6
“Year by year
The monkey's mask
Reveals the monkey”
― Matsuo Bashō
Yukon Station
“Here is the latest worker report,” Tomiko Watanabe said, laying a sheet of paper on Levi’s desk. “If you find any discrepancies please tell me at once.”
“Thank you, Tomiko.”
He bent over the typed list filled with figures. The first thing he noticed was a column heading “Death by Occupation” with numerous entries beneath it.
“Forty-two deaths in one month?” he said aloud, looking up at his secretary. “That’s more than one each day!”
“Please note where they worked,” she said quietly.
“Plant construction? I thought the plant had been constructed over a year ago.”
“Perhaps part of it, Levi, but not all of it.”
“Are these people working outside in the cold?”
“No. However, also notice that all are Chinese workers.”
“Really?” He scratched his head. “There are no Chinese workers between here and Fairbanks. Why are there so many up here?”
“I suggest you ask Captain Atsumi. She can answer all of your excellent questions.”
“You can’t?”
Spots of color rose in each of her cheeks and she stared down at the floor before whispering, “I dare not, it is not my place.” She bowed deeply and left his office at a brisk pace.
The day had begun just as poorly. He had reported to Captain Atsumi’s office at 0900 and was told she had been called away on an urgent matter. After all of the mental anguish he had endured preparing himself for the visit he felt, in equal parts, both elation and despair.
Trying to understand the reports stacked on his desk further irritated him. Everything seemed overly compartmentalized. The power plant was a category unto itself and there was no data of any sort about the annex out of casual sight behind it.
Roads and Grounds Department, logically, was also a separate entity. The compound supporting the other two was the final entry. Only one death had occurred outside the power plant. All of the others had occurred within the huge structure.
What the hell is killing so many people here?
His phone rang and he jumped at the shrill sound before he gathered his concentration and answered.
“This is Fischer.”
“By now you have many questions for me, yes?”
“Very prescient, Captain Atsumi. Yes, I indeed have questions as well as needing a more complete overview of the operation here.”
“Come up to my office and I will explain all.” She hung up.
He sat for a few moments to gather his thoughts as well as calm his jumbled emotions. All of his adult life he had hidden behind numbers, personnel numbers, supply numbers, quotas, they had become friends he could literally count on. Therefore waste irritated him and the deaths of so many workers seemed extravagant to the point of criminal. However he knew he must approach the situation with finesse; he must never lose sight of his professional and personal limits in this place.
She met him at the door of her office. “Please have a seat. May I offer you something to drink?”
“No, thank you.” Her conciliatory manner immediately called for caution on his part. He didn’t know her and wished to take no undo liberties with protocol or female Japanese temperament.
She sat down in the other guest chair rather than behind her desk, carefully crossed one leg over the other, and gave him a soft smile.
“I apologize for not being in the office this morning as planned.”
“An apology is not necessary. I understand there must be many other tasks requiring your time.”
“True, but you are my number one priority at the moment.”
“I am honored, but in what way?”
“You have been thrust into a situation of which you know nothing. My task is to bring you up to optimum operational level as swiftly as possible.”
“I see. Perhaps you could clear up a number of puzzlements I have already encountered.”
“Such as?”
“What is the function of this place?”
Her soft smile withered and died.
“What do you think it is?”
“I really have no idea. As I mentioned yesterday, my previous position required me to insure adequate laborers and supplies to keep the railroad operational between Fairbanks and the border of Yukon Station. Beyond that I never inquired, nor was informed, as to the nature of Yukon Station.”
Something flashed in her eyes and she looked away for a moment.
“You have been given Lotus clearance. That means you have been deemed worthy to understand and protect the true nature of this project. Your training begins now with the understanding that everything you hear in this room is classified and not be shared with anyone else.”
“Excuse me, I have changed my mind.”
She sucked in her breath and stared at him in shock. “What do you mean?”
“Could I have a glass of water, please?”
She relaxed and nodded to the pitcher and two glasses on her desk. “Help yourself.”
He drained a full glass.
“Please continue, captain.”
“The government of Germany has not shared its impressive technical advances with the Empire of Japan. They developed atomic weapons with which they ended what your people called the Second World War. They have people living on the moon, and they have briefly visited Mars. If we had not developed jet engines at the same time they did, and had to depend on the Reich for them, we would still be flying only reciprocating engine aircraft.
