“I have seen it happen in your country. Your citizens pick their poison — sources of information that serve to reinforce what they already believe. Your citizens are herded by paid manipulators and forced to the polar extremes.”
The American president finally bit. “And you think this is worse than your propaganda machine? Citizens who must get their information from a state-run news channel? At least Americans can see all sides…”
Jinshan scoffed. “You think that they see all sides? They see two sides. A bipolar choice. Why? Because every vote in your congress can only have a yes or a no. So, your lobbyists and marketing machines get to work, coming up with campaigns to motivate the masses to serve their own purpose, and fill their own coffers.
“We’re both manipulating people, Mr. President. I don’t deny it. But in America, you are tearing yourselves apart. And the rest of the democratic world will follow. All because you have armed your citizens with a free and open Internet. But I won’t let that happen to my country.”
The American president said, “Americans are free thinkers. You have too little understanding of or faith in humanity if you think that my countrymen are such sheep as you describe.”
Jinshan said, “If that is what you really think, then you are more naïve than I thought. Your country is becoming more and more polarized. You can’t deny that. This leads to gridlock in the best of cases, and civil war in the worst. It is your American-run social networks that tailor algorithms to show people only what they want to see. The echo chamber of ideas, bouncing around cities with only like-minded people hearing them. Meanwhile, a frenzy of anger wells up on the outside of your city walls.
“Both sides are being misled, Mr. President. You know this. Politicians and businessmen, marketers and lobbyists — they’re all manipulating the opinions of the Western populace just like we in China have shaped the opinions of our own citizens. But in China, the thought manipulation — let us call it what it is — is orchestrated by leaders who generally have the country’s forward progress in mind. In the West, that is not the case. In the West, anyone can put out polluted information, regardless of its consequence.”
“In the United States, we value free speech.”
Jinshan scoffed. “You must see what is happening, Mr. President. Your institutions were once trusted. Just like feudal kings once were, before the printing press. But then ideas spread. Uncontrolled, unfiltered, diseases of ideas. These ideas infected the populace like a plague. These ideas spread throughout the countryside, attaching themselves to anyone who was searching for a reason to believe them. The ideas become reinforced with strings of intellectual thought. They gain rabid followings and evangelists. Before you blink your eyes, Mr. President, the ideas have taken over your kingdom. And the rioters are at your door, calling for your head. Now I ask you, what does this phenomenon remind you of?”
The president frowned. “I don’t know, what?”
“Religion. An institution where people believe not in fact, but based on faith in the institution itself. Its followers need security and reassurance. In their crumbling world, they want to know that their time isn’t wasted — that they are serving a higher purpose. And the ideas that have spread like a virus throughout society have morphed into just the religion that they desire. They would worship anything, as long as it supports them and reassures them. These religious groups have leaders that make proclamations, and soon after, the fervent followers will recite these words by heart, or perhaps act out violently on their behalf. Your religious leaders are no longer clerics — they are political talk show hosts and writers. But the end result is the same. Destruction. Free speech is a virus, Mr. President.”
“Well, Mr. Jinshan, we value morality in America.”
“Don’t lecture me about morality. You Americans would bankrupt millions to save the life of one. And what good is that? I choose victory over morality.”
The president said, “Mr. Jinshan, I need you to discuss our current crisis.”
“I assure you, Mr. President, there is no crisis. The crisis has been averted. I have prevented it.”
A moment of silence.
“I don’t follow.”
“I wouldn’t expect you to. But I’m afraid this meeting must come to a close.” Jinshan looked at his watch. “You are about to have a busy night, Mr. President. Good luck.”
The screen switched to the Chinese flag. In the White House, a group of military officers entered the president’s room.
“Mr. President, we have an emergency.”
18
The North Korean missile launch was detected right away, with multiple countries tracking it. US reconnaissance aircraft and Korean human intelligence sources had provided notice that it was coming. The single missile had taken off from a mobile launcher.
Chinese intelligence agents and their nuclear weapons experts had helped train the North Korean crew manning the weapon. One of the Chinese agents had even helped to evaluate the missile’s central processing unit… and made a few adjustments.
One of the Chinese Ministry of State Security operatives had thought of the plan. Jinshan had loved it. It would ratchet up tensions between North Korea and the West and shift away attention from China. As was typical during North Korean missile tests, all Chinese involvement was kept secret. The Chinese didn’t want anyone to know. And the North Koreans didn’t want to look like they needed any help.
The North Koreans only knew that they were to test-fire a missile at the precise time provided by the Chinese. They thought that the ICBM was supposed to fly more than two thousand miles before it was to land harmlessly in the water. That was what the North Koreans expected, because that was what they had programmed into the navigational computers.
But Jinshan’s team of operatives had reprogrammed them, unbeknownst to the North Koreans. It was not programmed to fly over Japan.
It was programmed to hit Japan.
There was no warhead in the missile. After all, it was only meant to be a test. To show off the military might of North Korea’s strategic missile force. But it didn’t matter that there was no warhead. The Chinese team “helping” the North Koreans had placed a small explosive charge on board. When the device exploded, the ICBM was traveling at over ten thousand miles per hour.
Some of the debris burned up in the atmosphere. But the larger pieces didn’t. They fell on mainland Japan.
If the North Koreans had meant to be provocative, they had exceeded their wildest expectations. No one was hurt. The pieces of the missile landed in Japan’s unpopulated mountain terrain. But the political damage had been done.
“Natesh provided us with good information. That much is confirmed.”
Susan sat in the director’s office with General Schwartz. The director had just been briefed on the North Koreans’ ICBM test.
The director said, “So this missile broke up over Japan. And we’re saying that it was intentional? Part of a Chinese plan?”
“That’s correct, sir.”
Director Buckingham said, “This Natesh Chaudry told us to expect this before it happened?”
General Schwartz said, “From what Susan just briefed me on, Natesh Chaudry told our team in Japan only hours ahead of the launch. He didn’t know the details of how it would happen, but he knew that the North Koreans were going to test-launch an ICBM, and that it would break up somewhere over Japan. He wasn’t sure if any pieces of the missile would actually land on mainland Japan or not. But he says that it was part of Jinshan’s strategy.”