ASSOCIATION / CH. 25:ASYLUM
SHOPPING CENTRE, NEAR THE EMBASSY OF THE PEOPLE'S STATE. 10.A.M. MON 5TH FEB.
Ree was staring at the toothpaste aisle, again. How could he sample every one of the hundred choices? It was impossible to choose! A shop assistant he recognised came up to him. “Hello again.” she said, “Still the same dilemma?”
“Yes. Can I ask you a personal question?”
“That depends how personal.” She replied guardedly.
“How do you decide?”
“Well, my parents always bought one particular brand. I've tried a few others, but they don't taste right.”
“So... just whatever you're familiar with?” Ree asked.
“Yes.”
He shook his head. “It still seems crazy.”
“What does?”
“All this choice. Back home there's only one type of toothpaste, and it tastes foul. But here! There's so many sorts within each brand!”
“Yes. Do you prefer peppermint or spearmint?”
“I don't know.”
“Urm, do you prefer the gel sort or the paste? The paste is a bit more abrasive, so it's better at cleaning, but not as gentle on your teeth. Or if you've got stained teeth or sensitive gums or damaged teeth there's special versions for each of those. You don't need the children's versions.”
“What would you buy?”
“I'm not allowed to say, sorry.”
“Bother.”
“Do you struggle this much with every purchase?” she asked.
“No. For some reason, toothpaste is the worst. No, actually, shampoo is just as bad. I'll be going there next.”
Her wrist unit buzzed, and she checked what it said. “Oh, sorry, the manager wants me. You could just try a small tube.”
“They cost more.” Ree pointed out.
“I know.” she said, sympathetically, over her shoulder.
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The Internal Security agent who greeted her in the manager's office showed her Ree's picture, and asked “Do you speak to him often?”
“He seems a nice enough lad. He just spends ages trying to choose toothpaste every time he's here.”
“He's a regular customer?”
“Yes.”
“Have you ever noticed anyone following him?”
“What, like a tail in the movies? No, I don't think so.”
“Good. Nor have we, for the record. But for his safety, and also so he doesn't panic, we'd rather not approach him directly. When he leaves the shop, give him this bag, telling him it's a bag of samples from the management. Either then, or before if he's still looking stunned at the variety of shampoos, quietly let him know there's also a note in it from Security.”
“He's in trouble?” she asked.
“No. And you don't need to know more.”
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Carrying his purchases and his free samples bag, Ree felt really conspicuous.
He'd found the note, and read it locked in one of the shopping centre's toilets. It was a very simple message: tickets and documents were waiting for him. Did he have anything he needed to collect of sentimental value or that would incriminate others? He thought about it; yes, he did. So he read plan 'B'. He should return to the shopping centre when he was ready to leave, not before. When he did return, company did not matter, as he would be accused of shop-lifting and interviewed privately. That was just the way of separating him from anyone he might be with, and he shouldn't let it worry him too much, but if he could act scared and confused, that would be good.
He gulped at the thought of that. It wasn't going to hard to act scared and confused; scared and confused matched his mood most of the time he faced any kind of authority.
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EMBASSY OF THE PEOPLE'S STATE. MON. 5TH FEB.
“Ree, how was your shopping?” his mother asked.
“Confusing.”
“Still?”
“More than normal. Look, mother!” he held up the bag of samples. “They said that since I was so uncertain about which brand of toothpaste, they would like me to try each of these types for a week, and give it marks out of ten.”
“Why?”
“I spoke to a lady who works there, she said that she just buys the same
toothpaste her parents did. I guess they want to know which one really
tastes better, rather than just familiar.”
“Ah. The decadence of choice! And you have promised to tell them?”
“I said I would if I could. But think of the waste, mother! Each of these tubes is enough for more than a month, surely!”
“More decadence! They give you too much so that through you they can corrupt more of us, and encourage us to consume their over-flavoured toothpastes, rather than the wholesome product of our homeland.”
“Which does not taste good, you must admit, mother.”
“I admit no such thing!” she replied, with a smile.
“So will you try this taste test, mother?”
“It would be a waste not to, wouldn't it? But it would be unfair to our staff to keep this taste test in our family. Why should we have free toothpaste for two months when the staff must pay for their own? And where is the scientific rigour of a test of one?”
“I... What do you propose, Mother?”
