I dunno what version of Linux you are running, but Linux has had
virtual console allocation for quite some time now. The way it works
is that console structures are not allocated until something opens the
console (like getty). So if you only want one console active, you can
just not run init for it or something. Unfortunately, though for some
good reason I can't remember, they do not deallocate when they are
closed, and thus you need a special command to deallocate an allocated
terminal. If you want to check it out, grab a copy of either 1.2.13 or
1.3.32.
I do understand your argument, but vcs do come in quite handy when
screen or X or svgalib or something else locks up a particular VC and
you need to get to another VC to kill whatever is locking up the first
one.
Christopher