The E Utopia Project (12 page)

They sighed with relief when the uniformed Secret Service
man returned and opened the gate. He took them to a checkpoint where they were
scanned with metal detectors. After that he led them to a gaunt middle-aged man
who was wearing military uniform.

“Doctor Cummings,” he said with a slight bow of his head.
“Welcome to the Russian Embassy. I’m Colonel Sergei Mostovoi, military attach
é to the Embassy of the Russian
Federation. Let me take you inside.”

“Thank
you, Colonel,” Sara said.

The
colonel led them into the lobby of the embassy’s ceremonial building.
As
military attaché, Colonel Sergei Mostovoi served as the Russian Federation’s
primary point of contact for all joint Russia-US military activities, but since
there was very little joint military activity taking place between the two superpowers,
the colonel’s job now largely involved running errands for the ambassador.

The
ceremonial
building had a distinctly Russian flavor to it, having been designed by
Michael Posokhin, a well-known Soviet
architect who designed many
monumental
edifices in the Kremlin.
The lobby was adorned with beautiful Russian-made furniture that was finished
with white Russian marble. Hanging on the walls were portraits of the Russian President
and Prime Minister as well as portraits of former Soviet and Russian
ambassadors to the United States.

“Make yourselves
comfortable,” the military attaché said. “The ambassador will see you as soon
as he can.”

“I want to go to the ladies
room,” Sara said.

The colonel pointed at a
corridor on the left. “That way.”

Sara rushed to the ladies
room, leaving George feasting his eyes on the beautiful lobby. He couldn’t help
feeling as if he was in a palace. He sat on one of the exquisite chairs, noting
that it was by far the most beautiful seat his posterior had ever known. The
military attaché left the lobby.

Looking a bit fresher and
more relaxed, Sara returned and sat next to George. The more she waited for the
ambassador was the more she became worried. What if the plot to kill her was
part of a conspiracy involving the Russian government?

The ambassador kept them
waiting for over thirty minutes. He entered the lobby with a bored-looking
short young man. The ambassador looked younger than his fifty-nine years of age.
His face had no lines and his brown hair had just a tiny hint of grayness here
and there. Sara wondered whether the young man with the ambassador was his
personal assistant or an agent of the
Foreign
Intelligence Service
.

“Sorry to keep you waiting,
Doctor Cummings,” the top Russian diplomat said, shaking Sara’s hand. “I am Yuri
Salenko, the ambassador of the Russian Federation.”

“Your excellence, please
forgive me for asking you to see me on such short notice.”

“It’s my job to see people
who want to see me,” he said, shaking George’s hand. “Please sit down.”

Sara and George returned to
their seat and the ambassador took a seat opposite them without introducing his
young companion. The young man could very well have been a robot. He sat beside
the ambassador without saying a word.

“It’s a pleasure to have you
here, Doctor Cummings.”

“Your Excellence, I’ve come
here to seek asylum.”

The ambassador eyed Sara with
shock. This was by far the most shocking thing that he had ever heard from a
guest of the Russian embassy. “Did I hear you correctly, Doctor Cummings? Did
you just say that you came here to seek asylum?”

“Yes. An unknown organization
wants to kill me.”

“Did you report this matter
to the police or the FBI?”

“No.”

“Forgive me for asking, Doctor
Cummings. Why did you decide to seek protection of the Russian embassy rather
than the protection of the American government?”

“I suspect that people in the
American government, intelligence or law enforcement agencies might be involved
in the attempt on my life.”

The ambassador’s eyes widened
and the young man beside him became more attentive. The Kremlin would be
pleased with this. This was a perfect opportunity to embarrass the American
government. The Americans claimed that their country was the epitome of democracy,
freedom and justice, yet a prominent American citizen felt safer in a Russian
Embassy than in an American police station. Tensions between the Kremlin and
Washington had ebbed greatly over the past few years as the two superpowers
joined hands in the fight against El Monstruo. But there was still enough
rivalry to make the two superpowers take delight in embarrassment of the other.

“And who is your companion?”
Yuri Salenko asked.

“This is my boyfriend George.
He is the one who rescued me when a gunman tried to kill me.”

“A gun man tried to kill
you?” The ambassador sounded like a reporter who had just stumbled upon a
sensational story. “When did that happen?”

“Around quarter to four the
day before yesterday when I was shopping.”

“Please forgive me for
badgering you with questions, Doctor Cummings. I want to get to the bottom of
this matter. You are the head of GEMA, an important arm of the United Nations.
Your work is crucial to the survival of the world. The Russian Federation is a
member of the UN Security Council and it takes very seriously any attempt on
the life of a UN official. Why do you think they want to kill you, Doctor
Cummings?”

“I think it’s because I’ve
discovered something that someone wants to cover up?”

“What did you discover?”

Sara told the ambassador
everything about the satellite images and about her extraterrestrial theory.

The Russian ambassador and
the young man sitting next to him thought Sara’s extraterrestrial theory was
rubbish but they were glad to help her embarrass the US government. They didn’t
doubt her allegation that someone tried to kill her but they both believed that
the attempt on her life had made her paranoid. Sara was the UN’s top
environmental officer. Why would the US government want to assassinate her?  The
ambassador believed that the person who shot at Sara was a common criminal who
wanted to rob her or kidnap her.

“Doctor Cummings, on behalf
of the Russian Federation, I grant you asylum,” the Russian diplomat said solemnly.

“Thank you, Your Excellence.”

“You are very welcome, Doctor
Cummings. You have to hold a press conference and tell the world why you are
staying in the Russian Embassy otherwise the Americans will accuse us of
abducting you.”