“Japan has worked diligently to lift her client nations out of the shards of global conflict without any assistance from her allies in that conflict. It is an onerous and on-going process.”
“Did they promise assistance during the war?” Levi asked.
“They promised many things that have since been conveniently forgotten. Technological assistance is merely one of the items not forthcoming.”
“How does this information figure into our discussion?”
“The Empire has started programs of its own. Programs that, were the Germans to discover their true nature could cause a third world war.”
“What kind of programs?”
“Atomic energy. Atomic weapons.”
Astonishment hit him between the eyes as hard as if it had been a physical blow. Levi felt the blood drain from his face to the point he suddenly felt faint.
“Here?” he whispered, spreading his hands.
“What better place? We are deep inside Alaska Prefecture where, other than the small legation in Anchorage, the German government has no official status. We are also on a railway which takes cargo and passengers to one of the largest Imperial Army air bases in North America.”
He immediately visualized himself in the middle of the biggest bullseye in the world. If the Germans learned of the project they would instantly atomize the whole Interior of Alaska. A wave of terrific pain welled up in his chest and he pressed on it with both hands and groaned.
Years of hiding, subterfuge, and evasiveness came to a violent, pulsating head that continued to swell. Since the age of ten he had tiptoed through life like a mouse sneaking past a huge, Nazi cat. Now the Japanese had thrown him into the world spotlight of what people referred to as the “Quiet War” between the Axis partners.
“Are you ill, Mr. Fischer?”
His vision dimmed and Captain Atsumi’s voice swelled into a roar in his ears. The pain ripped further into his chest, bursting the essence of his fear, and he vomited pain through a howl.
“Arrrggghhhh!”
Captain Atsumi grabbed her phone and spat Japanese into it. Levi caught the words for “medic” and “immediately.”
The pain abruptly receded and his head cleared with the suddenness of a thunderclap. An even more intense shaft of reasoning had penetrated and enlightened his thinking.
“It’s okay,” he gasped. “Truly, I am fine.”
She pulled the phone away from her ear while staring at him, said, “Cancel that request, it is nothing,” in a low tone before hanging up.
“Would you mind explaining what I just witnessed, Mr. Fischer?”
“I don’t know if I can. I’m not sure myself.”
“Have you had seizures prior to this?”
The world had become crystalline and completely transparent. Years ago there had been an acquaintance that used morphine in excessive amounts, claiming it gave him release from the trials and tribulations of a mundane world. One day the man was found dead of an overdose and Levi’s first thought was that his friend was now free of all fears.
Suddenly he understood that incredible, total lack of fear-chained inhibition. He further realized that his days probably numbered fewer than he previously thought, and he didn’t care. He also knew that this might be something he should not share with the captain.
“It wasn’t a seizure, Captain Atsumi. It was an epiphany.” He smiled into her face and held her gaze with his own.
The surprise in her eyes slowly gave away to speculation and more personal interest in him than previously demonstrated.
She blinked first. “What is the crux of your epiphany?”
“That I am but the plaything of forces beyond my control and only perceived compliance on my part truly matters.”
“Very Zen. However, that could be a very dangerous philosophy.”
“This is true, but I no longer care. Tell me, what is the nature of my duties and how much must I honestly accomplish in order to create the illusion I am competent. Give me those answers and I will forever be in your debt.”
“You frighten me, Mr. Fischer! I have no idea if this office is monitored or not. What you are espousing is at the very least sedition—”
“No. It is not sedition. It is brutal honesty and I understand why that is so difficult for you to recognize.”
“I see. Go and put on your cold weather gear, we are going to tour the areas for which you are responsible while we talk.”
Levi wondered if this new attitude had also given him the gift of knowing what others thought. She wanted them out of the building before continuing the conversation one further paragraph. He grinned and hurried back to his office.
Tomiko looked up when he hurried through her office into his own.
“Is there a problem, Levi?”
“Yes, but there is nothing we can do about it at this point,” he said in a cheerful tone. He grabbed his parka and went back through the outer office. “I will be touring the facility with Captain Atsumi. I don’t know when we’ll be back.”
