master sergeant approached the steel panel and closed it, then spun the
wheel into its locked position.
It was a room, but not an ordinary room, for there were no windows, no
prints on the walls, no extraneous furniture, no amenities, only the quiet
whir of ventilating machines. There was an oblong conference table in the
center with five chairs around it, note pads, pencils, and ashtrays in
place, a paper shredder in the far left comer; it was a table in a room
preset for immediate consultation and instant destruction of whatever came
from a given meeting. Whereas the room they had just left had twelve
television monitors across the
THE FARMAL MOSArc 447
wall, this had a single large reflector screen, an odd-shaped projector
bracketed into the opposite wall next to a panel of circular switches.
Without speaking, Charles Berquist went directly to the panel, dimmed the
overhead lights and snapped on the projector. The screen across the dark
room was instantly filled with a double image, a straight black line
dividing the two photographs. Each was a single page of two separate
documents, both obviously related, the forms nearly identicaL Havelock
stared at them in growing ten-or.
"Ilds is the essence of what we call Parsifal," said the President quietly.
"Do you recall Wagner's last opera?'
. Not well," replied Havelock, barely able to speak.
"No matter. just bear in mind that whenever Parsifal took up the spear used
at Chrises crucifudon and held it against wounds, he had the power to heal.
Conversely, whoever holds these has the power to rip them open. All over
the world."
"I ... don't ... beUeve this," whispered Havelock.
"I wish to Cod I didnI have to," said Berquist, raising his
hand and pointing to the projected document on the left.
"This first agreement calls for a nuclear strike against the
Peoplers Republic of China, executed by the combined forces
of the United States of America and the Soviet Union. Ob
jective: the destruction of all military Installations, govern
ment centers, hydroelectric plants,systems
and seven major cities ranging from the Manchurian border
to the China Sea." The President paused and gestured at the
document on the right. "This second agreement calls for a
nearly identical strike against the Union of Soviet SocialiA
Republics carried out by the combined forces of the United
States and the People's Republic of China. The differences
are minor, vital only to a few million people who will be
burned to death in the nuclear fires. There are an additional
five cities, inclusive of Moscow, Leningrad and Kiev. Total
destruction: twelve cities obliterated from the face of the
earth.... This nation has entered into two separate agree
ments, one with the Soviet Union, the other with the People~s
Republic of China. In each instance, we have committed the
fullrange of our nuclear weapons to a combined strike with
a partner to destroy the mutual enemy. Two diametrically
448 ROBERT LUDLUX
opposed commitments, and the United States Is the whore serving two studs
gone berserk. Mass annihilation. The world has its nuclear war, Mr.
Havelock, engineered with brilliant precision by Anthony Matthias,
superstar."
27
'Mese mv ... iwarwf" whispered Havelock, his eyes riveted on the screen.
"And we're a partner to each? Each commits us to a nuclear strike-a first
strike?"
"A second also, and a third, if necessary, from submarines ringing the
coasts first of China, then of Russia. Two insane agreements, Mr. Havelock,
and we are, indeed, a party to each. There it is in writing."
"MY God . . ~" Michael scanned the lines of both documents, as if studying
the deformed appendages of an obscene, horrible thing. "If these are ever
exposed, there's nothing left."
"Now you understand," said Berquist, his gaze, too, fixed on the agreements
that filled both sides of the screen, his face drawn, his eyes hollow.
"Thaes the unendurable threat wi*e living with. Unless we follow to the
letter the instructions delivered to my office, we face global catastrophe
in the truest sense. The threat is simple: the nuclear pact with Russia
will be shown to the leaders of the People's Republic of China, and our
agreement with the PRC will be given to Moscow. Both will know theyve been
betrayed-by the richest whore in history. Thaes what they'll believe, and
the world will go up in a thousand nuclear explosions. The last words heard
will be: 'This is not an exercise, this is itl' And that is the truth, Mr.
Havelock."
449
450 ROBERT LUDLUM
Michael felt the trembling in his bands, the throbbing at his temples.
Something Berquist had just said triggered a sudden uneasiness, but he
could not concentrate to identify its source. He could only stare at the
two documents projected on the screen. "There's nothing here about dates,"
he said, almost pointlessly.
"It's on a separate page-these are memoranda of intent. Conferences are to
be held during the months of April and May, at which the precise dates of
the strikes will be determined. April is scheduled for the Soviets, May is
for China. Next month and the month after. The strikes are to occur within
forty-five days of each conference."
"It's . . . beyond belief." Overwhelmed, Havelock suddenly felt the
paralysis again. He stared at Berquist. "You connected nze with this?
These?"
'You uwe connected. God knows not through your own doing, but dangerously
connected. We know how; we don't know why. But the 'how' was enough to
place you 'beyond salvage.' .
