17

"Where else have they been active?"

We haven't been able to put together a full picture of Operation Lyngvi," says Zhu. "We only have scraps. But it seems that recently there was intense activity in Palestine. Hong Kong has been mentioned once or twice in relevant communications, which is of interest to us, but we have not been able to find out anything concrete about their objectives there. They also seem to have a major presence in Central Africa—the Belgian Congo, to be precise. Other than that, we have nothing."

"OK. I have something else I want to ask you."

"Your government is an ally of Germany. Why are you working against the Nazis?"

Zhu sighs. "It is—it is complicated. It is true that Chairman Chiang has, following the advice of some of his counselors, struck certain agreements with the Third Reich. They are helping us to 'modernize,' so they say. But there are some of us in the government who are concerned about their intentions, and their influence. I belong to an…informal grouping of such people. We monitor German influence and seek to curtail it."

"Why exactly are you so opposed to the Nazis?"

"Ultimately, pragmatism," says Zhu. "I wish I was a good enough man to be able to say that my objections were fully ethical. The Nazis have done terrible things, but, though I hope I am better than them, I am not a saint either. Nor can I claim ideological opposition. To be sure, their 'racial science' is crass and stupid and can only lead to needless tragedy. But it is purely my concern for China's standing in the world. A war is coming, and it will be cataclysmic, and Germany will lose. If China sides with them, we will forever be marked in the eyes of history as taking the side of evil."

"I get the impression that it's more personal than that," you observe.

Zhu bows his head in acknowledgment. "Yes. You are perceptive."

He reflects for a few minutes, then continues, "I was taken from my family at a very young age, and trained mercilessly to become what I am. We were taught to believe that our party, and our chairman, were infallible. That has given me some comfort down the years, comfort in the face of…of some of the things I have been expected to do. But now, it seems clear to me that the party and the chairman are not infallible. This ill-considered courting of the Nazis is so clearly a mistake that I find it difficult to maintain the fiction. If my colleagues and I cannot correct these errors soon…well, I fear I may have to face a severe psychological reckoning with myself."