“Then we’ll have to resist them,” Doug said.

“Fight the Peacekeepers?” Anson seemed startled at the thought. “But—”

“I didn’t say fight,” Doug corrected. “I said resist.”

“How?”

“I’ve been studying the legal situation,” Doug said. “We could declare our independence.”

His mother looked more irked than puzzled. “What good would that do?”

“As an independent nation, we wouldn’t sign the nanotech treaty, so it wouldn’t apply to us.”

Brudnoy raised his brows. “But would the U.N. recognize us as an independent nation? Would they admit us to membership?”

“Faure would never allow it,” Joanna said. “The little Quebecer’s got the whole U.N. wrapped around his manicured finger.”

“How would the corporation react if we declared independence?” Jinny Anson asked.

“Kiribati couldn’t do anything about it,” said Doug.

Brudnoy sighed painfully. “If they hadn’t knuckled under to Faure and signed the treaty—”

“They didn’t have much choice, really,” said Doug. Looking straight at his mother, he went on, “But what about Masterson? How’s your board going to react to our independence?”

“I’ll handle the board of directors,” Joanna replied flatly.

“And Rashid?”

She smiled slightly. “He’ll go up in a cloud of purple smoke. But don’t worry; even though he’s the board chairman now I can keep him in his place.”

“Independence,” Anson murmured.

Doug said, “We’re pretty much self-sufficient, as far as energy and food are concerned.”

“How long is “pretty much?” Joanna asked.

“We can go for months without importing anything from Earth, I betcha,” Anson replied.

“Really?” Doug asked.

She shrugged. “Condiments might be a problem. Ketchup, seasonings, salt.”

“We can manufacture salt with nanomachines,” Doug said. “Ought to be simple enough.”