tc.thebearandthedragon-第151部分

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　he's　got　the　brains　he　needs；　just　a　little　short　on　field　experience。　I　figure　in　another　three　years　or　so；　he'll　be　ready　to　run　his　own　embassy　and　start　his　way　up　the　ladder。〃
　In　a　place　like　Lesotho；　SecState　thought；　which　was　a　place　to　make　〃backwater〃　seem　a　pliment。　Well；　you　had　to　start　somewhere。　〃How　will　Shen　react？〃
　〃Depends。　If　they're　just　maneuvering　troops　on　routine　training；　they　might　be　a　little　angry。　If　it's　for　real　and　we've　caught　them　with　their　hands　in　the　cookie　jar；　they'll　act　hurt　and　surprised。〃　Hitch　paused　for　a　yawn。　〃Excuse　me。　The　real　question　is　whether　it'll　make　them　think　things　over。〃
　〃Will　it？　You　know　most　of　'em。〃
　〃I　don't　know；〃　Hitch　admitted　unfortably。　〃Scott；　I've　been　there　a　while；　sure；　but　I　can't　say　that　I　fully　understand　them。　They　make　decisions　on　political　considerations　that　Americans　have　a　hard　time　prehending。〃
　〃The　President　calls　them　Klingons；〃　Adler　told　the　ambassador。
　Hitch　smiled。　〃I　wouldn't　go　that　far；　but　there　is　logic　in　the　observation。〃　Then　Adler's　inter　buzzed。
　〃Call　from　William　Kilmer　in　Beijing　on　the　STU；　Mr。　Secretary；〃　the　secretary's　voice　said。
　〃This　is　Scott　Adler；〃　SecState　said　when　he　lifted　the　phone。　〃Ambassador　Hitch　is　here　with　me。　You're　on　speaker。〃
　〃Sir；　I　made　the　delivery。　Minister　Shen　hardly　blinked。　He　said　he'd　get　back　to　us　soon；　but　not　exactly　when；　after　he　talked　it　over　with　his　Politburo　colleagues。　Aside　from　that；　not　much　of　a　reaction　at　all。　I　can　fax　you　the　transcript　in　about　half　an　hour。　The　meeting　didn't　last　ten　minutes。〃
　Adler　looked　over　at　Hitch；　who　shook　his　head　and　didn't　look　happy　at　the　news。
　〃Bill；　how　was　his　body　language？〃　Hitch　asked。
　〃Like　he　was　on　Prozac；　Carl。　No　physical　reaction　at　all。〃
　〃Shen　tends　to　be　a　little　hyperactive；〃　Hitch　explained。　〃Sometimes　he　has　trouble　sitting　still。　Conclusions；　Bill？〃
　〃I'm　worried；〃　Kilmer　replied　at　once。　〃I　think　we　have　a　problem　here。〃
　〃Thank　you；　Mr。　Kilmer。　Send　the　fax　quick　as　you　can。〃　Adler　punched　the　phone　button　and　looked　at　his　guest。　〃Oh；　shit。〃
　〃Yeah。　How　soon　will　we　know　how　they're　going　to　react　to　this？〃
　〃Tomorrow　morning；　I　hope；　we…〃
　〃We　have　a　source　inside　their　government？〃　Hitch　asked。　The　blank　look　he　got　in　reply　was　answer　enough。
　
　〃Thanks；　Scott；〃　Ryan　said；　hanging　up　the　phone。　He　was　back　in　the　Oval　Office　now；　sitting　in　his　personally…fitted　swivel　chair；　which　was　about　as　fortable　as　any　artifact　could　make　him。　It　didn't　help　much　at　the　moment；　but　he　supposed　it　was　one　less　thing　to　worry　about。
　〃So？〃
　〃So；　we　wait　to　see　if　SORGE　tells　us　anything。〃
　〃SORGE？〃　Professor　Weaver　asked。
　〃Dr。　Weaver；　we　have　a　sensitive　source　of　information　that　sometimes　gives　us　information　on　what　their　Politburo　is　thinking；〃　Ed　Foley　told　the　academic。　〃And　that　information　does　not　leave　this　room。〃
　〃Understood。〃　Academic　or　not；　Weaver　played　by　the　rules。　〃That's　the　name　for　the　special　stuff　you've　been　showing　me？〃
　〃Correct。〃
　〃It's　a　hell　of　a　source；　whoever　it　is。　It　reads　like　a　tape　of　their　meetings；　captures　their　personalities；　especially　Zhang。　He's　the　real　bad　actor　here。　He's　got　Premier　Xu　pretty　well　wrapped　around　his　little　finger。〃
　〃Adler's　met　him；　during　the　shuttle　talks　after　the　Airbus　shoot…down　at　Taipei；〃　Ryan　said。