Sara sighed with relief. Now
she knew that the Russians were on her side. They wouldn’t have asked her to
hold a press conference if they were involved in the plot to kill her. “Yes, I
need to hold a press conference as soon as possible.”

“Does the asylum cover your
boyfriend?”

“Yes. He rescued me and that
puts him in danger.”

The ambassador looked at
George. “Your name is George if I remember correctly.”

“Yes, Your Excellence.”

“That makes two of us. My
name, Yuri, is a Slavic form of the name George.” The ambassador turned to the
young man beside him. “Kazimir, arrange a press conference for Doctor
Cummings.”

* * *

“I don’t understand anything
of this,” Nzue Nguema said.

“Me neither,” Wong said.

The two men were standing in
Wong’s office, watching Sara’s press conference on TV.

“I think she has broken
down,” Wong said. “She believes it’s her personal responsibility to save the
world and that burden is just too much for her. When she started talking about
aliens and UFOs, I knew she was going over the edge.”

“But she said someone shot at
her,” Nzue said.

Wong shrugged. “Who knows?
Maybe someone wanted to kill her or maybe she blew the whole thing out of
proportion.”

“By the look of things, she
won’t be coming back any time soon,” Nzue said. “And that makes you acting
director.”

“And that makes you my
assistant.”

“Yes. The UN summit is only a
few days away. You have to prepare your speech, unless you want to use Sara’s
speech.”

“Make consultations with our staff
and prepare me a draft of a nice little speech with no talk of UFOs, aliens and
space satellites.”

“Okay, sir. Your draft will
be ready tomorrow afternoon.”

“Sounds good.”

“Sara said she’s worried her
dog will suffocate. I’ve to go to her house and pick it.”

“I don’t think that will be a
wise idea, Nzue. She says someone tried to kill her and that makes her house a crime
scene. I don’t think that the cops will want people to touch anything.”

“Then I’ll have to talk to
the cops.”

“I’m sure they’ll rescue her
dog.”

The phone rang and Wong
answered it.

“Sir, we’ve some reporters at
the gate. They want to speak to you. Should we turn them away?”

“Let them through the gate
but don’t let them inside the building,” Wong spoke into the phone’s
mouthpiece. “I’m coming down to talk to them.”

“Who is it?” Nzue asked.

“It’s some news-hunting
reporters,” Wong replied. “Let’s go down and give them their story.”

Wong picked his breathing
machine from his desk and led Nzue out of the office. Nzue ran to his office
and grabbed his breathing machine. He caught Wong just before he reached the
lift. They got into the lift and descended to the ground floor. They found two reporters
and their camera crews waiting for them outside the building.

Nzue immediately put on his
breathing machine but Wong kept his in his left hand. This was going to be his
first time to make it in the news headlines and he wanted the whole world to
see his face.

“Are you Professor Wong?”
asked one of the reporters, a light-skinned African American woman with nasal
cannulas.

“Yes.”

“Professor Wong, I understand
that you’re the Deputy Director of the Global Environmental Management Agency,”
the woman said.

“Yes,” Wong replied, savoring
his first time in the limelight. ‘I’m the Deputy Director of GEMA.”

Not to be outdone the other
reporter, a middle-aged tall white man, said, “Can you tell us why your boss
sought asylum in the Russian embassy?”

“My boss, Doctor Sara Cummings,
is a wonderful person,” Wong said, looking into the camera. “She is a
hardworking person who is dedicated to her duty. Never a moment passes that she
doesn’t think about saving the world from the El Monstruo disaster.” Wong felt
breathless but he kept on clutching his breathing machine in his hand. He
wanted the world to see his face for much longer.  “Doctor Cummings is not only
concerned about saving mankind from El Monstruo, but she’s equally concerned
about saving the Earth’s flora and fauna.” The distance between the corners of
his mouth increased in an affectation of a doting smile. “The ants, the
lizards, the frogs and all those animals and plants that might seem useless to some
of us, she wants to save them all. Wong, we have to save the world, she always
tells me.”

“Professor Wong, you are not
answering my question,” the male reporter grunted.

“Be patient. I’m coming to
your question. Doctor Cummings believes that we at GEMA are letting down the
world by failing to come up with solutions to the problems that a being caused
by El Monstruo. As the head of the Global Environmental Management Agency, Doctor
Cummings feels personally responsible for our failure to end the disaster.”
Unable to hold out any longer, Wong finally put on his breathing machine,
regretting his decision not to invite the reporters inside the building, where
he could have finished the whole interview with his face uncovered. “Doctor
Cummings believes she has let down all the people, the animals and the plants
of the world. She never stops trying to come up with new theories about El
Monstruo. She’s under a lot of pressure and over the past few weeks, I could
tell that she was reaching the breaking point. When she began to come up with
theories about aliens stealing oxygen from Earth’s atmosphere, I knew she was
close to the edge. I hoped against hope that she’d recover but sadly it appears
like she didn’t.”

“Are you saying that Doctor
Cummings is suffering from a nervous breakdown?” the lady reporter asked.

“Nervous breakdown is a
strong word,” he said. “But I have no doubt that the pressure has finally
gotten to her.”

“Are you telling us that all
this talk about something coming to our planet to steal our oxygen is just drivel
from a woman who has gone nuts?” the lady reporter asked.

“That’s inappropriate
language,” Wong reproached. “Doctor Cummings is in this state because of her
strong desire to save the world. She told me that she hardly sleeps and has
nightmares. I hope everyone understands what she’s going through.”