1632 (Ring of Fire)

by Eric Flint

Angrily, Simpson shouted at him from the sidelines. “This isn’t America, you stupid idiot!” Mike felt fury flooding into him. He clamped down on the rage, controlling it. But the effort, perhaps, drove him farther than he’d ever consciously intended. He turned to face Simpson squarely. When he spoke, he did not shout. He simply let the microphone amplify the words into every corner of the gymnasium. “It will be, you gutless jackass. It will be.” Then, to the crowd: “According to Melissa Mailey, we now live in a world where kings and noblemen rule the roost. And they’ve turned all of central Europe—our home, now, ours and our childrens’ to come—into a raging inferno. We are surrounded by a Ring of Fire. Well, I’ve fought forest fires before. So have lots of other men in this room. The best way to fight a fire is to start a counterfire. So my position is simple. I say we start the American Revolution—a hundred and fifty years ahead of schedule!”