“You must go back, and explain the situation to them. Show solidarity with the staff, and do not think only of yourself. Ask if all can have free samples too.”
“You do not fear that the staff will be corrupted, mother?”
She tousled his hair, a sign of affection he'd always found annoying, but he realised that he'd miss it. “We can stand strong against this corrupting influence together, my beloved son!”
“I love you too, mother.” he responded. It wasn't the sort of thing he normally said, but since it might be almost the last thing he said to her, it felt appropriate. “Should I go after lunch?”
“No, Ree.” she replied “You have your lessons.”
----------------------------------------
“Husband, either our son is in love or he is about to leave us.” The ambassador's wife told him as prepared for sleep that night.
“Those seem rather different things.”
“Yes. But they both mean that his relationship with his mother changes. I tousled his hair, he did not react with frustration, and then soon after told me he loved me. I haven't heard that from him since he grew spots.”
“Ah. You don't think he's just growing up?”
“Well? What do you think?”
“Our loyal daughter is a resourceful girl.” the ambassador pointed out.
“Exactly. And she's always been loyal most of all to her brother.”
“You think so?”
“I know so, husband.”
“This is something I should know, is it not?”
“Of course not. Shades of loyalty are best left in the hands of the secret service, husband. We know that our daughter is loyal to her people.”
“Of course.” the ambassador agreed, wondering what 'her people' meant when it concerned Lilly. Her statement that it hadn't been hard to tell the person from Auditing what she wanted to hear was as double edged as everything else. Ignorance might not be bliss, but it helped. “Lilly suggested that you would add Ree's name added to the catalogue of loyal workers.”
“That should be possible, yes.” his wife said. “I will give him instructions in this tomorrow.”
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SHOPPING CENTRE, NEAR THE EMBASSY OF THE PEOPLE'S STATE. 10.A.M. TUES 6TH FEB.
“Excuse me, sir.” The agent approached Ree. “The computer thinks you need to answer some questions about some missing stock from one of the stores here. There are often false matches so you're not under arrest. If you'd come this way?”
“If I'm not under arrest, does that mean I'm free not to?” Ree asked, curiously.
“Ah, now, refusing to answer allegations might mean I need to arrest you.”
“I'll come.” he decided.
“My son has diplomatic immunity.” Ree's mother said, coming up from where she'd been walking a few meters behind him. He'd been surprised that she'd said she would go with him to the shop, but then he'd been even more surprised at breakfast when she'd told him that if he had the opportunity he should try to claim some kind of asylum too, and that perhaps religious would be the easiest to claim.
“That would need to be verified, Maam.”
“It will take you about ten seconds.”
“Less, actually.” the agent agreed. “But personally, if your son is innocent, I would much prefer that we focus on catching the genuine culprit, than leave it that we think your son is guilty but we can't touch him.”
“I agree.” Ree said “It's all right, mother. I know I didn't steal anything.”
“The interview room is just this way, sir, maam.” the agent said. He'd been warned that the boy might have a tail, but not that his mother might be with him; that was a complication.
“Do Internal Security officers often get involved in catching petty criminals?” Ree's mother asked, conversationally. The agent groaned inwardly how had she known? He decided to play dumb.
“Not very often, no, maam. Why do you ask?”
“Store detectives do not have powers of arrest or that style of stunner holster. You did not show a warrant card, or offer to show one; police do. You are Internal Security, aren't you?”
“Yes, Maam.” the tell-tale chimed as they entered the corridor to the interview room. Not once but twice, on different notes. One stunner and something more lethal. “And you are armed.”
“Of course.” she agreed.
“I will not risk a diplomatic incident you by asking you to surrender your weapon, maam. But I do point out that you are in a part of the building equipped with sleep-gas projectors.”
“I'd noticed.” she agreed.
“And also that the weapon detector will have automatically enabled a forcefield at the entrance. And not the sort you can walk through, either.”
“All this for a shopping centre! I'm impressed.”
“Might I ask you to remain outside, Maam?” he asked opening the door to the interview room.
“Oh, I don't know that's necessary.”
“Mother, please don't make a scene.” Ree said, stepping into the room, and seeing there were two more agents inside.
“Why on earth would I make a scene?” she asked, curiously. She tried to follow into the interview room, but the first agent moved to block her.
“Because, keeping things hypothetical, it'd almost certainly be your duty as a loyal secret service agent to try to kill me if I tell the agent here that I'm claiming asylum.” Ree replied.