'For Chrises sake, how?"
'To begin with, Matthias built the case against your f~end Jenna, Karas."
"Matthimr
"It was he who wanted you out. But we couldn't be sure. Were you out, or
were you simply changing jobs? From the government of the United States to
the holy empire of Matthias the Great."
"Which is why I was watched. London, Amsterdam, Paris
. God knows where else."
"Everywhere you went. But you gave us nothing.'
"And that was grounds for 'beyond salvage'?"
"I told you, I had nothing to do with the original order."
"All right, it was this Ambiguity. But later it was you. You reconfirmed
it."
"Later, much later, when we learned what he had learned. Both orders were
given, one in sanction, one not, for the same reason. You were penetrating
the manipulation-the structure-behind these documents, the link between men
In Washington and their unknown counterparts in the KGB. Wre in a race. One
miscalculation on your part, one exPosure of the flaw in that structure and
we have every reason to believe that these agreements, these invitations to
Ar-
THE PARWAL MOSAIC 451
mageddon, would be shown to the leaders in Moscow and Peking.-
"Wait a minutel" cried Havelock, bewildered, angry. "Iliaes what you said
beforel Goddamn it, these were negotWed with Moscow and Pekingl"
The President of the United States did not reply. Instead, he walked to the
nearest chair at the table and sat down, the ,back of his large head and
his thinning blond hair reflected ,in the shaft of light. And then he
spoke. "No, they were not, Mr. Havelock~" he said, looking at the screen.
"These are the detailed fantasies of a brilliant but mad mind, the words of
a superb negotiator."
"Cood God, then deny thenil They aren~t reall"
Berquist shook his head. "Read the languagel" he said sharply. "It's
literally beyond deniability. There are detailed references to the most
secret weapons in our arsenals. Locations, activating codes,
specifications, logistics-information that men would be labeled traitors
for revealing, their lives ended in prison, none sentenced to less than
thirty years for their acts. In Moscow or Peking, those even remotely
associated with the armaments data in these documents would be Shot without
a hearing on the mere possibility they had divulged, knowingly or
unknowingly, even a part of it." The President paused, turning his head
slightly to the left~ his eyes still on the screen. "What you must
understand is that Should the leaders in either Moscow or Peking be shown
the adversary document, they would be convinced beyond doubt of its
authenticity. Every strategic position, each missile capability. every area
of destructive responsibility, has been hammered out down to the last det4
nothing left to de. bate-even to the hours of vehicular robot-controlled
occupation of territories."
"Hammered out?" asked MichaeL the phrase a glaring intrusion.
Berquist turned around, his eyes once again the huntees, but wary, afraid.
"Yes, Mr. Havelock, hamm d out. Now yoeve reached the core of Parsifal.
These agreements were negotiated by two extraordinary-and extraordinarily
infOrmed-minds. TWO men hammering out every detaiL each step, each point,
as though his stature in history depended on the task. A nuclear chess
game, the universe to the winnerwhaes left of it."
452 RoBLPRT LuDLum
'How do you know that?'
'Language again. It's the product of two minds. It doesn't take a
psychiatrist, or a pathologist, to spot the different inputs. More to the
point, Matthias couldn~t have created these by himself, he didn~t have the
in-depth information that readily available. But with another-a Russian, as
knowledgeable about Chinese capabilities as we are-together they could do
It. Did it. Two men."
His gaze fixed on the President, Havelock spoke In a monotone. "Parsifal is
that other man, isn't he?" he asked quietly. "The one who could rip open
wounds-all over the world."
"Yes. He has the original set of these agreements, the only other set that
exists, he claims. We have to believe him. Hes got a nuclear gun to our
heads-my head."
'Men Ws been in touch with you," said Michael, his eyes shifting to the
screen. "You got these fi-oni him, not Anton."
~Yes. His demands at first were financial, growing with
each contact, until they were beyond being outrageous; they
were astronomical. Millions upon millions-and millions after
that. We assumed his motive had to be political. He had the
re . sources to buy lesser governments, to finance revolutions
throughout the Third World, to promote terrorism. We kept
dozens of unstable countries under the closest intelligence
scrutiny, penetrating their more entrenched elements with
our best people, teffing them only to look for the slightest
substantive change. We thought we might trace him, trap
him. And then we learned that Parsifal had not gone near
the money; it was merely the means that told him we would
do as he ordered. Hes not interested in money; he never
was. He wants control, power. He wants to dictate to the
strongest nation on earth."
"He hm dictated. Thaes where you made your first mistake."
"We were buying time. We're still buying ie
"At the risk of annihilation?"
