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Comrade Ambassador, has apparently proven so difficult a
task for the agents of the Special Section that it has already
resulted in the loss of one of them, without his being able to
uncover the tiniest detail of Gardiner's background!' Sulkin
paused to puff on his cigarette. 'It was fortunate, however,
that on Wednesday night I took the precaution of photowiring
to Moscow a tape of Gardiner's television appearance on
THIS EVENING. This tape, you might be interested in
knowing, was submitted to prompt psychiatric, neurological,
and linguistic examination. With the aid of our latest-model
computers, our teams have analyzed Gardiner's vocabulary,
syntax, accent, gestures, facial and other characteristics. The
results, my dear Skrapinov, may surprise you. It proved
impossible to determine in any way whatsoever his ethnic
background or to ascribe his accent to any single community
in the entire United States!'
Skrapinov looked at Sulkin in bewilderment.
Smiling wanly, Sulkin continued: 'Moreover, it may interest
you to know that Gardiner appears to be emotionally one of
the most well-adjusted American public figures to have
emerged in recent years. However,' Sulkin went on, 'Your Mr
Chauncey Gardiner remains, to all intents and purposes,' and
here he held up the sheet of paper by its corner, 'a blank
page.' 'Blank page?'
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'Blank page,' echoed Sulkin. 'Exactly. Gardiner's code
name!'
Skrapinov quickly reached for a glass of water and gulped
it down. 'Excuse me, Comrade,' he said. 'But on Thursday
evening when I took it upon myself to allude to Gardiner in my
speech in Philadelphia, I naturally assumed that he was an
established member of the Wall Street elite. After all, he was
mentioned by the American President. But if, as it seems . .
.'
Sulkin held up his hand. 'Seems? What reason do you
have to suggest that Chauncey Gardiner is not in actual fact
the man whom you described?'
Skrapinov could barely mutter: 'Blank page ... the lack of
any facts . . .'
Again Sulkin interrupted. 'Comrade Ambassador,' he said,
'I am here actually to congratulate you on your
perceptiveness. It is, I must tell you, our firm conviction that
Gardiner is, in fact, a, leading member of an American elitist
faction that has for some years been planning a coup d'état.
He must be of such great importance to this group that they
have succeeded in masking every detail of his identity until his
emergence Tuesday afternoon.'
'Did you say coup d'état?' asked Skrapinov.
'I did,' replied Sulkin. 'Do you doubt the possibility?' 'Well,
no. Certainly not. Lenin himself seems to have foreseen it.'
'Good, very good,' said Sulkin, snapping the lock of his
attaché case. 'It appears that your intuition has proven itself
well-founded. Your initial decision to latch onto Gardiner has
been justified. You have a good instinct, Comrade Skrapinov
-- a true Marxist instinct!' He got up to leave. 'You will shortly
receive special instructions about the attitude to adopt toward
Gardiner.'
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When Sulkin had gone, Skrapinov thought: It's incredible!
Billions of rubles are spent each year on clever Japanese
gadgetry, on superspies trained and, camouflaged for years,
on reconnaissance satellites, overstaffed embassies, trade
missions, cultural exchanges, bribes, and gifts -- but all that
matters in the end is a good Marxist instinct! He thought of
Gardiner and envied him his youth, his composure, his future
as a leader. Blank Page, Blank Page-The code name
brought back to him memories of World War I, of the
Partisans he had led to so many victories. Maybe diplomacy
had been the wrong career for him; maybe the army would
have been better.... But he was old.
On Friday afternoon, the President's secretary reported to
him. 'I'm sorry, Mr President, but since yesterday, I have
been able to collect only a few additional press clippings
about Gardiner. They are the speech of the Soviet
Ambassador, who mentioned him, and the transcript of
Gardiner's interview with the press at the United Nations.'
The President was annoyed. 'Let's stop this! Have you
asked Benjamin Rand about Gardiner?'
 I have telephoned the Rands, sir. Unfortunately, Mr Rand
has had a serious relapse and is on powerful sedatives. He
can't talk.'
'Did you speak to Mrs Rand, then?'
'I did, sir. She was at her husband's bedside. She said
only that Mr Gardiner cherishes his privacy and that she
respects this aspect of Mr Gardiner's personality very much.
She said that she feels -- but only feels, you understand -- that
Mr Gardiner intends to become much more active now that Mr
Rand is bedridden. But she did not connect Mr Gardiner with
any specific business or with any family situation.'
'That's even less than what I read in the Times! What about
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our investigative sources? Have you talked to Steven?'
 I did, Mr President. He hasn't been able to find a single
thing. He's checked twice, and not one agency could help
him. Gardiner's photograph and fingerprints were checked
out, of course, just before your visit to Rand's and, having no
record of any kind -- as Rand's guest-he was cleared. And I
guess that's really all I have to tell you.'
'All right, all right. Call Grunmann. Tell him what you know,
or, rather, don't know, and have him call me as soon as he
gets something on Gardiner.'
Grunmann called in a short time. 'Mr President, all of us
here have been trying desperately. There just isn't a thing on
him. The man doesn't seem to have existed until he moved
into Rand's house three days ago!'
'I am very disturbed by this, very disturbed,' said the
President.  I want you to try again. I want you to keep on it, do
you understand? And by the way, Walter: there's a TV
program, isn't there, in which some ordinary Americans turn
out to be really invaders from another planet? Well, Walter,
I refuse to believe that I talked to one of these intruders in
New York! I expect you to come up with a large file on
Gardiner. If not, I warn you that I shall personally authorize an
immediate investigation of those who are responsible for such
a flagrant breach in our security!'
Grunmann called back. 'Mr President,' he said in a low
voice, 'I am afraid that our initial fears are now confirmed. We
have no record of this man's birth, of his parents, or of his
family. We do know, however, beyond any doubt, and I can
vouch for it, that he has never been in any legal trouble with
any individual or any private, state, or federal organisation,
corporation, or agency. He was never the cause of any
accident or of any damage and-aside from the Rand accident
82
-- he was never involved as a third party in any such situation.
He has never been hospitalized; he carries no insurance; nor,
for that matter, can he possibly have any other documents or
personal identification. He doesn't drive a car or fly a plane,
and no license of any kind has ever been issued to him. He
has no credit cards, no checks, no calling cards. He does not
own a property in this country.... Mr President, we snooped on
him a bit in New York: he doesn't talk business or politics on
the phone or at home. All he does is watch TV; the set is
always on in his room: there's a constant racket-' [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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