At the same time, the main mass of the population – one and a third billion people! – live on a modest income. Even now many Chinese homes do not have a TV and in many distant agricultural areas owning a car is, if not exotic, then a rarity.
But Chinese do not seek personal enrichment. They are not that interested in the material side of life in the same way that Europeans are, let alone we, Americans. A different system of values allows the Chinese to be much freer in this sense. To put it simply, they do not depend on objects and objects don’t have power over them. Sadly, it’s the other way for us Americans.
I was thinking this way. With its own independent politics, China in its hypostasis is an aggressive but wise dragon and will tear the American eagle’s tail with its talons with pleasure if suddenly people from the NSA or the CIA tried to prevent my meeting with Boytras and Greywold.
It was also easier for them to defend their right to freedom of meetings here rather than, say, in Latin America, where the level of corruption among officials is sky high and you can easily be sold like a pedigree bull.
In China, officials are shot for corruption in stadiums in the presence of a huge number of people. I abhor cruelty and violence, but in this case the ferocious manners of the Chinese Themis were good for me.
I had arranged a meeting in the restaurant on the third floor of the hotel. Rolling baoding balls in my hand, these ones, would be a straightforward sign Greywold and Laura could easily identify.
The original plan for the meeting was more ‘spy-thriller.’ At an agreed hour in the entrance hall not far from the elevators, Greywold was supposed to ask loudly:
‘Where can I get something to eat?’
I was supposed to be waiting around the corner and then hearing his voice come out and walk past him, holding a Rubik’s cube. Greywold and Boytras would’ve followed me to my room, where our conversation would’ve taken place.
But at the last moment I cancelled this plan – partly because of Middy, who could’ve returned at any point, and partly for reasons of secrecy. Nobody has stopped bugging Chinese hotels rooms, but restaurants where people are constantly changing are normally only bugged when it is known that a certain person will be there – Steve taught me this back in Zurich.
Greywold was exactly as I imagined from the images of him on the internet – an arrogant intellectual, hiding a lot of insecurities, phobias and vices behind his snobbery. But Mrs. Boytras made a very good impression on me. She was a lively, direct and funny woman, absolutely convinced of her own correctness and righteousness of what she was doing.
We spoke for no more than forty minutes and during that time drank two pots of tea. Greywold had a cake, and Boytras smoked a few cigarettes.
I told them:
‘You can’t wait for someone else to act. I was looking for leaders, but I realized that leadership means being the first one to act. I don’t consider myself a hero – because I am acting in my own interests. I don’t want to live in the world where there’s no privacy and there’s no place for intellectual researchers and creativity. That’s it.’
We discussed communication methods and actions for the next period and they left. Nobody tried to cut across them, nobody tried to stop, grab, handcuff them. Everything worked in line with the algorithm.
And a few days later, Middy and I returned to Hawaii.”
03:55 A.M._
“You constantly call the system you confront an octopus – why? In my opinion it’s more of a spider’s web,” the Lawyer waved his hand in the air. “Nets, nets, which envelope the whole world.”
“The Japanese,” Kold said, slowly rolling a glass with a few drops of whiskey in the bottom, “have a big appetite for marine creatures. For them, seafood is the main source of protein, and it had an effect on their folklore and traditions, just like for us, people of European civilization, stories connected to the ancient agricultural rituals had their influence.
One of the main figures in Japanese mythology is Ryūjin, god of the seas, lord of the water element, defender and protector of Japan. It was Ryūjin who raised the famous divine wind Kamikaze which sank the invading armada of Kublai Khan. All rivers and lakes, all winds and sea currents, are subject to him. He has countless treasures, and owns all treasures from wrecks and all the pearls of the world.
Ryūjin has two hypostases, two images: light and dark. The light one is a powerful and just sea dragon, the protector of the weak and the saviour of those in distress. The dark one is a gigantic octopus – no weaker but mysterious and incomprehensible in his thoughts. Indeed, it’s an octopus and not a squid! It’s important, because for the Japanese, the squid represents something completely different.
Ryūjin-dragon is fair, honest and brave; Ryūjin-octopus can be crafty, cruel and libidinous. There is an ancient legend from the seventh century about the founders of the powerful Fujiwara samurai clan – about Fujiwara Kamatari and his son Fujiwara Fuhito, in which the octopus appears in all its beauty.
According to the legend, Kamatari’s daughter was married to an emperor of the Tan dynasty. When old Fujiwara Kamatari died, the emperor sent three unbelievably beautiful pearls to Fujiwara Fuhito as a sign of mourning and grief. When Ryūjin has found out about this, he became enraged, because he considered all the pearls in the world to belong to him.
Turning into an octopus, he attacked the ship carrying the treasure, and stole the casket with pearls. Fujiwara Fuhito had to lead the search for the pearls, or it would’ve been disrespectful to the emperor.
In one of the villages, he met a young a beautiful pearl diver called Ama Tamatori and married her. Soon they had a son. The happy lovers remained living in the village since Fuhito couldn’t return home without the emperor’s gift.
Ama Tamatori was the most skillful pearl diver in all Japan. For her beloved husband and son, who deserved a better life, she swore to return the stolen pearls.
She reached the bottom of the ocean, and found Ryūjin’s palace among the underwater rocks, guarded by the sea dragons. Ama began to play the shamisen and her music sent the guards to sleep. Then the brave girl entered the palace and stole the pearls from the casket. Ryūjin soon discovered the loss.
He turned into the octopus and chased after Ama. The girl cut her breast and hid the pearls in the wound… And after that versions of the legend differ. Are you interested?”
The Lawyer nodded.
“Very interested, Mr. Kold, especially since I suspect you’re telling me this story for a reason.”
“You’re right – I do have a reason. So, according to one version, the more ancient one as I understand, the beautiful Ama escaped, because the blood spilling from her wound created a veil in the water and the octopus lost her trace. But after getting to the shore and giving the pearls to her husband and son, she died from blood loss. Since then all pearl divers in Japan are called ‘Ama’ and they always dive with naked breasts… well, topless, in memory of brave Ama Tamatori, and the Kamatari clan became one of the most powerful in the country.
According to the second version, the octopus caught the poor girl, wrapped her in his tentacles and was just opening his poisonous beak to tear her, when he was so dazzled by her beauty that he at once entered into sexual intercourse with Ame.”
“The octopus?” the Lawyer was astonished.