Read Online Origin - Season Two by Nathaniel Dean James - Free Book Online Page B

“General, what news from Beijing?”
    Rhee saluted smartly and said, “It is done, dear leader.”
    “Then we have everything we need, yes?”
    “We do,” Rhee said.
    “And the Chinese have paid?”
    “Yes, dear leader. All the transactions have been settled as promised.”
    “Then I suppose I should be grateful to them.”
    No fool, Rhee deftly avoided this subtle trap by saying, “They honor you, dear leader. As is only right. They are the ones who should be grateful.”
    “Indeed, they honor me. And with every dollar they spend I sink deeper into their debt. I dread to think what my father would have made of this arrangement.”
    Rhee could think of nothing to say to this. The supreme leader walked to the window and stood looking out at the garden for a moment. Without turning to look at Rhee he said, “The whole thing is madness. That’s what he would have said. I am no more prepared to abandon the future of this great nation to the whims of the Chinese than I would give it up to the capitalist pigs in the South. It’s a trap, nothing more. I’ve gone along with it this far because I have surrounded myself with incompetent idiots who care about nothing but the promise of wealth.”
    When the supreme leader turned to look at Rhee his face was red. “This country suffers because we have abandoned the principles of my father’s philosophy and allowed foreigners to dictate our policies. This plan is nothing but a scheme to depose me and turn the party into a slave of the traitors in Beijing. I won’t let them do it. If we have to go on without their help, so be it. I would rather my people starve than suffer the humiliation of seeing their great nation turned into a puppet. You do see that I am right, don’t you?”
    “Dear leader, I…”
    “Never mind,” the supreme leader said. “I’m calling it off. You are to shut down Project 38 immediately.”
    “Yes, dear leader,” Rhee said. “I’ll see to it right away.”
    “No one is to speak to the Chinese. Is that clear?”
    “Yes, dear leader.”
    The supreme leader appeared to go into a trance for a moment. When he came back around his eyes lit up. “Tell me General, what do you think of my design for the people’s sports arena?”
    For a moment Rhee had no idea what he was talking about, then he turned to the model, made as if to inspect it carefully and said, “It’s a work of true inspiration, dear leader.”
    “I’m going to have a statue of my father erected in the center of the field. The biggest ever seen. Bigger even than the Statue of Liberty. What do you think of that?”
    Rhee thought it was the most idiotic, not to mention impractical, thing he had ever heard, but politely nodded his agreement. “It’s a fine plan, dear leader.”
    “I knew you would like it.”
    The supreme leader did another disappearing act. Rhee looked at his face and saw his eyes flutter for a moment. When they cleared he seemed troubled again. “General, what I have told you must not leave this room until I am ready to announce my decision to the council. I plan to replace several of the members. You are one of the few people I can trust with this information. The Chinese are not our allies, but few of my advisors are able to see that as clearly as you or I.”
    In that moment Rhee would have liked nothing more than to point out to the old fool that the Chinese were the only reason the People’s Republic was a country instead of a relic of Asian history. Instead he said, “You are truly wise beyond your years, dear leader. We owe a great debt to your father for giving us such a capable man to lead our great nation.”
    Rhee watched the effect of his words and marveled as he always did at his own ability to maintain his composure in the face of so much absurdity.
    “Speak to no one of this,” the supreme leader repeated. “I am counting on you to gather up all evidence of the project and bring it to me. If the Chinese prove problematic we can always