s Republic of China because of its great crimes against humanity!”

“That is out of order, Mr. President,” Raoul Barre said shortly from across the table. “It is also insane to be indulging in these frivolous exchanges when your two countries are bleeding to death.”

“His anti-revolutionary fascist clique began it!” Zworkyan shouted.

“His neo-imperialist capitalist cult launched a sneak attack upon us!” Sun shouted back.

A roar of boos and hisses swept the room, coming from delegates at the table and from the clerks, secretaries, guards, newsmen and members of the general public who filled every seat, stood in every aisle and crowded thick along the walls.

“The Security Council will be in order,” Australia said sharply, “and so will everyone else. Visitors are reminded that they are here as guests of the Council. Any further disturbance and the room will be cleared. This is terribly serious business.”

“Mr. President,” Nikolai Zworkyan said, his breath again coming audibly in angry gulps, “the Soviet Union will veto this stupid resolution of the imperialist American President and his Chinese co-conspirators who have started unprovoked atomic war against my country.”

“Mr. President,” Sun Kwon-yu responded, equally agitated, “the People’s Republic of China will also veto this resolution of the fascist American President and his Russian running dogs who have launched unprovoked atomic war against my country.”

“Mr. President,” Ceil said, and for once her voice, too, showed open anger, “I agree with the delegate of France, this is insane. It is also absurd and ridiculous and, were it not occurring in a context so dreadful and terrifying, with the world literally facing destruction if atomic warfare is resumed, almost laughable.

“But, Mr. President,” she said, her voice becoming quieter and the room becoming completely hushed as she spoke, “it can never be laughable, for it is too horrible. At this moment an atomic cloud, as the distinguished President of the Council says, is drifting toward his country and toward many other countries in the South Pacific. At this very moment cities in Russia and China lie devastated under the sky, utterly destroyed. At this very moment thousands upon thousands are dead, and more thousands, many of them suffering horrible wounds, are crawling somehow from the ruins of what used to be houses and are wandering dazed through what used to be streets.… And the delegate of the Soviet Union and the delegate of the People’s Republic of China sit here attacking the man who holds the key to peace, attacking my country, attacking each other, like a couple of hateful schoolboys: a couple of infantile, spiteful, hateful schoolboys. It is monstrous. It is beyond belief. It inspires in me the thought that they deserve exactly what they get, and that very possibly the wisest course of this United Nations would be to do just what my President said: let them bomb each other and be damned.

“But, Mr. President,” she went on with a sigh, “of course mankind, for its own salvation if not theirs, cannot be so irresponsible. We have to make some attempt to restore sanity and save the world—we have to make the try. President Knox needs your help and your support—he needs a united world behind him. Please give it to him, I beg all of you who are not directly involved in this matter, for that will be a great affirmation to all the billions who depend upon us here that the world wants peace, must
have
peace,
will
have peace.…

“I know, Mr. President,” she concluded quietly, “that the two culpable governments will, as their representatives here have told us, veto this resolution. The United States will take it immediately to the General Assembly, where we all know its success is assured. We will then introduce our second resolution. Mr. President, I ask for a vote on the pending resolution.”

“Yes,” Australia said gravely. “The order of voting will begin today with Lesotho. The Secretary-General will call the roll.”

And so in thirty minutes the headlines said:

Soviets, Chinese veto UN security council resolution backing Knox, demanding end to Asian conflict. All other members of council unanimously support president.

And one hour later they said:

General Assembly passes un resolution backing Knox by near-unanimous majority. Russ and Chinese only holdouts as world body supports president, demands acceptance of conditions, end to war.

And two hours after that they said:

General Assembly passes U.S. resolution demanding charter amendment to end veto in security council, over violent Soviet-Chinese opposition. Measure goes to council, where veto still holds until amendment is approved.

Savage debate begins in council as Moscow and Peking exchange new threats, again condemn U.S. peace attempts.

“Members of the Security Council,” Australia said with a noticeable tiredness—as they all were tired, after the hour of bitter Council debate earlier, followed by four hours of bitter General Assembly debate, followed by only a brief dinner break before they carried their battle again to the Council—“we are now seized of the resolution of the United States, supported by the almost unanimous recommendation of the General Assembly, to amend the Charter of the United Nations to eliminate the veto of the permanent members and permit action on all matters by simple majority vote. Does the delegate of the United States wish to speak to her amendment?”

“Briefly, Mr. President,” Ceil said, her face showing the strain of her many sharp exchanges with Nikolai Zworkyan and Sun Kwon-yu, but her general air composed and confident. “The hour moves on, both here and in the ravaged areas of the earth, and we should not take more time than necessary to state our positions.

“That of the United States is expressed in the resolution. We believe the veto, over the years, to have been perhaps the single most crippling feature of the United Nations. The fact that we have used it in the last two sessions to ward off what we have believed to be serious threats to world peace—”

“Ha!” the Soviet Ambassador said with an elaborate snort.

“—serious threats to world peace,” she repeated gravely, “does not change our fundamental belief that it has always been unwise, unnecessary and a fatal flaw standing in the way of a truly functioning world body.

“Now the veto, like so many other things, is thrown into glaring perspective by the terrible events of recent hours in Asia. If it stands, the present governments of Russia and the People’s Republic of China can, if they so desire, block all effective activity by the peace-keeping force which has been created to maintain peace along their joint border; block effective activity of the International Relief Commission just established by the Secretary-General to aid the Russian and Chinese peoples and those other peoples who may be hurt by atomic fallout; disrupt and prevent any effective further operation of this body as it tries to re-establish world stability; and generally thwart and make a mockery of anything and everything we may try to do in this greatest of all crises.

“Based on the last five hours, there is no doubt that the veto would be used by these two governments to do all these things.

“I find it impossible to understand,” she went on, “the Soviet Union and the People’s Republic of China in their actions and attitudes here today. It is also evident, from the almost unanimous votes so far in both bodies, that the rest of us are equally baffled. It appeared a few hours ago that their governments were aware of the dreadful situation they had created; it appeared they understood that not only their own fate but that of all mankind was involved in what they were doing—and so they stopped. And they appealed to President Knox for mediation.