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Authors: Mainak Dhar
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then we’ve
been walking and jacking abandoned vehicles, trying to stay alive long enough
to find you.'
Something did
not yet make sense to Alice.
'Doctor, why
did you suddenly want to escape?'
She saw the
fear in Edwards' eyes as he answered.
'They wanted a
vaccine all right, but they were also doing other things. Terrible things.'
***
Chen saw the
man in front of him pace his office, his face contorted in barely controlled
anger. The Commissar had flown in from Shanghai that morning, and the last time
Chen had seen him was when the Central Committee was sentencing him to a labor
camp. Then Chen had literally trembled in fear – but not today. The Commissar
was one of the most powerful men in the Central Committee, second only to the
Supreme Commander, who had not been seen in public for years. Chen had seen the
worst they could do to him, and he was no longer afraid for himself, but he
still had his wife to think of, so he made an attempt to placate the Commissar.
'Comrade
Commissar, we lost more than two dozen Red Guards in pursuing the fugitives. It
was my decision to stop the pursuit because we accounted for most of them at
the airfield, but two men were not worth losing more men over.'
The Commissar
turned on him, fury showing in his eyes.
'Comrade
General, what were you doing before The Rising?'
The sudden
question took Chen by surprise.
'I was
commanding an infantry regiment.'
The Commissar
stared at Chen, his eyes boring into him.
'Comrade General,
I was in charge of all our strategic missile groups. You do know the decisions
I had to make.'
Chen remembered
the nuclear devastation that had followed The Rising and realized where Hu was
going.
'So, Comrade
General, difficult times call for difficult choices and sacrifice. We have
sacrificed much to preserve our people and provide stability in these trying
times. China is the only nation still standing from all the nations of old.
More than two hundred million people still depend on the Central Committee to
keep them safe. So when two fugitives escape, it is not about two people
getting away; it is about people seeing that we are no longer in control.'
Hu saw a
chessboard on Chen's table and walked to it, picking up a pawn.
'I realize you
have been through difficult times, but we need men of your talent and
experience in the coming struggle.'
Chen hesitated.
'Comrade Commissar, the war in the Deadland here has been fought to a
standstill. For months, we have not aggressively pursued the terrorists,
following the orders of the Central Committee.'
Hu continued to
twirl the pawn in his hands.
'Comrade, any
war is like a game of chess. You need to make your moves carefully, and
sometimes there may be a long wait between moves. We have been patient, and we
have been waiting for the right opportunity to make our move. Do you play
chess, Comrade?'
Chen was
getting more and more confused as to where this conversation was going.
'Comrade
General, we were quiet in the Indian Deadland because we were hurting ourselves
by trying to fight this Yellow Witch with conventional tactics. If anything,
our men who fought in the Deadland came back with their minds filled with
stories about the Biters and how the people of the Deadland had found a way of
living with them. Then we had to spend time, effort and lives to re-educate
them and re-instill the right revolutionary fervor. What a waste.'
Chen felt his
throat tighten. He knew he was one of those who had been punished for going
back to the Mainland with dangerous new questions about the war.
'Comrade
General Chen, dangerous ideas like those make people question the reality that
they have come to accept. The idea that they can gain so-called freedom can be
a very dangerous one, for it makes people forget that in that freedom lies the
loss of all the security and prosperity that we can provide.'
'With all due
respect, there are enough veterans back in the Mainland who have passed on
stories about the
been walking and jacking abandoned vehicles, trying to stay alive long enough
to find you.'
Something did
not yet make sense to Alice.
'Doctor, why
did you suddenly want to escape?'
She saw the
fear in Edwards' eyes as he answered.
'They wanted a
vaccine all right, but they were also doing other things. Terrible things.'
***
Chen saw the
man in front of him pace his office, his face contorted in barely controlled
anger. The Commissar had flown in from Shanghai that morning, and the last time
Chen had seen him was when the Central Committee was sentencing him to a labor
camp. Then Chen had literally trembled in fear – but not today. The Commissar
was one of the most powerful men in the Central Committee, second only to the
Supreme Commander, who had not been seen in public for years. Chen had seen the
worst they could do to him, and he was no longer afraid for himself, but he
still had his wife to think of, so he made an attempt to placate the Commissar.
'Comrade
Commissar, we lost more than two dozen Red Guards in pursuing the fugitives. It
was my decision to stop the pursuit because we accounted for most of them at
the airfield, but two men were not worth losing more men over.'
The Commissar
turned on him, fury showing in his eyes.
'Comrade
General, what were you doing before The Rising?'
The sudden
question took Chen by surprise.
'I was
commanding an infantry regiment.'
The Commissar
stared at Chen, his eyes boring into him.
'Comrade General,
I was in charge of all our strategic missile groups. You do know the decisions
I had to make.'
Chen remembered
the nuclear devastation that had followed The Rising and realized where Hu was
going.
'So, Comrade
General, difficult times call for difficult choices and sacrifice. We have
sacrificed much to preserve our people and provide stability in these trying
times. China is the only nation still standing from all the nations of old.
More than two hundred million people still depend on the Central Committee to
keep them safe. So when two fugitives escape, it is not about two people
getting away; it is about people seeing that we are no longer in control.'
Hu saw a
chessboard on Chen's table and walked to it, picking up a pawn.
'I realize you
have been through difficult times, but we need men of your talent and
experience in the coming struggle.'
Chen hesitated.
'Comrade Commissar, the war in the Deadland here has been fought to a
standstill. For months, we have not aggressively pursued the terrorists,
following the orders of the Central Committee.'
Hu continued to
twirl the pawn in his hands.
'Comrade, any
war is like a game of chess. You need to make your moves carefully, and
sometimes there may be a long wait between moves. We have been patient, and we
have been waiting for the right opportunity to make our move. Do you play
chess, Comrade?'
Chen was
getting more and more confused as to where this conversation was going.
'Comrade
General, we were quiet in the Indian Deadland because we were hurting ourselves
by trying to fight this Yellow Witch with conventional tactics. If anything,
our men who fought in the Deadland came back with their minds filled with
stories about the Biters and how the people of the Deadland had found a way of
living with them. Then we had to spend time, effort and lives to re-educate
them and re-instill the right revolutionary fervor. What a waste.'
Chen felt his
throat tighten. He knew he was one of those who had been punished for going
back to the Mainland with dangerous new questions about the war.
'Comrade
General Chen, dangerous ideas like those make people question the reality that
they have come to accept. The idea that they can gain so-called freedom can be
a very dangerous one, for it makes people forget that in that freedom lies the
loss of all the security and prosperity that we can provide.'
'With all due
respect, there are enough veterans back in the Mainland who have passed on
stories about the
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