NEW WORLD TRILOGY (Trilogy Title) (20 page)

Just three minutes after the riot squad had arrived, nearly sixty people were lying cuffed and face down on the street, two loaded people movers were driving off, the four that remained were being rapidly filled, and some squad members were dragging their catches back to the scene or placing them in one of the many patrol cars then circling the nearby blocks.  When circumstances permitted, thirty police proceeded to take up a defensive formation around the entrance to the building while another sixty reinforcements began patrolling the nearby streets on foot in order to keep the area secure for the rest of the day.

Quietly watching the scene come to its inevitable conclusion, Ikaros only allowed himself to refocus his attention to his own situation once the lift doors were closed and he was heading back up to the top floor.

• • •

8:30 a.m.

Sitting in a small restaurant eating wanton soup, Sascha and Ikaros consider their predicament and the possible consequences.

"Do you think I should give an interview?" asks Ikaros as he looks around at the patrons, most being locals simply enjoying their breakfasts.

"All I think is that you should do what is likely to be most effective, whatever we define 'most effective' as being.  I think we have some idea about what that is," she replies just before taking another sip of the soup, after which she adds, "You should do it while everything is still hot, though."

"Yeah, I don't know how long we can get away with it for, anyway.  The whole thing might get shut down at any time.  But then again, we've just started."

"You planning on staying here long?"

"Not really.  Not much longer, anyway."  Ikaros takes another bite of a wanton while trying to make a list of future contingencies; before getting far, he suddenly feels it's pointless and quits.  "Okay, screw it!  I should do one today.  See what happens."

Sascha smiles, then mocks him, "Good, nice to see your strategy skills at work!"

Laughing softly with her, he moves on, "Want a coffee?"

"Of course.  Not here, though."

They take a few more minutes to finish their bowls in silence and then exit the restaurant to discover another small place they can acquire their first and much-needed strong coffee of the day.

Thirty-five minutes later

Upon arriving at their building, Ikaros stands in front of the entrance and scans up and down the street, across which, leaning up against a pillar of a more modest-sized building and looking directly at him, is the same reporter from yesterday morning.  Ikaros spots her; recognising her instantly, he considers his options while staring at her inscrutably for a moment.

Already inside the foyer, Sascha doesn't notice what's happening until she turns and observes him crossing the street, dodging traffic in his stride.  She stands and watches their interaction with curiosity from just behind the glass of the main doorway: Ikaros and the reporter visibly exchange just a few words before they both start looking for a gap in the traffic to allow them to slip cross the street together.

Twenty minutes later

Standing on the top floor, Sascha, Ikaros and the reporter talk casually until the lift door opens and a cameraman exits and walks towards them.  They turn to greet him and introduce themselves, and then wait patiently while he takes a few minutes to get organised.  Ikaros and the reporter grab the only two chairs in sight and sit on them near a window overlooking the harbour.

When the cameraman is ready, the reporter changes her tone and starts off by saying, "Could you tell me what the primary business of the Global Domination Corporation is, please?"

"Well, that hasn't been disclosed yet beyond what's stated on the public record, which is that …"

"Its primary activities involve 'the dissemination of social change techniques.'  Is that right?"

"Essentially.  That's certainly what's stated on the public record.  But I don't think it's the right time to provide any detail about that just now," replies Ikaros evasively.

"Why not?"

"It's just not.  And it's not up for discussion."

"Given the name of the company and its stated activities, it doesn't sound very good, does it?  In fact, it sounds quite threatening.  And then there's the disturbing corporate logo.  Do you think it's wise to cause such negative interest in a company right from the start?  What kind of marketing strategy is that … I mean, being so provocative?"

"Well, yeah.  All I can say at this point is that I have my reasons."

"Do you think that people should be alarmed by a company whose message clearly expresses a desire to 'take over the world'?"

"Ah, look, I'm not going to answer that question directly.  What's more to the point is the fact that people have a hell of a lot more important problems they have to deal with on a daily basis than to waste time being concerned about anything that a newly established corporation could possibly hope to achieve some day down the track.  There're so many current and imminent
massive
threats bearing down on all of us, most people are probably more interested in and concerned about these, or at least they should be if they have a clue about what's going on and care."

Slightly taken aback by his fast delivery and message, the reporter continues her previous line of questioning.  "Do you think that the government of China sh—"

"It's a regime, it's not a government!  It's always been a regime," he interdicts sharply, starting to feel angered by her style.

"Well, that's not a fact.  But, anyway … do you think 'they' and any government in a similar situation should allow a company to have such a name while much of their 'business activities' remain a secret?"

"That's not for me to answer.  I provided all the information I had to; the rest is obviously up to me.  Anyway, governments and regimes alike will try and do what they think best serves their political interests at the time in the particular conditions that they find themselves in … not to mention the laws they're apparently bound by, or at least have to consider.  The motivations of governments and regimes and what they allow and don't allow are many, and I'm not about to sit here and philosophise about what they should and shouldn't do about this case in particular.  All we can do is respond to actions and events and hope that that will be enough, but most of the time it won't be.  We should only occasionally allow ourselves to expect that it will be."

