- Iron horses blaze a vengeful trail
The first of many to follow.
Their method must be chartered
Or liberty will fall.Quatrain 54, Century 7
A biker gang have joined the fight against the Gua, with Cade as their hero. But trouble follows when Cade disagrees with their methods.
Tropes:
- All Bikers are Hells Angels: The biker gang that have joined the fight are pretty stereotypical Hell's Angels, violent and thuggish. It's strongly implied that they only care about the invasion because it gives them an excuse for violence.
- Cutting the Knot: A pretty dark version. The gang's way of dealing with people who might be Gua agents is to Just Shoot Them. If their body dissolves, great! If not, well, casualties of war.
- State The Simple Solution: When the gang have two Gua suspects tied up, Cade objects to just killing them, pointing out that there are ways of finding out if someone's human. The gang treat this as if he just doesn't have the guts to do what's necessary.
- The Needs of the Many: When Cade objects to the gang's violent methods, the leader asks if he'd kill one person to prevent the invasion. When Cade says yes, he asks again, increasing the hypothetical number of victims, his point being that even a few thousand is a worthy sacrifice to prevent millions of deaths. Which doesn't defeat Cade's point that the gang was killing people unnecessarily.
- With Us or Against Us: The gang are initially delighted to have their hero appear amongst them, and he's delighted to be able to show his face. But, predictably, it soon turns sour: the gang are essentially just using the invasion as an excuse for violence, and when he's not okay with that they turn on him.
