Free James P. Hogan by Endgame Enigma

differ is that I believe all of us are basically the same beneath the surface – all unfortunate victims of the mistakes of history and our own, unnecessary, mutual suspicions.
    “I don’t have to spell out the tragedy that could result from this paranoia….” Protbornov raised a hand as if to forestall her reply. “Yes, on our side as well as yours. The world has been trembling for over half a century. But don’t you see what an opportunity this represents? For once, the delusions that the paranoia is based on can be exposed for what they really are. It wouldn’t put an instant end to all the tensions that have plagued our two nations for so long, of course, but it would be a solid step in the direction of defusing them. Every withdrawal from a brink has to begin with a first step somewhere. Don’t you owe the peoples of that world down there that much – a chance to hope?”
    Paula had been blinking her eyes, trying to follow. “I’m not sure I understand,” she said. Her voice was dry and cracked. Protbornov poured water from a pitcher in front of him into a glass and set it down across the desk. Paula stared at it. Whether it was the wrong thing to do or not, she suddenly didn’t care. She picked up the glass and gulped down the water gratefully.
    “We are prepared to take you, in person, to all the places in Tereshkova where you were told these weapons were supposed to exist, and let you see for yourself that the accusations are simply not true.” Protbornov threw up his hands. “What could be fairer than that? We want the truth to be known.”
    Paula replaced the glass on the edge of the desk, noticing as she did so that her hand was shaking. “Why not open the whole place to international inspection, if that’s what you want?” she asked. “Let everyone come and see for themselves.”
    Protbornov tossed up his hands again. “I agree! And if I were First Secretary of the Party, that is precisely what I would do. But I am not Comrade Petrokhov. And for reasons which I do not make it my business to criticize, our policy is that we will not strip ourselves naked before the world on demand, just to prove our good intentions.”
    “You’ve already demonstrated your good intentions,” Paula said, massaging her stomach tenderly.
    “I apologize for that incident. It was an accident. The guards responsible were transferred only recently from one of our military punishment units, where procedures are different. They have been reprimanded and removed.”
    Having served their purpose, Paula thought. “I’m still not sure what you’re saying….” Despite her resolve, she heard herself getting talkative…. But, dammit, stuck out here, two hundred thousand miles away from everything, she needed somebody to talk to, even a Russian general. That sounded a little like the beginnings of self-pity, she reflected idly. It wasn’t like her at all to feel that way, but she found that the thought didn’t really bother her very much. She had reason to feel sorry for herself – oh God, had there been something in the water?
    “All we want you to do, after you’ve satisfied yourself that what I’ve said is true, is simply to make a public statement confirming what you’ve seen with your own eyes. If we can show you that our country has been slandered before the world, is it unreasonable that we should ask this? It is, after all, the truth which is supposed to matter, isn’t it, even when it inconveniently fails to support preconceived notions? Isn’t that what you were trained to think as a scientist?”
    “Yes,” Paula answered automatically, even as she saw the mistake.
    Protbornov gave a satisfied nod. “So, we have established that you are a scientist. With whom? A private corporation, perhaps? But then, how would you come to know so much about Russian equipment? It was you who was operating the device. More likely one of the services, then, yes?… Yes. Very well, which one? Army, maybe?… Navy?…