　〃And？〃　Weaver　asked。　He　knew　the　name　and　the　words；　but　not　the　man。
　〃And　he's　powerful　and　not　a　terribly　nice　chap；〃　the　President　answered。　〃He　had　a　role　in　our　conflict　with　Japan；　and　also　the　fracas　with　the　UIR　last　year。〃
　〃Machiavelli？〃
　〃That's　pretty　close；　more　a　theoretician　than　a　lead　actor；　the　man…behind…the…throne　sort　of　guy。　Not　an　ideologue　per　se；　but　a　guy　who　likes　to　play　in　the　real　world…patriot；　Ed？〃　Ryan　asked　the　DCI。
　〃We've　had　our　pshrink　profile　him。〃　Foley　shrugged。　〃Part　sociopath；　part　political　operator。　A　guy　who　enjoys　the　exercise　of　power。　No　known　personal　weaknesses。　Sexually　active；　but　a　lot　of　their　Politburo　members　are。　Maybe　it's　a　cultural　thing；　eh；　Weaver？〃
　〃Mao　was　like　that；　as　we　all　know。　The　emperors　used　to　have　rather　large　stables　of　concubines。〃
　〃That's　what　people　did　before　TV；　I　suppose；〃　Arnie　van　Damm　observed。
　〃Actually　that's　not　far　from　the　truth；〃　Weaver　agreed。　〃The　carryover　to　today　is　cultural；　and　it's　a　fundamental　form　of　personal　power　that　some　people　like　to　exercise。　Women's　lib　hasn't　made　it　into　the　PRC　yet。〃
　〃I　must　be　too　Catholic；〃　the　President　thought　aloud。　〃The　idea　of　Mao　popping　little　girls　makes　my　skin　crawl。〃
　〃They　didn't　mind；　Mr。　President；〃　Weaver　told　him。　〃Some　would　bring　their　little　sisters　over　after　they　got　in　bed　with　the　Great　Leader。　It's　a　different　culture；　and　it　has　different　rules　from　ours。〃
　〃Yeah；　just　a　little　different；〃　observed　the　father　of　two　daughters；　one　just　starting　to　date。　What　would　the　fathers　of　those　barely　nubile　little　girls　have　thought？　Honored　to　have　their　daughters　deflowered　by　the　great　Mao　Zedong？　Ryan　had　a　minor　chill　from　the　thought；　and　dismissed　it。　〃Do　they　care　about　human　life　at　all？　What　about　their　soldiers？〃
　〃Mr。　President；　the　Judeo…Christian　Bible　wasn't　drafted　in　China；　and　efforts　by　missionaries　to　get　Christianity　going　over　there　were　not　terribly　successful…and　when　Mao　came　along；　he　suppressed　it　fairly　effectively；　as　we　saw　again　recently。　Their　view　of　man's　place　in　nature　is　different　from　ours；　and；　no；　they　do　not　value　a　single　human　life　as　we　do。　We're　talking　here　about　munists　who　view　everything　through　a　political　lens；　and　that　is　over　and　above　a　culture　in　which　a　human　life　had　little　import。　So；　you　could　say　it's　a　very　infelicitous　confluence　of　belief　systems　from　our　point　of　view。〃
　Infelicitous；　Ryan　thought；　there's　a　delicate　turn　of　phrase。　We're　talking　about　a　government　that　killed　off　twenty　million…plus　of　its　own　people　along　the　way；　just　in　a　few　months；　in　pursuit　of　political　perfection。　〃Dr。　Weaver；　best　guess：　What's　their　Politburo　going　to　say？〃
　〃They　will　continue　on　the　path　they're　on；〃　Weaver　answered　quickly。　He　was　surprised　at　the　reaction。
　〃God　damn　it；　doesn't　anybody　think　mon　sense　is　going　to　break　out？〃　Ryan　snarled。　He　looked　around　the　room；　to　see　people　suddenly　looking　down　at　the　royal…blue　rug。
　〃Mr。　President；　they　fear　war　less　than　they　fear　the　alternatives　to　war；〃　Weaver　answered；　rather　courageously；　Arnie　van　Damm　thought。　〃To　repeat；　if　they　don't　enrich　their　country　in　oil　and　gold；　they　fear　an　economic　collapse　that　will　destroy　their　entire　political　order；　and　that；　to　them；　is　more　frightening　than　the　prospect　of　losing　a　hundred　thousand　soldiers　in　a　war　of　conquest。〃