The thermometer next to the entrance sat frozen at -35°F but it didn’t feel any warmer than it had the day before. Captain Atsumi pointed to a late model Toyota pickup and he slid into the passenger seat. It started immediately and she turned the heat and vent fan full blast.
“This posting is very important for me,” she said without preamble. “I am the first female officer in the Imperial Japanese Army. Some of my superiors believe I impinge on the honor and tradition of the IJA.
“They all hope that I fail in my duties. There are now more women in the ranks, but I am the banner bearer. Also, a security position on a Lotus-class base pushes one ahead of the other junior officers.”
“Even if it kills you?”
“I will not fail, which means you must not fail, either. I am your direct supervisor; your career is in my hands. This is not a job from which you want to be dismissed.”
“Ten minutes ago that would have frightened me into agreeing with anything you said. However I no longer care.”
“You are an intriguing man, Mr. Fischer. You evolved from a mouse to a wolf in the space of two sentences.”
“That is the perfect word: sentence. I have come to the realization that I am doomed. My position here in Yukon Station is my final sentence. My execution is only a matter of time.”
“Until now I thought the Japanese were the most nihilistic race on the planet. What is your lineage?”
He barked a laugh that created a large cloud in front of his face. The vehicle cabin had yet to warm up.
“You work with the Kempeitai and you don’t already know the answer to that question?”
“Not many people make me feel ignorant, yet you are doing an excellent job of it today.” Her eyes narrowed to slits and her voice sharpened. “Please answer the question.”
“I’m a Jew! Not a practicing one, but a Jew by blood and birth. If you were to hand me over to the Germans I would be dead within twenty-four hours. We are as hunted as the American bison were, and once shared the same multitudes. Look where they, and the Jews, are today. I was waiting for mounting Jewish heads on German walls to become fashionable, but now it’s too late since we are nearly as extinct as the bison.”
“Are not a few in zoos?” she asked in a small voice.
“Which, bison or Jews?”
“Bison!” she snapped.
“Damned if I know, and damned if I care.”
“You sound intoxicated as well as impertinent.”
“I feel intoxicated. Drunk on tragic reality.”
He felt emotionally light to the point of being weightless. The sensation was not at all unpleasant and he wondered why it had taken this long for him to come to the realization of his guaranteed doom.
“Would you like to survey the areas under your responsibility?”
“Sure. Why not?”
She showed him the rail yard and the huge maintenance building with three sets of tracks running through it. Two sets of tracks went through the two-meter fence topped with something she called razor wire and were guarded by two armed sentries at each of the gates.
“Why such ample security inside already ample security?” he asked.
“Any high ranking person may visit the outside of that fence. Inside is the heart of the project.”
“You are protecting it from other Japanese? I don’t understand.”
“Do you understand the concept of han?”
He shook hid head.
“It can be translated as clan, but not the way it is perceived by a gaijin, a foreigner. The Imperial Army is the han of all of its officers and enlisted soldiers. Loyalty to the han is the most important element in our lives after the on we owe the Emperor. The Imperial Navy, such as it is,” she made a quick smile, “is also a han. Do you understand?”
“So a han is like a professional organization? If you are in the army you are automatically part of its han?”
“It is deeper than a mere trade union. It is a combination of family with professional loyalty which includes an emotional aspect you wouldn’t understand.”
“I think I understand,” Levi said, wondering why he had never before heard of these things.
“This project does not meet with universal approval. There is a rather large faction of government officials who believe the project is a huge mistake in many ways. They are not without power, or spies, and they are not part of our han.”
It never occurred to me that they would have factions of their own to deal with.
“Where did Mr. Suzuki fit into this puzzle?”
She cut her eyes away from the road for a moment and regarded him briefly before looking forward again.
“That has yet to be determined.”
“Is the Kempeitai also split on the soundness of the project?”
“The Kempeitai is part of the Imperial Army, part of our han. Of course there are no dissidents within our ranks. We see this as a yogei sakusan, a decisive battle that will change everything.”
“It will do that for sure,” Levi said. “But who wins is still up for debate.”
Captain Atsumi gave him a hard look and pointed through the windshield.
“See those buildings on the other side of the fence?”