The agent agreed, “Yes, Maam. Trying to kill someone who's claimed asylum would certainly cause a diplomatic incident.”
“Then you should hope you've got a forcefield on this doorway too, young man.” she replied “Because while I don't want to kill my son, he's right. It is my duty to execute any who try to defect. It's also my duty to make sure that I keep someone who I suspect of intending to defect under close observation.”
“There is indeed a forcefield.” the agent confirmed.
In his native tongue, Ree spoke one last time to his mother “Beloved mother, I beg you to turn from your past and accept the forgiveness of God through faith in Jesus Christ. Let him wash away your sins, which are red as scarlet, so you might be washed white as snow. He is King of kings and Lord of lords, and He deserves your loyalty and obedience far more than the cruel and selfish current leader of our people.” Hearing her decision to shoot, he threw himself sideways, even as the bullet bounced harmlessly off the forcefield. It would have missed anyway, just.
The sleep-gas hit his mother in the face. “Keep on surviving, Ree.” she said as she collapsed. The agent in the corridor collapsed also.
“Urm. I'd like to claim asylum.” Ree said to the agents in the room from the floor.
“What did you say to her?” the agent on the left asked.
“I begged her to turn from her sins and serve Christ instead of my homeland's corrupt leader. I knew it was the last thing I'd say to her face to face and wanted it to be important.”
“You knew she'd shoot?” the other agent, a woman, asked.
“Penalty for disloyalty to the great leader: death. Penalty for seeking to persuade a citizen to be disloyal to the great leader: death. Penalty for following or spreading the Christian religion: death. I was pretty sure she'd shoot, yes. If she just walked away, and somehow another agent found out what I said, she'd be executed for dereliction of duty. There's no penalty I know of for getting sleep-gassed in the execution of your duty.”
“Well, as you know, asylum's been granted.” the woman said. “Do you think she suspected you were seeking to defect?”
“Suspected? She told my sister to ask for a passport for me. She always calls my sister her loyal daughter, me she always called her beloved son.”
“You mean that she loves you more than your sister?” the man asked.
“No. I mean she doesn't think I'm loyal. I think I'm loyal, just not to many of the things she's loyal to.”
“And your sister?”
“My sister? She's known me to be a Christian for a long long time.”
“But your mother actually engineered this?” the woman asked, with a puzzled expression.
“Not entirely. But Lilly and I allowed her to think she did, or at least to play-act that she did. Thus, I will be falsely recorded as a loyal member of the elite, serving here under cover.”
“I don't understand. Why did she try to shoot you, then?” the female agent asked.
“She checked that there was a forcefield first, remember, Eliza?” the man pointed out.
“There's so many layers here, I think I'm going to go crazy.” Eliza Smythe replied “But at least now I know why I was sent here. It's another learning experience.”
The man grinned “That's what you get for being such a high flyer. Me, I'm happy following a slower career path. Come on, let's deliver some antidote to our fallen colleague.”
“I think I'd better inform H.Q. that there's a diplomatic incident unconscious outside this interview room.”
“Rather you than me.”
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“I need to speak to his Excellency the Ambassador.” Ralph Trinket told the embassy receptionist, once he'd identified himself. “I am on my way, but it is on a personal matter of great urgency.”
“You may enter on arrival.”
“I believe, that the ambassador will wish to accompany me, and perhaps embassy medical staff? It concerns his wife; I am sure she will recover, but she is currently receiving medical attention.”
“Her Excellency was shopping with their son.” the question was implicit.
“He continues in good health. I will be at the embassy gate in one minute, the ambassador can contact me for more details.”
----------------------------------------
The ambassador wasted no time in returning the call. “Details!” he demanded.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
“Your wife collapsed at the shopping centre, your excellency, due to the effects of inhaling of sleep-gas. Your son was unharmed in the incident.”
“He was not near?”
“Your excellency, this line is not very secure.”
“Speak.”
“He has claimed religious asylum, and your wife took exception to this. He was separated from her by a forcefield, and her bullet did not strike him. There is no doubt that she aimed to hit, sir.”
“She has done her duty, then.”
That wasn't the response Ralph had expected. “The fact that she she had been told of the presence of the forcefield possibly counts in her favour, but it could be considered attempted murder. Because of diplomatic immunity she is free to leave, but there will be discussions on this matter, I assure you.”
