Goliath

“My sister remained in prison for two years, Mr. Wolfe. She died in my arms three days after she was released. A week later, soldiers came to my home and arrested me, accusing me of being a potential agitator. I was taken for trial to the Armed Police Force headquarters in Lhasa. The trial was a mockery of justice. I was forbidden to speak and was beaten in the courtroom.

“The Chinese eventually sentenced me to seven years of hard labor. I was taken to Drapchi Prison and confined in solitary for a week without food or water. To stay alive, I was forced to drink my own urine. My hunger became so painful that I ate bits of my mattress.

“The Chinese sent me to Block II, a section at Drapchi where prisoners are being used as forced laborers. We were required to build dams, construct homes, and break rocks. We were forbidden medical treatment and were required to give blood donations on a weekly basis. We also had to attend reeducation classes.”

Sujan stands. He removes his robe, revealing an upper torso disfigured by poorly set broken bones, scars, and welts. “Not a week went by when I was not beaten at least once. I was whipped with iron chains, or kicked and beaten with a rifle butt. I was made to lie down on my stomach while my back was stomped upon. I saw friends beaten to death. I lost all hope. I prayed each night to die.”

Sujan covers himself, then pauses, struggling to regain his composure. “Seven years, Mr. Wolfe. I was released on the verge of death, bedridden for eight months. When I was well enough, I traveled to India to live out my life with distant cousins. One worked in the Ministry of Tourism in Calcutta. He introduced me to an American film director who was documenting human rights violations in Asia. I became his eyes and ears. He took me to California, where I spoke to audiences after each viewing of his film. It was during an afternoon show at Caltech that I met David Paniagua.”

“Fate, huh?”

Sujan nods. “In Buddhism, we call this karma, the law of cause and effect. I must confess, I had felt nothing but bad karma about this voyage from the moment we left the submarine base in Jianggezhuang—until you were brought on board. I believe it was your destiny to join this crusade. I believe that God has made you his messenger—”

“God’s messenger … what a crock! I’m no holy man, I’m a murderer. Want to know what I did? I killed children! Bang—I shot ’em all dead … all in the name of life, liberty, and the pursuit of God-knows-what. You call that karma?”

The Tibetan stands to leave, his bright almond eyes glittering. “Everyone has a Buddha nature, Mr. Wolfe. I am convinced it is your decisions that will determine the outcome of this voyage, and with it … humanity’s fate. As for being God’s messenger, it would be wise to keep in mind that we do not choose God, God chooses us.”

“It is one of the most beautiful compensations of this life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself.”

—Ralph Waldo Emerson

“The poorest man in Uganda is General Amin. It is better for me to be poor and the people rich.”

—Idi Amin, Uganda dictator, whose reign of brutality, torture, and mass murder left more than three hundred thousand people dead and the majority of his people impoverished

”Now that everyone is happy in Iran, I will allow my coronation to take place.“

—Mohammad-Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran, who organized Savak, a brutal secret police with a reputation for torture

”It was in the Christmas spirit. It makes me happy.“

—David Bullock, a street hustler who murdered a man because he was”messing with the Christmas tree“

CHAPTER 21

Aboard the Goliath

Taur Araujo leads David through the hangar bay and into the engine room. “I was searching for Chaw when I found this—” His flashlight reveals a trail of blood, running from the grated steel walkway, clear up the sheer wall of reactor number three.

Hovering above the reactor is one of Goliath’s steel claws, attached to a ceiling-mounted winch. Araujo’s light illuminates the tips of the three-pronged pincers.

Stained red.

“Does anyone else know about this?”

“No.”

“Sorceress, locate Thomas Chau.”

THOMAS CHAU IS IN THE STARBOARD WEAPONS BAY.