The riddle is solved

A meeting of the personalities who administered a certain projext.

The riddle is solved

Coming out of her room, Lee-Chen-Woe had a glimpse of comrade Diam heading for the jail commander's office.

Three guards climbed out of the cellar stairs in his wake, whispering between themselves excitedly. They stopped their hushed conversation the moment they saw her, and let her pass saluting her with obedience. But she could perceive a flicker of disdain in their eyes, or was it sheer spite.

She was too upset herself to decide what it could be and anyhow, the whole affair was over. So, whatever it was did not bother her at all. She knew quite well that she did a fine job out of it, and no one could deny it.

The door to the jail commander's office was left ajar. He might have seen me emerging out of my room, comrade Diam... He isn't it seems a man one would underestimate; but I hardly know him and I may never see him again. She thought reassuring herself.

When she entered comrade Diam was already half way in his oral report, relating proudly Nick's recapture. She went back to her seat, under the jail commander's scrutinizing gaze; put the pad she brought with her on the desk, while she listened attentively to the end of comrade Diam's report.

'All in all it was an easy task, he didn't have any chance to resist, and that's why he wasn't hurt. But above all, I was present there when he was put back in his cell.'

'He should be subjected to a strict solitary confinement, no more strolls in the yard and no more visits!' Interrupted him his chief, glancing meannacingly at Lee-Chen-Woe.

'Your attention comrades, I'm presiding this meeting and I'm still present in this office!' the head commissar cut in, he did not have to raise his voice they were all silent. 'Comrade Neguien brief your second in command!'      

Though a bit shaken the jail commander cleared his throat, and told his second in command, what was expected of him.

While comrade Diam was on his way to the control room, his chief sent his hand forth, and pulled aside a wooden panel " exposing a rectangular opening that linked the control room with his own office; enabling a visual contact with the control room's crew. 

As the actual moment of the meeting's opening drew near, Lee-Chen-Woe grew more and more restless. "The loathsome useless enemy has to die!" These were more or less the jail commander's conclusions, which were quite clear " and the head commissar agreed with him...

The short lived operation, in which she had invested so many hopes, has failed and is practically over.

Whose fault is it then? Who would have to pay for its failure then? Who is going to be charged with the responsibility for the operation's failure? Wasn't it one of the main reasons behind my assignment to that job, to fit in as a probable scapegoat in exactly such circumstances? Could I trust the head commissar at all, would he support me...?

She did not have the slightest doubt, what would be the jail commander's views on the matter. She could discern them on his ugly face. The head commissar's views on the other hand, were unknown to her yet and his personality was an unfathomed void…

I'd better realize, she thought with her back to the wall, weighing coldly her odds. I hardly know the head commissar... Would he retreat and abandon me? There was nothing she could do, but wait for the imminent consequences and fight back if necessary.                

'Everything is ready comrade commissar.' The jail commander addressed him after a very unpleasant period of silence, in a rather cheerful manner.

'We shall have a preliminary hearing now; a conclusive sum-up of that issue shall take place at the end of the month, when all the parties concerned shall have their conclusive reports ready.' 

Having declared his intentions clearly the head commissar made a short pause, to let Lee-Chen-Woe catch up and went on with his dictation much more slowly this time;

'A preliminary hearing on experiment number EC-J001.'

After another short pause, he added: 'Top secret, date, March the eleventh, nineteen sixty eight.'

'Must we use these foreign terms of date?' The jail commander objected.

‘Yes we must comrade Neguien!' The head commissar retorted. 'There are some foreign parties involved in this operation, who share our interest in its results.'

There was no need for more explicite explanation he thought and a quick glance at comrade Neguien's surprised face, assured his assumption.

'Subject matter,' he went on dictating in his steady and monotonous voice: 'Test operation “New Horizons”, experiment number EC-J001 U.S. Marine Nicholas Spree " enemy's prisoner of war. Attending the meeting are the following personalities: the Defense Committee special envoy, known as The Head Commissar acting as the meeting's chairman.  Comrade Neguien Vong Hue, commander of the Ho Chi Minh reeducation center. The Defense Committee’s special envoy's assistant: comrade Lee Chen Woe, acting as the meeting's secretary. Comrade Neguien Vong Hue's second in command, comrade Diam Voe Tieh, operating the reeducation center control room, and its facilities. This same assembly shall gather again for a conclusive meeting, not later than the end of this month. The exact place and date of the next meeting shall be forwarded to its participants in due time, during the next week not earlier.'                               

Things are looking much better! Lee-Chen-Woe thought with much relief. If the whole thing was just an experiment, well then, it may fail without causing any harm to its participants.

The head commissar passed a long look around the desk and went on:

'As you may all understand experiment number EC-J001 has failed. Its subject should have resisted the temptation to flee, and should have denounced comrade Lee Chen Woe; be it to one of the guards or through the electronic devices installed in his cell, which he is aware to their existence. Anyhow the poor results of the experiment do not concern us. We were asked to conduct this experiment at the request of a certain ally of ours, some kind of a package deal or call it a barter deal; there isn't much difference between the terms, that's the whole lot.' He seemed reluctant to release some more details, and indeed decided thus, not to extend the matter anymore.

'Well, that's the first experiment of its kind that we had ever conducted, particularly its bizzare methods, and we might be asked to carry on with such experiments. Although we don't know yet if that ally of ours, would wish us to carry their bizzare ideas on. We must provide that ally with all the facts and all the conclusions of that experiment. On the other hand, there is our own defense committee, which might overrule the whole issue entirely. These are the facts in general. In my opinion and I would repeat that opinion of mine to the Central Committee, future experiments under such an operation should be rejected. A war has been declared on us just recently, by the most powerful capitalistic state in the world; and this war escalates from day to day! We are not able to spare neither the means nor the time for such experiments and we'll have to ask our ally to relieve us from tasks of that sort. Furthermore, I still find our own old methods as much better measures, in comparison with the methods we were instructed to employ in this experiment. My first conclusion is that we don't have to change our old methods, as long as we're able to crush a subject down to the right required terms, within two up to six weeks time.  I'm quite sure that a poor specimen like the subject of our first experiment would have become a loyal party member in a matter of days, if we had treated him with our old methods alone.  Don't you agree comrade Neguien?'

‘I've no other experience but our old methods, comrade commissar.' 

'I thought so comrade Neguien is there anything you wish to add?'

'No, not yet,' the jail commander answered resolutely.

'In that case this hearing is closed,' the head commissar declared, and rose to his feet. 'Comrade Lee-Chen pass me the protocol, we have to sign it.'

He read it standing on his feet, while the jail commander and Lee-Chen-Woe waited in silence, standing erect and ready. Putting the brand new document on the desk, he bent over it and signed it himself, then passed it over to comrade Neguien.

Right after the protocol was signed, by all the meeting participants, the commander and his second in command escorted the head commissar and Lee-Chen-Woe out, to the waiting car in front of the villa's entrance.

'I've an apology to make, comrade commissar,' the jail commander smiled as they were ready to leave. 'My impatience must have been intolerable.'

‘We were all a bit impatient tonight comrade Neguien, it must have been that ferocious air-raid which caused it. The odds are against us no doubt, but united and with mutual efforts we shall win this war!'

© Haim Kadman 1991 " all rights reserved.

Reviews

[Marie]

I fear this is too long and convuluted for me to follow well, though I ascertain that it is well written. I read it all the way through because it had your name on it, and I had ot read anything from you of late.

[Haim Kadman]

It's an excerpt of a chapter of my book 'The reimote control'. It's based on the war in Vietnam during the 60s of the previous century.