“I anticipated that, of course. An antidote has been administered?”
“Yes, sir. A female officer disarmed her and checked her for other weapons. For the safety of the medical staff they also tied her hands and feet.”
“I understand.”
“Do you, sir? We do not understand what would cause a mother to try to kill her own son.”
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INTERNAL SECURITY OFFICES. 3PM, TUE 6TH FEB
“Now,” Eliza said, “Can you let me get this straight once more. Your mother instructed you to return to the shopping centre, and then told you she would come too?”
“Yes, agent Smythe. She stated that it was just not scientifically justified to carry out an opinion poll of just one person, and I should ask the shop for enough free samples for the whole embassy staff, and said she would come too to help explain things to the manager if needed.”
“And as far as you know, she didn't know about today's plan?” Eliza asked.
“No. But she might have suspected. I probably reacted a bit differently to normal last night.”
“Like?”
“I told her I loved her, for instance. It's urm, been a while since I did that.”
“I expect so.” Eliza agreed. “And you knew that your sister had been told to get you a passport, and somehow you discussed it with her as well?”
“Yes. I told her various things I'd noticed, or read about here. Like the dissidents getting invited to the palace.” Ree said.
“Dissidents?” Eliza queried.
“Republicans, I think you call them. Journalists, they wrote about their majesties' carpets.”
“Oh! OK I know who you mean. Wasn't having that sort of conversation a big risk?”
“Normally, but it was a very private conversation.”
“Could you fill me in on how? Surely she didn't risk using the embassy systems?”
“No. Urm. Is it necessary that I tell you?”
“It's necessary that I ask. And I know that others will ask until they work out what sort of technology was used and how to eavesdrop on it.”
“Good luck on that! Someone with the mind-reading gift made it possible for us to think to each other.”
Eliza processed that for half a second “I didn't know they could do that. You also hear thoughts?”
“Yes.”
“That explains how you reacted so fast to your mother's shot. Did she know?”
“I don't know. Mother doesn't discuss things like that. Ha! No one discusses anything personal; it might be taken as an accusation of disloyalty to the party.”
“But you've no doubts about your sister's disloyalty?”
“I know she hated all the double-think. And she protected me all my life, including helping me hide my Bible from discovery by my parents. And she spoke to me from the home of one of the fifty-seven. That tells me I'm not the only one who thinks she's trustworthy.”
“It does.” Eliza agreed. “Does your mother hear thoughts?”
“No. Or if she does, she hid it from me and Lilly.”
“Is that possible? And what did you mean by doublethink?”
“Everyone in the Beautiful Peninsula is either loyal, dead, in prison or incredibly self-disciplined. We don't share what we think without first deciding how it might be interpreted, and then rephrasing it so it sounds loyal even if you're not loyal. When I was little, Mother was mentally working out a list of chores for us to do, and Lilly thought some things that ought to have been shocking, and got no response. Is mother self-disciplined enough to carry on reciting a list verbally and file away something said? Certainly. But I don't know if anyone could be self-disciplined enough to do that mentally though.”
“Can you give an example of how you might make something sound loyal when it's not?”
“Easy. When I was growing up, often the shops were empty of bread rice or meat. Sometimes of everything. Someone might say 'Our Leader has provided us with a regular supply of corn.'”
“Isn't that a good thing?”
“Regular doesn't mean consistent or sufficient, agent Smythe. Some other things I heard at the time: 'It is important that the army has enough men.' 'Farming is an inefficient use of man-power' 'The imperialist capitalists have supplied us with mouldy animal feed rather than the good corn the Beloved Leader desired to buy his people.'”
“Can you explain the disloyal thoughts that might lie behind those?”possibly
“The rice crops failed because the people who should have been planting the rice were forced into the army. The leader, who we presume at least his mother loved, either got swindled or isn't the great negotiator he claims to be. But if you say the last one together with 'the needs of the military must come first,' then it becomes that he decided he could buy some extra weapons and still feed people if he got mouldy animal feed instead of good corn.” Ree stopped short “Wow! I can't believe I just said that aloud! I really hope you're not recording this interview.”
“No. Problem?”
Ree breathed a sigh of relief. “You must have heard of the phrase 'guilt by association.' Mothers colleagues would assume that there's no way that the son of loyal parents could think those thoughts, so my parents must be guilty of teaching me treasonous sedition. No trial necessary.”
