Wellers chuckled softly. “You talk about that thing like it has a mind of its own. ”
“It does,” Gideon assured him. “It has mine, only better. And besides, I see no good reason to tell the South that their problems aren’t as bad as ours. Let them think they’re taking the brunt of it, assuming we can get this message to go public down there. ” He set his papers atop his knee. With more earnestness than he usually felt or showed, he asked, “Do you really think this sounds all right? It feels odd. It doesn’t sound like me at all. ”
His companion smiled. “I thought that was the point. ”
“Don’t be a jackass. ”
Wellers’s smile grew even bigger. “Go on, keep reading. It’s hard for me to judge the document as a whole when you keep stopping like this. ”
“You’re judging it?”
“You asked for my opinion, so yes. I’m taking great relish in judging it, because you so rarely care what I think. ”
Gideon tried to frown, but couldn’t muster it. “I don’t care what you think. I want to know what you think. It’s not the same thing. ”
“And Douglass and Lincoln are away right now, so you’ll settle for me. I’m still flattered to be third place to such company. ”
“I’m not trying to put you in their company, Nelson. If—”
Now he laughed outright. “No! No, you can’t take it back now—you’ve flattered me, and you’re just going to have to live with it. ”
Gideon gave up and grinned back. “Fine. You’ve been complimented. Don’t get so goddamn excited about it. ”
“I’ll try to contain myself. But do go on—finish it up. Let’s hear your closing. The paper offices will shut down in another hour or two, and if you want to get this into tomorrow’s edition, we need to be on our way. ”
Gideon cleared his throat and picked up the papers again. He scanned the last few lines and began afresh. “In Washington, D. C. , luminaries such as Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass are calling for an immediate cease-fire in order to discuss the pressing threat which all of us face. In Richmond, the renowned hospital manager Captain Sally Louisa Tompkins is aware of the situation and has made efforts to rouse the CSA’s own Congress, to limited success. For make no mistake: There are those who wish the war to continue.
“Though it may sound ridiculous, inhumane, or impossible, there is money to be made in a war—huge money, for people without ethics or sentiment. These people have always existed, and they will always stand in the way of peace, for they are powerful. But we are more powerful still.
“Now is the time to call for action. Rally your representatives, petition your governors, and refuse to stand by in the face of indifference. Silence is not our friend, and it will not protect us. Only through public inspection and open discourse can we combat this problem, and we must do it together—Northerner and Southerner, white and colored, Indian and Texian, blue and gray. We are all human, and all living, breathing men. We must act accordingly, lest our entire species be eradicated from the face of the earth. ”
After a pause, Wellers nodded and gave a round of formal, steady applause. “I like it. And that is a fierce climax indeed, at the end of an impassioned call to arms. ”
“I wouldn’t call it impassioned. ”
“You don’t have to, because I just did. You’ve written a fine piece of propaganda. Let us hope it works as well as it ought to, if only to get people talking. ”
Gideon sighed hard with frustration. “We need for people to do more than talk. ”
“Yes, but this is a start. ”
“It’ll have to be a quick start,” he grumbled. “The Fiddlehead suggests wrapping up the war immediately—preferably years ago. We’re given a window of six months to instigate a complete turnaround in hostilities, and to engender absolute cooperation between the states. ”
“Six months? When you put it like that, it sounds impossible. ”
Neither of them spoke for a moment, but then Gideon agreed. “You’re right. It sounds impossible. And it might be impossible, but if we don’t try, we’re doomed for certain. It’s this or nothing, until and unless someone else comes up with a better plan. ”
Nelson Wellers rose from his seat and stretched, cracking his back and straightening his waistcoat. “I don’t imagine any better plan forthcoming. You’re our last, best hope. I pray that isn’t too much pressure. ”
“Not at all. Do you think I should’ve mentioned Haymes and her project? I left her out because I couldn’t tell if it would help or hurt. ”
“When in doubt, leave it out. ”
“Very funny,” Gideon sighed, fiddling with the papers as if he couldn’t yet bear to part with them.
“A little funny; surely no more than that. But I do mean it: You’re right, and there are too many ways her interference could be viewed. The Southerners don’t like her, but they think she’s useful. The North might want to use her research for themselves. She’s somewhere in the mix, but it’s hard to say what she really wants, or means to do. It was the right decision, leaving her out for now. ”
“Then I suppose it’s finished. ”