　〃And　I　can　stop　it　only　by　dropping　a　nuclear　bomb　on　their　capital…which　will；　by　the　way；　kill　a　couple　of　million　ordinary　people。　God　damn　it！〃　Ryan　swore　again。
　〃More　like　five　million；　maybe　as　many　as　ten；〃　General　Moore　pointed　out；　earning　him　a　withering　look　from　his　mander　in　Chief。　〃Yes；　sir；　that　would　work；　but　I　agree　the　price　of　doing　it's　a　little　high。〃
　〃Robby？〃　Jack　turned　to　his　Vice　President　in　hope　of　hearing　something　encouraging。
　〃What　do　you　want　me　to　say；　Jack？　We　can　hope　they　realize　that　this　is　going　to　cost　them　more　than　they　expect；　but　it　would　appear　the　odds　are　against　it。〃
　〃One　other　thing　we　need　to　do　is　prepare　the　people　for　this；〃　Arnie　said。　〃Tomorrow　we　should　alert　the　press；　and　then　you'll　have　to　go　on　TV　and　tell　everybody　what's　happening　and　why。〃
　〃You　know；　I　really　don't　like　this　job　very　much…excuse　me。　That's　rather　a　puerile　thing　to　say；　isn't　it？〃　SWORDSMAN　apologized。
　〃Ain't　supposed　to　be　fun；　Jack；〃　van　Damm　observed。　〃You've　played　the　game　okay　to　this　point；　but　you　can't　always　control　the　other　people　at　the　card　table。〃
　The　President's　phone　rang。　Jack　answered　it。　〃Yes？　Okay。〃　He　looked　up。　〃Ed；　it's　for　you。〃

　Foley　stood　and　walked　to　take　the　phone。　〃Foley　。　。　。　Okay；　good；　thanks。〃　He　replaced　the　phone。　〃Weather's　clearing　over　Northeast　China。　We'll　have　some　visual　imagery　in　half　an　hour。〃
　〃Mickey；　how　fast　can　we　get　aerial　recon　assets　in　place？〃　Jackson　asked。
　〃We　have　to　fly　them　in。　We　have　things　we　can　stage　out　of　California；　but　it's　a　lot　more　efficient　to　fly　them　over　in　a　C…17　and　lift　them　off　from　a　Siberian　airfield。　We　can　do　that　in；　oh　。。。　thirty…six　hours　from　your　order。〃
　〃The　order　is　given；〃　Ryan　said。　〃What　sort　of　aircraft　are　they？〃
　〃They're　UAVs；　sir。　Unmanned　Aerial　Vehicles；　used　to　call　them　drones。　They're　stealthy　and　they　stay　up　a　long　time。　We　can　download　real…time　video　from　them。　They're　fabulous　for　battlefield　reconnaissance；　the　best　new　toys　the　Air　Force　has　fielded；　so　far　as　the　Army　is　concerned。　I　can　get　them　going　right　now。〃
　〃Do　it；〃　Ryan　told　him。
　〃Assuming　we　have　a　place　to　land　them。　But　we　could　stage　them　out　of　Elmendorf　in　Alaska　if　we　have　to。〃　Moore　lifted　the　phone　and　made　his　call　to　the　National　Military　mand　Center；　the　NMCC；　in　the　Pentagon。
　
　For　General　Peng；　things　were　getting　busy。　The　operation　order　was　topped　with　the　ideographs　Long　Chun；　SPRING　DRAGON。　The　〃dragon〃　part　sounded　auspicious；　since　for　thousands　of　years　the　dragon　had　been　the　symbol　of　imperial　rule　and　also　good　fortune。　There　was　still　plenty　of　daylight。　That　suited　Peng；　and　he　hoped　it　would　suit　his　soldiers。　Daylight　made　for　good　hunting；　and　made　it　harder　for　large　bodies　of　men　to　hide　or　move　unseen；　and　that　suited　his　mission。
　He　was　not　without　misgivings。　He　was　a　general　officer　with　orders　to　fight　a　war；　and　nothing　makes　such　a　man　reflective　like　instructions　to　perform　the　things　he'd　claimed　the　ability　to　do。　He　would　have　preferred　more　artillery　and　air　support；　but　he　had　a　good　deal　of　the　former；　and　probably　enough　of　the　latter。　At　the　moment；　he　was　going　over　intelligence　estimates　and　maps。　He'd　studied　the　Russian　defenses　on　the　far　side　of　the　border　for　years；　to　the　point　of　occasionally　putting　reconnaissance　specialists　across　the　river　to　scout　out　the　bunkers　that　had　faced　south　for　fifty　years。　The　Russians　were　good　military