“But they didn't?”
“No. Urm... was what happened in the corridor recorded?”
“Yes.”
“Oh dear. Could it be deleted? What I said to mother could get her in the same sort of trouble.”
“It's going to be counted as evidence concerning her shooting at you.”
“Not published surely?”
“Not if you claim privacy on it. You're referring to what you said in your mother tongue?”
“Yes. It might get my parents executed. I certainly claim as much privacy on it as I can.”
“I'll pass on the word that you've claimed privacy on it.” Eliza made a call. “Hi, Eliza here, mid-interview. Don't get what Ree said in his mother tongue translated, he's claimed privacy on it.”
Ree heard the voice at the other end say “We've just arranged for a translator.”
“Cancel that.” Eliza said, “Total and absolute privacy. He has no desire to see his parents executed because of his parting words to his mum.” Ree nodded.
“You're calling for that evidence to be excluded?” the voice at the end of the call asked. “She could call a mis-trial if we tamper with evidence!”
“Awkward, isn't it? But it's not going to get to a trial anyway, is it, given there's diplomatic immunity? I'll bring him to the editing suite in a bit, see if we can leave some of it in, how's that?”
“I suppose that's all I can ask for. And you are clearing it with Maria.”
“Of course.” Eliza replied, ending the call. “So, your parents, are they actually loyal to the state?”
“Who can tell? Did you happen to see the film of the warhead being changed on that missile?”
“Yes.”
“I overheard them discussing it. Mother was pointing out it must be a fake, since there's no way the government would send an engineering student friend of mine to handle a nuclear weapon, and nor could our poor country afford transparent radiation suits.”
“Transparent radiation suits?” Eliza asked.
“She said something like no-one would ever accuse one of my homeland's honourable generals of commandeering the only radiation suit, while hiding safely away in a bunker. It's obvious that the people forging the video must have equipped the actors with expensive transparent radiation suits of a sort we couldn't afford.”
“Oh. No one would accuse them because it would be disloyal?”
“Yes.”
“For the record, I don't think we've got transparent radiation suits either. You recognised your friend?”
“Yes. He's got a very distinctive walk.”
“So, horror can be expressed, sort of, but only in such a way that you don't actually say what you think, and lay the blame on the outside.”
“If you're as clever with words as my mum, yes. Most people aren't.”
“Oh, right. Now, getting back to this morning's events, you guess that your mother doesn't think you're very loyal but under the guise you were, gave you instructions to pretend to be a Christian so you could claim asylum, and orders to your sister to try to get you a passport?”
“Yes.”
“So, why did she shoot at you?”
“It would have been suicide for her not to.”
“And how do I know that you're not pretending to be a Christian and a real defector?”
“Anything I say could just be proper training. So instead, I'll tell you 'all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God.' 'If anyone claims to be without sin, they deceive themselves and the truth is not in them.' 'The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life.' 'God demonstrates his love for us in this, that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.' 'And he was buried, and on the third day, he rose again according to the scriptures.' 'And he was led into the presence of the ancient of days, and was given rule and glory and urm, various other things, and his kingdom shall never be destroyed.' 'and the souls beneath the altar cry out with a loud voice “How long, oh Lord? “' And those of us left on Earth mourn at the deaths of our brothers and sisters in Christ, and also cry out, 'How long?' and 'Come, Lord Jesus, Come!'”
“Amen.” Eliza agreed.
“You're a Christian?”
“Yes. Only a few months old in my faith, so I didn't recognise all your quotes. The last few were from the book of Revelation, yes?”
“The Ancient of days one was Daniel chapter seven.”
“Oh. How did you learn about them, and link them up, and so on?”
“Secretly. Lists of references, suggested readings, that sort of thing, passed hand to hand. And you try to commit them to memory because you know that your Bible might be lost and you might be imprisoned for your faith.”
“You and other believers from your country have my wholehearted respect.” Eliza said.
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TUE 6TH FEB, 8PM
“Our son was brave, at the end.” The ambassador's wife informed him. They were walking through a mostly empty park neither of them had been before. Their host country's Internal Security officers were keeping a careful watch on their movements, but also giving them some privacy.
“How so?”
“He raised the issue of defection, asked me not to make a scene, publicised my status, and spoke other words I will not fully repeat.”
“Dangerous words?”