The reporter thinks for a moment about this, somewhat perplexed, then asks, "Isn't one of the roles of government to look after the people and protect them from dangers and potential threats of one kind or another?  Don't you think that it would be conservative to label your company as a potential threat and act to block its activities and expel it from the country?  Wouldn't that be rational?"

"Gee … probably.  It would certainly be a cheap, easy target to divert attention away from the important things: there are so many actual threats that have been identified yet neglected by authorities all over the world that it would be a political travesty, yet unsurprising, if they do end up deciding to draw the line here and come after the Global Domination Corporation before even attempting to tackle some of these other problems that are either destroying hordes of people's lives right now or are most obviously about to … a corporation that's done nothing more, mind you, than merely present its name to the world, which contrasts with many of the world's diverse corporations and governments that have been laying siege on people and the world for many more years than any of us will ever have the chance to live, all of which is wrapped up in state-sponsored whitewashing propaganda, and these governments and corporations continue to show their faces in public without shame or compunction: it's intentional, it's deliberate, it's evil … and it's allowed.  That can't be emphasised enough."  Trying to maintain an even temper, Ikaros stares into her eyes with intensity, waiting for a response and ready to pounce.  He doesn't have to wait long.

"In your opinion."

Feeling that she probably won't give him any more opportunities like that last one, Ikaros continues to stare at her for a prolonged moment then quickly says, "Of course, in my opinion!  What do you reckon you're gonna get by asking me these kind of questions?!  Look, forget it.  This interview is over."  Ikaros gestures with his head towards the cameraman.  "Watch the video if you don't understand what just happened here.  I've said enough.  Now get out!"  He stands up and steps away from his chair as the four security guards flanking the scene jump into action by firmly grabbing hold of the reporter and the cameraman, pointing the lens down to the floor, and ensuring that it's promptly switched off.  The two are then firmly directed into the lift, which has been kept on the level with the door open all this time by another security guard.  From inside the lift and as the door closes in front of her, the reporter, somewhat shaken by the experience, takes one last look at the backs of Ikaros and Sascha, who are now standing closely and talking inaudibly while looking out at the harbour below.

Once in the foyer, their photographs are taken for the security files; they are then told never to come back or even loiter in the vicinity, and that if they fail to comply, a restraining order will be placed on them.

As the reporter is driven away in a taxi, she gradually regains her poise and thinks pragmatically about the potential of her story.  In the future, however, after watching the interview and her broadcasted report several times, and reflecting on some of the events of the following years, she will come to feel slightly disturbed and even a bit haunted by some of Ikaros's words and the role she played in the situation to please her boss, the owner of a conservative media company that was covertly deferring content control to the state.

• • •

Immediately after the interview

Standing next to Ikaros, Sascha glances at him as he calmly looks down at two junks cruising around the harbour.  "You angry?"

"No, not at all.  I expected it … even though she seemed nice before she put the camera on and so forth."

"Kind of a ruse, huh?"

"I still think it went pretty well, though."

"Yeah, I think so, too.  You took advantage of what she gave you, and you didn't mumble like you usually do."

Ikaros notices her playfulness and rejoins as though he's taking it seriously, "You can't compare that to the way I talk around the house watching TV and so on … particularly before breakfast.  That's not fair."

She smiles and puts her arm around his waist and changes the subject.  "This is China: there's only so much she can do, I suppose."

"I know.  I'm not surprised at all; still a little disappointed … as usual.  But everything's going to plan, so it doesn't matter."

"There's a plan?  My God, you've got a plan?  Why didn't you tell me?!  If I knew there was a plan and that you'd actually thought all this out, I wouldn't be so worried."

"Yeah, okay … that's enough.  Thank you.  Thank you very much."

Sascha smiles and glances at her watch.  "Want a coffee?"

"Yeah, that's exactly what I want."

She squeezes his waist, and they both head for the lift.

• • •

That evening, the report was aired on a local news broadcast with a short introduction summarising Ikaros's infamy as an author.  Sound bites from the interview were followed by an outline of the need to clamp down on political subversion and agitation in the delicate local and international context; this was supplemented with comments from professors, regime officials and cultural commentators, and inter-cut with images of violence and destruction from around the world, clearly designed to strengthen already-growing popular opinion against the Global Domination Corporation and to lay the ground for the justification of any official action subsequently taken against it.  The final edit of the report was promptly disseminated to other networks around the world, where it was supplemented and tweaked for their own audiences before being broadcast.

• • •

Despite the struggles and aspirations of the anti-communist and democratic movements in the People's Republic of China — and particularly in Hong Kong — that initially developed in the latter part of the twentieth century and came to its zenith around 2025, the communist regime, true to form, eventually used this as a reason to attempt to increase its stranglehold on the country and ensure the endurance of its power, finding the need to reinvigorate gradually its past tendencies for the extremes of socio-political dominance; as a result, systematic suppression and control techniques took effect over the ten-year period from 2025 to 2035, after which little threatening resistance showed itself publicly from within the population.

Meanwhile, the regime continued to extend its power in various ways on the international stage by any means necessary.  While casually taking its place as the leader of the world economy as predicted several years earlier, even though massive change occurred in the first quarter of the century, the lives of many of the people on the Chinese mainland remained below First World standards with the gaps between the rich, the middle class and the poor reaching obscene levels.