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We throw rocks at China. When it's over, we'll be grateful, and they'll be dead.
Book 3: TANSTAAFL![ edit](The title is an acronym for " There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch!", a common expression on Luna that states one of the main ideas of the book's political system).
The Federated Nations on Earth send armies to destroy the Lunar revolution, but these are vanquished, with great loss of life, by the revolutionaries. The rumor is circulated that Mike's alter ego Adam Selene was among those killed, thus removing the need for him to appear in the flesh.
When Mike launches rocks at sparsely populated locations on Earth, warnings are released to the press detailing the times and locations of the bombings, but disbelieving people, as well as people on religious pilgrimages, travel to the sites and die. As a result, public opinion turns against the fledgling nation.
A second attack destroys Mike's original catapult, but the Loonies have built a secondary, smaller one in a secret location, and with Mannie acting as its on-site commander, the Loonies continue to attack Earth until it concedes Luna's independence. Professor Bernardo de la Paz, as leader of the nation, proclaims victory to the gathered crowds, but collapses and dies. Mannie takes control, but Wyoh and he eventually withdraw from politics altogether, and find that the new government falls short of their expectations ending up falling into a less radical political system.
When Mannie tries to speak to Mike afterwards, he finds out that the computer has lost its self-awareness and its human-like qualities although in all other aspects it remains unaffected.