“Words which I had to respond to. If there is a recording, and I presume that there is, and it comes into the hands of our compatriots... questions will be asked.”
That was a dangerous word in itself; he queried it. “Questions?”
“He is not ignorant about things he should be. So, it will be asked, did I tell him of these things for his application, or how did he find them out?”
“Oh.”
“And I have no satisfactory answers.”
The ambassador stopped, and looked at his wife. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that if I say I told him those things, then I am guilty of a crime. If I did not, then... if he meant what he said, he is on the wrong list.”
“The wrong... What did he say?”
“That I am loyal to the wrong master. That is safe enough to repeat.”
“Who did he say you should serve, the United Nations?”
“No! He applies for a religious visa, husband. No, he used phrases I've heard from Christians and said God deserves loyalty and obedience. I will not repeat what he said about the Great Leader.”
“Ah, so he made inflammatory statements, surely that would be normal to anyone seeking for asylum? He might have heard Christian phrases from people, somewhere, surely that is easy to explain away, my wife.”
“He did not make a statement, husband. He pleaded with me, personally, in our language. What he said was not for the people of this country. It was for me. He, knowing I was armed, and surely not a hundred percent sure that there was indeed a forcefield between us, pleaded with me to do something which he knew would mean I throw away my position, my freedom, my life. I have no answer as to why he would do such a thing, I have no answer to why he chose to use such words as his last communication with me, and I have no answer as to how he learned them. He knew that there is another list on which his name could be placed at home but still, he chose to say things which mean his name should be on it. Why would he take such a risk with his own life, when this was supposed to place him in a safer place?”
“Might he be testing your loyalty?”
“We are not at home. Who could instruct him thus? Who could instruct him in such dangerous phrases?”
“Lilly? She has clearly been arranging his passport, and surely she arranged for a message to him — he was expecting the arrest, was he not?” his wife nodded, and he continued, “Surely, she has had opportunity to learn the terms, the phrases. Could she not have asked them to deliver a script?”
“She could have. You are right. But... Does our daughter hate us so?”
“No. She does not hate us.”
“You are sure?”
“She asked, my wife, if it would cause trouble for us if she sought a passport from this country. She explained how it was advantageous to her. I reassured her.”
“There is a risk.”
“Also with breathing, sometimes. It was best for her and her brother, I said it would undermine her cover story if she ignored those advantages.”
She nodded. “Why did you not ask me?”
“Because I was not certain, my wife, of my motives. Was I putting her needs above those of the state? We speak a lot, but...”
“We are rarely so honest with each other. Let me be honest, husband; our son goes to our loyal daughter, she who knows him best and who has executed a Christian before now. If I ask her if his words were from her, and they were not, I condemn myself and him. If I do not ask, and it is not a test, then I am an accomplice unless I report his words. Knowing he has fast reactions, knowing they said there was a forcefield, as he insulted the Great Leader, I shot at him in the heat of the moment, But, husband, ...” She shook her head, unable to speak the words.
He looked into her eyes, and gathered her into his arms. His mouth hidden by her hair from any observers, he said “You are too much his mother to report him, my beloved? Let my own mouth condemn me: I am glad. I am too much his father and your husband to report you for this.”
“So, we are also rebels.”
“We are parents.” he corrected.
“There is nothing we can do to protect him from our loyal daughter, is there?”
“No, but she is loyal to her family. I think that is why she asked me, not you, if there were risks. Perhaps she will be able to pretend she does not notice.”
Suddenly, Lilly's mother made a decision. “I will tell her that Ree has defected.”
“We are a long way from the embassy, my beloved.”
“I expect one of our discrete followers will let me call my daughter.”
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Lilly looked at her wrist unit once more. Who was calling this time? She didn't recognise the caller at all.
“Hello?”
“My dutiful daughter, your brother has claimed asylum.”
“And your shot missed. He told me.”
“Oh! So you know!”
“Yes. I also know something else, Mother, but I do not recognise the number you are calling from.”
“We're having a walk with some nice people from Security making sure I don't shoot anyone else. I just realised I hadn't called you, and so I'm talking to one of their wrists.”
“Do you agree it has a low interception risk then?”
Lilly's mother was about to reply when the wrist unit's owner said “I can add extra encryption if you wish, maam.”
“Yes please.” Lilly replied.
“Lilly!” her mother pointed out reasonably, “How does that keep what we're saying from being recorded on this agent's device?”
