Through the Killing Glass (14 page)

Arun sat down,
his head in his hands.

'Folks, let's
get real here. Do we want a renewed war? All I'm trying to do is to keep our
people safe. How will posting messages to the Americans in any way help us make
Wonderland safer? Tell me that and I'll listen to you.'

And so it was
done. Two Red Guard technicians flew in, and undeterred by the murderous looks
Danish gave them, installed software on the computers at the Looking Glass
which would prevent them from accessing any of the pages uploaded from the
American Deadland. Any second thoughts or concerns the people of Wonderland
might have had were silenced by another plane-load of crates, filled with food,
cosmetics, and another television.

They did not
have to wait long for the next move in the intricate game of chess that
Commissar Hu and his masters were playing. After the nightly soap opera, a grim
faced woman appeared on TV, with a red ‘breaking news' scroll across the
screen.

'People of
Wonderland, recent investigations have revealed a most shocking truth
concerning the disturbances in the past in the area known as the Deadland.
These have led to much misunderstanding between our nations. Newly discovered
documents show that some Zeus officers in the Deadland had overstepped their
authority and had engaged in illegal smuggling of people without any knowledge
of the Central Committee. They were working hand in hand with smugglers in the
Mainland who were running illegal farms and then selling food to the people in
the Mainland at exorbitant prices in a black market. Two of these smugglers
have already accepted all charges against them and have been executed.'

There was a
stunned silence among the hundreds gathered in front of the TV. Satish, who had
dozed off, suddenly woke up. Arjun sensed what was coming and went to call
Alice as the woman continued speaking.

'When their
illegal activities were at risk of being discovered, they blamed the Central Committee
and instigated the people of the Deadland against us. Then they engaged in
terrorist attacks that started the unfortunate war between our nations. Now
that our people are once more bound together by fraternal relations of love and
respect, it’s time we unmasked who these villains are. Ironically today these
same men are in charge of Wonderland's security.'

Alice had now
arrived, and she watched in shock as several photos appeared on the screen.
There was Colonel Dewan, who had played a pivotal role in their struggle by
believing in Alice and helping the resistance in the Deadland, until he paid
the ultimate price by losing his life to the Red Guards. A string of officers
followed – and finally there was Satish.

She saw several
people in the crowd turn towards him. Satish was now on his feet, his eyes
narrowed in anger.

'Those
bastards!'

A meeting
followed the next morning between Arun, Alice, Satish and Arjun.

'Arun, you do
realize they are lying, don't you?'

For the first
time in weeks, Arun looked actually scared. He had been in his element as Prime
Minister, believing he was bringing peace to Wonderland and achieving a destiny
he had thought had been taken from him forever. Now his place as little more
than another pawn was becoming clearer and clearer to him.

'Satish, I
sought refuge here with my family and you saved us from Biters and Red Guards
alike. I would trust you with my life any day. I was a politician before The
Rising, so I know well what propaganda means and how it can be used and abused,
but there's something I had never realized. Something that may yet prove to be
our undoing.'

‘What is that?’
Alice asked.

'For people
like me, Arjun, Satish, and others of our age, we knew what the world was like
before The Rising. We know what messages are likely to be no more than
propaganda and what we can really trust. We know that the Chinese were not
exactly our allies and how their political system was so different from our
democracy. But more than half the people in Wonderland were either born after
The Rising or are too young to remember any of this. They take everything they
see at face value; they are the ones most excited by the shiny toys and TV
shows, and they are the ones the Central Committee is winning over with these
messages.'

'They could not
defeat us, so they steal our children's minds,' Arjun growled.

'Alice, we need
to defuse and manage the situation. I will issue a statement that there must be
a mistake and someone is trying to frame Satish.'

Alice stood.
'My father used to tell me something about why he never worked for the Central
Committee despite being asked to, and why he always ensured our settlement
remained independent in spite of all the difficulties we faced. He used to say
that a leash, even if made of the finest silk, is still a leash.'

The meeting
ended with Arun’s departure. He planned to issue a statement immediately.

When he was
gone, Satish looked at Alice. 'What are you going to do?'

'I think the
time's coming when we'll be needed to fight once more. Spread the word among
your men that they should make sure our heavy weapons are ready to use.'

Satish grinned.

'About time we
did what we should have done long ago.'

As he turned to
leave, Alice cautioned, 'Just don't do anything hasty. Lie low for now.'

She turned to
see Arjun grinning broadly.

'What's so
funny, Arjun?'

'I never cease
to be amused by how you order around people three times your age, and how they
listen to you.'

Later that day,
Alice was called urgently to town. She raced there on her bike, hoping it was not
another Biter attack. When she arrived, she found that it was almost as bad.
Two of Satish's men had been eating at McDonald's when a couple of teenagers
had made comments about Satish being a criminal. Words had been exchanged and
before anyone could defuse things, a fight had broken out. One of the boys was
in hospital with a broken nose and a large crowd had gathered in front of
Arun's office, demanding that Satish's men either be disarmed or confined to
barracks.

One woman
shrieked, 'These men are too used to war. They don't know how to live in
civilized company anymore.'

Alice glared at
her and the woman shrunk under her gaze.

'You have what
you call civilized company because soldiers like them bled for you. Don't
forget that.'

Arun was inside
with Arjun and Satish, who seemed livid.

'Arun, these
boys are our best fighters. There is no way I will disarm them.'

Arun rubbed his
forehead absently, trying to deal with a throbbing headache.

'This is all going
crazy. Look, can you please put your recon teams in a barracks for a day or two
till things cool down? Arjun, can your men handle security till then?'

