‘Of course not.’ Oyang looked surprised that Stone had even asked. ‘From the very beginning, it was his idea. In fact, it seemed to me that Semyonov had chosen me, and not the other way around. He wanted to come to China, and he was using me to communicate.’
‘He trusted you?’
‘Yes. He had every reason to.’
‘And now what? What do you think happened to Steven Semyonov?’ asked Stone. There had to be a reason why Oyang had contacted Stone now.
Oyang paused while a servant served a Bellini cocktail. The girl sipped it wrapped in a peach-coloured towel.
‘Who knows?’ said Oyang holding his hands out wide. ‘He was killed by the truck, and all the evidence — his body and the car — was shipped off to Beijing.’
‘He was murdered?’
‘Of course. Steven was killed for a reason. And since I was closer to Steven than anyone else in China, the dark forces that killed him think I know too much. They want me dead too. I am sure of it.’
Here was the whole point of the meeting.
‘And do you know “too much”?’ asked Stone. ‘You said you didn’t know Semyonov well, but do you know why they killed him? What could be the reason? He could hardly have been better friends with China.’
‘I don’t know the reason,’ said Oyang. ‘I wish I did.’ Stone saw there was a “but” coming here. Oyang got up and strolled distractedly around the side of the pool in his tennis whites. Stone observed. Not a drop of sweat on him. He hadn’t played a single point in those pristine clothes. Pure show for Stone’s benefit. ‘But I will say this,’ said Oyang, finally. ‘Steven Semyonov was not forced, or persuaded, or even asked to come to China. He requested it himself.’
‘So you said.’ Stone tried to coax Oyang along. He sensed the man was stalling, but wanted to talk. ‘So when he gave them his fortune — the twenty-five billion dollars — that was all genuine?’ asked Stone. ‘Did he discuss it with you before hand?’
‘Yes, we discussed it, and yes, it was genuine. They took his money, and he was happy with that. A “gesture of good will”, that’s what he told me it was,’ said Oyang. ‘He said it was a small price to pay. You see, Steven had discovered something in China, and it was something he wanted. He wanted to be part of it.’
‘The Machine?’ asked Stone.
Oyang nodded. ‘Yes. That is what he called it.’
‘And what is the Machine? Where is it?’
Oyang shrugged and looked over at the girl’s brown legs again, as if reflexively. ‘I don’t know. And if I make too many enquiries, I’m afraid I will be killed just as Steven was killed. I’m afraid I know too much already.’
‘But you must have asked him about the Machine — privately.’
‘Surely. But Steven was cagey. He said he couldn’t say anything, because the Machine was too dangerous to talk about. It could make people powerful. Whoever could use it — the Americans, the Russians, the Chinese — would dominate.’
This was the point where Stone was supposed to jump in and offer to help Oyang discover the Machine. That was where Oyang had steered the conversation. Stone decided to keep him guessing. He made sure there was there was silence for a minute, while Oyang glanced furtively at him a couple of times over the top of his Ray Bans. Then Stone changed the subject. ‘Do you think he was a good man — Semyonov? You must have heard the rumours about weapons manufacturing. ShinComm is making very nasty weapons. Why would Semyonov do such a thing?’
‘Do you think he would tell a man like me?’ asked Oyang, placing a hand on his chest.
‘You suspected then?’ asked Stone. You’d better believe Oyang suspected. That theatrical hand on the chest as good as confirmed it. ‘Why would Semyonov do that?’
‘I don’t know. As I said, Stone. You can’t analyse Semyonov. You can only listen and learn,’ said Oyang. Again, he definitely had an opinion than this. And here it came. ‘All I can say, Stone, is that once I read a story. Science fiction. The people built a giant computer, a thinking machine, and asked it to rule over them. The computer’s intelligence was so deep, so subtle, that it solved all their problems within a few years. No more war, no more famine. The economy was fixed, the people were happier than they had ever been,’ said Oyang. ‘It was an idea which appealed to Chinese people. All our problems can be solved by intelligence and logic. No needed for contending visions or ideas, or checks and balances. No need for democracy, Stone. Like the rule of the Mandarins in old China. Only the people with the highest degrees and intelligence were allowed in government.’
‘Is that the Machine? A computer that mends everything, that solves all the problems?’
‘I told you,’ said Oyang, with a glance at the girl both wistful and vulpine. ‘I don’t know what the Machine is.’
Stone could see where Oyang was going with this. ‘That’s not much of a story is it, if the Machine makes everything all right? Something went wrong with the computer, didn’t it? It got bored and turned bad. It destroyed the people, who’d lost the capacity to think for themselves.’
‘Very good, Mr Stone. Do you know the story?’
Stone didn’t know that story, but stories are like that. Because Life is like that. ‘Somewhere in the deep ocean of Semyonov’s soul,’ said Stone, ‘Something turned wicked. He turned his intelligence to projects that would create misery and destruction.’
‘Perhaps,’ replied Oyang. ‘But I have no evidence. It’s just an idea.’
That was a lie. That was exactly what Oyang thought.
‘Come on, Oyang. That’s what happened, isn’t it? The Chinese discovered what Semyonov was doing and lost their nerve,’ said Stone. ‘They waited till Semyonov transferred the money to China, and crossed the border, then the authorities got rid of him.’
Oyang gave Stone a meaningful look.
Stone sat back and made a show of enjoying his drink. He made a show of looking satisfied, but he was unconvinced. It was too neat by half, and Oyang had given it up too easily. He knew much more. The girl had escaped by swimming in the pool. Oyang pretended to be distracted by her, and clammed up for a while.
Perhaps Oyang had said obliquely what he wanted to say to Stone, and he’d stopped talking. Perhaps he was nervous he’d said too much already. Lunch was served, with the woman sitting with Oyang, touching his arm, smiling at his jokes. Oyang was back in his element, entrancing, holding forth in English and Japanese, calling for cocktails, and talking his guests through the fine cuisine.
After lunch, however, Oyang got back to business. He beckoned to Stone to follow him, and walked out past the pool and away from the servants. Oyang had something he wanted to say to Stone.
Chapter 31 — 3:14pm 2 April — Shanghai, China
Stone and Oyang stood at the end of the long garden, by a thick stand of green bamboo. It was hot in the sun, and the cicadas sang loudly in the bamboo. There were tiny green snakes the size of pencils wrapped round the bamboo stems — dozens of them.
The time had come for Oyang to say his piece.
‘My little green sentinels,’ said Oyang. ‘If anyone tries to climb in over the fence, these snakes are poisonous. A fine deterrent, I think. I am a careful man, and you should be too.’
Stone turned to Oyang. ‘You didn’t bring me here just to look at the bamboo and the snakes.’
Oyang didn’t miss a beat. ‘I want you to find the Machine, Stone. Find the Machine and tell the world all about it. Where is Miss Ying Ning?’
‘Forget Ying Ning,’ said Stone. He knew Oyang had only asked about Ying Ning because he wanted her kept out of the picture. ‘No one listens to her and China21. Communists like Ying Ning have about as much credibility as the Easter Bunny these days. If you know something, you need to tell me. What did Semyonov discover in China that brought him here?’
‘I have been through Semyonov’s papers,’ said Oyang. ‘Of the Machine, all I can give you is this. I think it refers to the location.’ Oyang passed over a single sheet of paper. ‘There’s nothing I can do with this information myself. They’re watching me, and if I get too close, there will be another “accident” with another coal truck. Don’t let anyone see this, Stone. And don’t make any Internet searches, at least until you are outside of China. They are watching you. You can be sure of it.’