“Please encrypt.” Lilly repeated.
“Enabling.” the agent reported.
“Much better.” Lilly commented. “Mother, I'm not afraid of the agent's device; I don't want anyone else from home hearing that Ree told me; he's claimed secrecy on what he said to you. You need not fear the recording from the corridor, it now contains silence during his plea to you.”
“He... he spoke to you about that?”
“Yes, mother. He sends his love, and did not want you or father found guilty by association. He also asks that you think about what he said.”
“Do you know what he said?”
“Not exactly, but I can guess it was something he's wanted to say to you a long time.”
“How long?”
“We thought you would know, but perhaps you only found out today. It must have been a shock. He once used a password 'Lilly is freezing' to hide something important and dangerous to him, because he confused 'cool' and 'freezing'; a stupidly weak password. I taught him better password selection. I was still at spy-school then.”
“What sort of something?”
“I am not as brave as my little brother.” Lilly admitted, not wanting to say outright that she knew he had a Bible all these years. “But I will try to keep him safe. I wonder how hard that will be, given there is no recording.” Would her mother speak out against him?
“I discover that I am his mother.”
“Thank you, mummy.” Lilly said “Did you understand everything he told you?”
“Enough, but not much.”
“Thirty-nine plus twenty-seven makes sixty-six. Of the thirty-nine, one, sections one to four, also two, part twenty. Of the twenty-seven: four, section three, sixteen to eighteen.”
“What?”
“Numbers can be dangerous things, mother. Be careful, as you know, asking the wrong person can get you in trouble.”
“For the record, I understand the reference.” the agent said.
“Let knowledge be my mother's decision, please.” Lilly replied.
“Your father's too. We have been talking, openly.”
“I am glad, mother. You hide too well. I think none of us really know what you think.”
“I thought we were both loyal, Lilly.”
“Loyalty, mother, is love and family and people, and pigs in sacks.”
“I don't understand.”
“One day, I might be braver, mother.”
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“I have had a confusing conversation with our daughter. But... I am no longer scared. She has talked to Ree. There is no recording of what he said, it has been erased. She knew.”
“She knew what?”
“She described Ree as brave. She also said that she would try to protect him as she has for years. She taught him password choice when she was at spy school to hide something. I presume from us. So I say it again; Lilly knew.”
“But... she is loyal!”
“Loyalty, our daughter said, 'is love and family and people and pigs in sacks.'”
“Pigs in sacks?”
“Yes. She didn't explain.”
“Alive or dead?”
She looked at her husband in shock. “What if it was executed in a sack?”
“She said that?”
“No, of course not.”
“Love and family and people and convincing deception?”
“Showing people something they can believe is what they want to see. Perhaps. We do not know.”
“But we know none of us is inhumanly loyal to the state, but that we are loyal to our family. Did Lilly say anything else?”
“Yes. She said she was pleased we were talking openly together, and she spoke some numbers which mean nothing to me.”
“Numbers?”
“Thirty-nine plus twenty-seven makes sixty-six. Of the thirty nine, one sections one to four, also two, part twenty. Of the twenty-seven: four, section three, sixteen to eighteen. She said they were dangerous, and I should be careful who I asked about them. But the agent recognised them, Lilly asked him to keep the knowledge to himself unless we asked.”
“Shall we ask the agent?”
“Do we want to know?”
“Is it another puzzle, or is it more uncomfortable certainty?”
“Lilly was not worried about the agent hearing. Only about people from home. She asked if I understood what Ree had said to me, I said, not much of it. Then she told me those numbers. Dangerous numbers.”
“Today, we are living more dangerously than we have done for a long time.”
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Lilly called Maggie Right. “Maggie, Lilly here.”
“Hello, Lilly. How can I help?”
“My mother is finding out some dangerous truths today, about her son, and herself. I've added some dangerous hints about myself too.”
“What sort of dangerous truths?”
“She had no idea of Ree's faith, it seems.”
“Oh wow.”
“Nor did she understand much of what he said. I gave her some fairly obvious pointers, just cryptic enough that she could ignore them if she chose. If she starts asking questions...”
“Yes?”
“It's a big request, but is there any chance that whoever interviews Mum about the shooting could be a Christian? If the incident means she gets sent home, it might be the only time in her life that she's going to be in a situation where someone can present the gospel to her openly.”
“I'll pass it on.”