Arjun shook his
head sadly. 'My boys can break up fights and help drunks home, and of course
they could shoot Biters when they were in the Deadland. But they are not
trained combat soldiers like Satish's men, so if there's any trouble with the
Red Guards, they won't last too long.'

'But there
aren’t any Red Guards around, are there?'

Alice said,
'Not yet, but I'm sure we will cross paths with them soon enough.'

***

Back in Ladakh,
Hu was seated in Chen's office, the chess set in front of him as usual, looking
more complacent and smug than ever. As events had unfolded in Wonderland over
the last few days, Chen had finally begun to grasp the true extent of what Hu
and the Central Committee had planned.

'Comrade
General, do you see now how this war is being waged and won? I don't care about
those savages and their pathetic piece of land, but the fertile lands of
Northern India are needed to feed our people, and we need labor to resume
working on farms and in the camps back in the Mainland.'

Chen was
silent, but Hu fixed him with an expectant look. Okay, if the Commissar wanted
groveling and positive validation, Chen would oblige. If it helped him save the
lives of hundreds more young conscripts from being thrown away in meaningless
battles, he would play along.

'Comrade
Commissar, the plan is certainly something I would never have thought of. It's
reassuring that the Central Committee has been able to find a more peaceful
solution to achieve our goals.'

Hu laughed.

'Comrade
Commissar, did I say something to amuse you?'

Holding his
belly, tears standing out in his eyes, Hu said, 'Who told you that there is to
be no more bloodshed?' Opening his hand, he produced a chess piece. 'You see,
Comrade, our game is a little bit different than a normal game of chess. In
this game, the White King can be taken off the board and the game will
continue.'

***

Arun pulled his
jacket around him, trying to keep out the chill. He remembered a time when he
actually welcomed Delhi winters, enjoying hot cups of tea in the heated comfort
of his bungalow. In the Deadland, winters had meant nothing but misery and
huddling in old, tattered blankets. So it was no surprise that the latest
shipment from the Central Committee had generated much excitement, as it had
brought crates packed with soft woolen sweaters and blankets. Arun had stood
proudly as people had openly cheered and clapped. That one moment had brought
home to him that he had finally made progress in being a true leader to his
people. Wonderland may have been forged in blood and war, but Arun would be the
one who brought the beginnings of peace and prosperity to his people.

The flight had
also brought with it a message for Arun from Commissar Hu. The Commissar wanted
to meet Arun alone to discuss some important matters. Arun had been requested
to not share this request with anyone else: the message had euphemistically
stated, 'Do not share broadly until we have met to prevent
counter-revolutionary elements in Wonderland from sabotaging our continuing
partnership'. Arun knew that the ‘elements' being referred to were Alice and
Satish, and he was fine with that. He had sought refuge in Wonderland like
thousands of others and watched Alice and her followers wage the war that had
brought them some breathing space, but while Arun never doubted her courage or
skill with weapons, he did not think she had the vision needed to realize that
no society could exist in a perpetual state of war. The only way out was to
bring about some semblance of stability and peace. Arun was well versed enough
in the ways of politics to know that the Central Committee had not been sending
all their shiny gifts out of the goodness of their hearts. They would want
something back in return, and he guessed that was what this meeting was about.
His best guess was that the Central Committee would want to restart the farms
in the plains where labor from the Deadland had once worked. When he and the
others in the Deadland had been scavenging to survive, many settlements had
sent people to these farms to buy some degree of security from Biter hordes. At
that time, Alice's vision of these being slave camps and her offering freedom
seemed compelling. Now, with a more settled presence in Wonderland, Arun
believed that it could be a more equal exchange. He could promise some share of
the harvest from these farms in return for assured supplies of goods that would
really set Wonderland on its path back to civilization. Already he had a mental
list that included more generators, bicycles to help people get around more
easily, and a large screen and projector to open the first movie theatre in
Wonderland – something that had been much in demand once people had started
getting used to the daily dose of TV soaps.

This was what
national leaders did, wasn't it? Trade with other nations to bring prosperity
to their people; create a vision for a peaceful, stable society; and end long,
festering wars. So Arun had slipped away at night, riding a bicycle to the
borders of Wonderland and then arriving at the agreed rendezvous point. Part of
him was worried at being out in the Deadland alone at night, and he nervously
fingered the pistol tucked into his belt, but the excitement of a major new
agreement with the Central Committee overrode that nervousness.

Arun had been
so lost in thought that he almost missed seeing the sleek black helicopter that
had landed a hundred or so meters away. It had arrived without making any
noise, and looked like the helicopter that Vince loved to play around with. A
figure stepped out, barely more than a smudge in the darkness. From a distance,
in the dull glow reflected from the cockpit of the helicopter, it looked like a
Red Guard officer, with the trademark slanted cap. But as Arun got closer, he
was surprised to see that the officer seemed to be a woman. He had never
encountered a female Red Guard before and wondered if she was an aide who had
come to fetch him to meet the Commissar.

A nervous knot
formed in his stomach. He did not want to be taken anywhere alone by the Red
Guards. Talk of fraternal relationships was great when he was in the relative
safety of Wonderland, but not out here when he was all alone.

The Red Guard
officer strode toward him.

He had a
tactical radio strapped to his belt, and the frequency was set to the Looking
Glass. He knew Danish would be there, and while the old man would hardly be
able to offer much help, he could alert Alice and Satish. It was a sobering
thought as he realized that when he was faced with imminent danger the two
people he had done most to undermine in his attempt to gain power were the only
two people he thought he could count on to help him.

The Red Guard
officer was now mere feet away. In perfect English she said, 'Greetings, Mr.
Prime Minister. It is an honor to meet you.'

Hearing her
polite greeting reassured Arun and he walked towards her, still unable to make
out her features in the dark.