"Jm the all-co miming hope of preventing it. You still don't understand,
Mr. Havelock. We can and probably will parade Anthony Matthias before the
world as a madman, destroying the credibility of ten years' worth of
treaties and negotiations, but it will not answer the fundamental question.
How In the name of God did the information in these agreements get there?
Was It given to a man certifiably insane? If it was,
THE PARSIFAL MOSAIc453
whom else has he divulged it to? And do we willingly deliver to potential
enemies the innermost secrets of our offensive and defensive capabilities?
Or let them know how deeply we!ve penetrated their own weapons systems? ...
We have no monopoly on nuclear maniacs. There are men in Moscow and Peking
who, at the first perusal of these, would reach for the buttons and launch.
Do you know why?"
"rm not sure... rm not sure of anything."
"Welcome to a very elite club. Let me tell you why. Because ies taken all
of us forty years and uncountable billions to get where we are today.
Atomic knives at each other's throats. Theres no time and not enough money
left to begin again. In short, Mr. Havelock, in the desperate attempt to
avert a global nuclear holocaust, we might start one."
Michael swallowed, conscious of doing so, the blood drainIng from his face.
"Simplistic assumptions are out," he said.
"They're not even fashionable," replied Berquist.
"Who is Parsifal?"
'We don't know Any more than we know who Ambiguity IC"
"You don't know?"
'Except that theyre connected. We can assume that."
'Wait a minutel"
'You keep saying that."
'You!ve got Matthiasl Ybere running him through a computerized charade
here. Tear into his headl Yoteve got a hundred therapiesl Use them. Find
outl"
"You think we haven7t tried? There!s nothing in the annals of therapy that
hasdt been used-isnt being used. Hes awed reality from his mind, he's
convinced himself he negotiated with the militarists in Peking and Moscow.
He can7t allow it to be otherwise, his fantasies have to be real to him.
They protect him."
"But Parsifal's alive, he's not a fantasyl He has a face, eyes, featuresl
Antods got to be able to give you somethingl"
"Nothing. Instead, he describes-accurately, to be sureknown extren3dsts in
the Soviet Presidium and Chinds Central Committee. Those are the people he
sees when these agreements are mentioned-with or without chemicals. That
mind of his, that incredible instrument, is as creative in protecting him
now as It was when instructing the world of lesser mortals before.7
454 ROBERT LUDLUM
"Abstractionsr cried Havelock.
"You've said that, too."
"This Parsifars rea He existsf He's got you under a gunl*
"My words, I believe."
Michael ran to the table and pounded it with his clenched fist. "I can't
believe thisl"
"Believe," said the President, "but don't do that again. There's some kind
of sonic thing that registers solid decibels, not conversations. If I don't
"Oh, my Godl"
"I don't need your vote. There's no third term any longer-if there is an
'any longer-and I wouldn't seek it, anym way."
"Are you trying to be funny, Mr. President?"
"Possibly. In times like these, and if circumstances permit you to grow
older, you may find a certain comfort in the rare attempt. But I'm not sure
... I'm not sure of anything any longer. Millions to build this place,
secrecy unparalleled, the finest psychiatrists in the country. Am I being
sold a bill of goods? I don't know. I just know I have nowhere else to go."
Havelock sank into the chair at the end of the table, feeling vaguely
uncomfortable at sitting down in Berquist's presence without having been
instructed to do so. "Oh," he said meaninglessly, his voice trailing off,
looking abjectly at Berquist.
"Forget it," said the President. I ordered up your own personal firing
squad, remember?"
"I still don't understand why. You say I penetrated something, a flaw in
some structure or other. That if I kept going, these"-Michael looked up at
the screen, wincing-"would be given to Moscow or Peking."
"Not would, might. We couldn't take the slightest chance that Parsifal
might panic. If he did, he'd undoubtedly head for Moscow. I think you know
why."
'He has a Soviet connection. The evidence against Jenna, everything that
happened in Barcelona; none of it could have taken place without Russian
intelligence."
"The KGB denies it; that is, a man denies it on an official basis.
According to the Cons Op records and a Lieutenant Colonel Lawrence Baylor,
that man met with you in Athens."
"Rostov?"
THE PARSIVAL MOSATc455
'Yes. He didn7t know what he was denying, of course, but he as much as told
us that if there was a connection, it wasn!t sanctioned. We think he7s a
worried man; he has no idea how justified he is."
"He may," said Havelock. "Hes telling you it could be the
Im..
"What the hell is that? Im no expert in your field."
~Voennaya Kontra Rozvedka. A branch of the KGB, an elite corps that
frightens anyone possessing a scrap of sanity. Is that what I penetrated?"
Michael stopped and shook his head. "No, it couldn't be. I broke it in
Robert Ludlum - The Parcifal Mosaic.txt Page 57