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“You told my wife you understood the numbers?” the ambassador asked the agent.
“Yes, sir.”
“Could you explain?”
“There are sixty-six books in the Bible, sir. I'm not a Christian, I just remember that from school. I'm guessing that the other numbers that make it up are how many books there are in the Old and New Testaments.” he looked around to see where one of his colleagues was, and waved him over.
“I thought the Bible was the Christian holy book. You say it's lots of books?” the Ambassador asked.
“Yes sir. Urm, there's different divisions within the Bible. For instance the first five books are called the pentagram, no, that's something else, they're called the penta-something. Sorry, I'm getting lost already. But anyway, there are different books in the Bible, and they're divided into sections or chapters, and the chapters are divided in to verses. And there's two big divisions, the so-called Old Testament, which is the first bit, and then there's the New Testament, which is the second part. So I think your daughter was talking about some chapters in the Old Testament and a few verses in the New Testament.” Seeing his colleague arrive he happily passed the buck “Bill, this is your stuff, can you explain all this?”
“Very much depends what the question is.” Bill pointed out.
“Cryptic message from their excellencies' daughter. Thirty-nine plus twenty-seven equals sixty-six.” the first agent said. “That's Old and New Testaments, isn't it?”
“Certainly sounds like it.” Bill agreed.
“Right, I'll leave you with the details then, and beat a hasty retreat.”
The ambassador watched him flee. “Why does he run?”
“Because he prefers not to hear, in case what he hears challenges him.”
“Of the thirty nine, one, sections one to four.” Lilly's mother said. “Do you know what that means?”
“The first book of the Old Testament, Genesis, talks about the creation of the world. There are two different viewpoints, one in chapter one, where God speaks and separates light and darkness, land and sea and sky, and then makes all creatures and finally mankind. Then in chapter two, we look closer at the creation of humanity, and at the end of the chapter, all is right with the world. In chapter three things start to go wrong, when the first humans listen to a snake and not to God, and they disobey God. God warns them of death, struggle and pain because of it, but also promises that one day a descendant of the woman will kill the snake, the cause of evil and human trouble. In chapter four one brother becomes jealous of another. God warns him that sin is waiting to ambush him, and the man, Cain, ignores God and murders his brother.”
“Also of the thirty-nine, two, part twenty.” Lilly's mother said.
“A long time later, God has rescued a group of people from slavery in Egypt. He gives them a set of laws, that we call the ten commandments: He forbids worshipping other gods, making images for worship, and misusing God's name. He decrees that the seventh day is for resting, even for animals. He commands honour of parents, and forbids murder, adultery, theft, false testimony, and every form of jealousy.”
“Of the twenty six, four, section three.”
“Sixteen?” Bill interrupted.
“Sixteen to eighteen. You know it?”
“Yes. This is a verse about Jesus, who we date our calendar from. Verse sixteen is 'For God so loved the world, that he sent his only son, that whoever believes in him should not die, but have eternal life.' I'm not exactly sure what seventeen and eighteen are, but I think they say that God sent His Son to save the world from sin, so anyone who believes in the Son will be saved, but if anyone does not believe, they are already condemned, because they have not believed the only Son of God. Urm, I think I should point out that whatever sense of 'son' you take here, no Christian believes it means that God had sex with Jesus' mother.”
“So my son risking his life to plead with me to believe in Jesus is because according to this verse I am a condemned woman?”
“Yes.”
“And your colleague?”
“Does not want to hear that he is condemned, or how he can be rescued.”
“And your God would forgive a woman who has executed Christians because of their belief?” she asked.
“About half of the New Testament was written by a man called Paul. Before he turned to Christ, he did the same.”
“You seem to have a very forgiving God.”
“All have sinned and fallen short of the standards justice demands. But his gift to all who accept it is eternal life. There is no one righteous, not even one. Only by trusting Jesus can people be saved.”
“What about those who died before this Jesus was around?”
The agent shrugged. “Those who turned from their sins and trusted God, he saved, they didn't really know how the judge of all the world could forgive, but they knew he did. His majesty, power, and authority have been on display through creation. We might suppress the truth, but it remains true.”
“The judge of all the world?” the ambassador asked.
“Yes, it is one of his titles.”
“Thank you. Now I understand my son's motives a little better.” She turned away, “Come, husband. We have learned enough of these dangerous numbers.”