The interior of the vehicle had warmed comfortably and the windows had finally cleared of frost. He regarded the rows of identical buildings and nodded.
“Yes, I see them.”
“Those are the worker’s barracks, where the Chinese conscripts live. Most Americans call them ‘Chinks.’”
He stared for a moment then said, “As long as they can socially look down on someone else the average American is a contented person. Most would sell their mother for a good meal or more money in their pay check.”
“You are a very bitter man, Mr. Fischer.”
“Perhaps. Could you find out something for me?”
“What?” Her guarded tone nearly made him smile.
“Could you find out if Joanna Fischer still lives in Grand Island, Nebraska?”
“That’s in the Greater German Reich–“
“I know that. Can you do it?”
“Probably, but not without causing more diplomatic ripples than I care to generate on behalf of one of your whims. Your ebullience might see you dead yet today! Do not forget your place or some minor functionary will test his virgin sword on your neck.”
He smothered the first retort that came to mind with the cold realization that she was correct. There had to be a façade of subservience constantly maintained or he could easily die without German assistance.
“My apologies, captain. I have been so overcome with my new view of life that I actually jeopardize it. Thank you for being so lenient.”
“Are all Americans as facile as you seem to be?”
“I honestly don’t know. We are an intelligent people and we do not forget a slight. However there are many apologists among us who tone dangerous rhetoric down to a barely audible buzz.”
“It must be unbearable to be a defeated nation. We Japanese have never known defeat throughout our history.”
“Yet,” Levi blurted.
Captain Atsumi glared at him again. “Do not forget your place, Mr. Fischer! We firmly believe that no other race is the equal of the Japanese and this is why we have persevered and conquered all peoples bordering on the Pacific Ocean.”
“How do you supermen explain away the fact that Nazi atomic bombs won the war for you? Does that make the Germans equal to the Japanese?”
“I suggest you keep your questions to areas that concern you and your position here and now.” Color had risen in Captain Atsumi’s face, anger glistened in her eyes, and her voice held a new edge.
“I assume the power plant is where nuclear fission experimentation is being conducted and perfected.”
“Yes.”
“The annex is even larger. What are they doing in there?”
“Unfortunately I cannot disclose that information to anyone.”
He searched her face, seeking signs of deceit and found only embarrassment. Her recent anger had completely evaporated.
“Who can tell me?” he asked in a subdued tone.
“That information is to be disclosed only by those with a security clearance higher than mine.”
“So there is a clearance higher than Lotus.”
“Two, actually; Chrysanthemum and Imperial. Only three people here are cleared for Imperial. I have no idea how many carry Chrysanthemum, since that is also classified above my clearance.”
“Who handles manpower needs in the annex?”
“All I know is that it is not you.”
“Okay, so much for work. Where do I purchase my food and other articles of living?
“We have a commissary but it is woefully inadequate and the food barely ranks above atrocious. There is a general store in Wolf River operated by a Negro woman that is surprisingly well stocked and a lodge where excellent meals can be had, all are much more expensive than the commissary, of course.”
“The Indian village isn’t off limits?”
“Wolf River? No, any of us can go there. I know that all the non-Chinese workers patronize the store and the lodge as well as a few Japanese.”
“Are you one of those patrons?”
“Sometimes.”
“How many Chinese laborers are currently on Yukon Station?”
“I don’t know. However I do know that we have over 300 at our disposal, so it’s more than that.”
“How do you personally feel about the project?”
“We all serve the Emperor, Mr. Fischer, and I suggest you do the same.”
“You haven’t answered my question, captain.”
“Which question?”
“Tell me the nature of my duties and how much I honestly must accomplish in order to create the illusion that I am competent.”
She laughed. “Keep the railroad running efficiently, the runways and roads maintained. Do not snoop into areas where you have no need. Become a proficient agent for the Kempeitai.”
“That last one. I have absolutely no idea how to achieve that goal. The rest is a lead pipe cinch.”
“A what?”
“A situation I guarantee will happen.”
“But, lead pipe? I don’t understand the term.”
“We Americans are an inscrutable race,” he said with a grin. “However I am not, nor ever have been, a secret police agent.”
“You will learn, Mr. Fischer. I shall see to that.”