Chapter 7
Tarek entered Alireza’s office half an hour before the evening prayer, when most of the employees had left the building and his visit would be less noticeable.
"Merhaba, Tarek, you look great to be 80-years old...don't you think you are exaggerating with the pills?"
"Merhaba, Alireza, it's my little vice...I will give up one day or another, but I have some important jobs that I need to finish first. You do not want me to leave my mission uncompleted."
"Well, you would have still several decades in front of you..and you do not have to be so arrogant to assume you are irreplaceable, the Almighty can certainly take care of things if you leave your job undone. By the way, congratulations on your Farsi. You told me you started learning when we met last time, six months ago, and your progress is really...impressive, to say the least."
"I always had a talent for languages," Tarek replied, deliberately ignoring the harsh scolding. "I have asked to meet you because I wanted to give you the news personally. We have evidence that the Pakistanis do indeed cooperate with the Indians in spreading Telomerax."
In the mind of Alireza, several pieces of the puzzle came together. The Pakistanis’ move had led to the collapse of the heroin market and of the Afghan economy. Left without the heroin income, the Afghans had no choice but to become the Telomerax and cocaine providers for Central Asia and the Middle East. Actually, this was especially true for the Pashtuns close to the Pakistani border, who had become fully subordinated to Islamabad. The other ethnic groups had been left to economic desperation, which sent a massive wave of immigrants towards Iran. Alireza knew from his colleagues at the Ministry of Interior that already more than three million Western Afghans lived in refugee camps and makeshift slums in Eastern Iran, a situation that was starting to strain the communities living in the region.
"Is it really this bad, Tarek? Or do you think it could get worse?" Alireza asked.
"I believe the cooperation is extending in other fields. Our sources confirm that there is a constant increase of Indo-Pakistani meetings taking place in the Arab Emirates," Tarek replied calmly, showing some slides from his laptop. "It's easier for them to arrange working level meetings in our country. Especially if it's military or security personnel."
"Are you sure? How have you found out?" Alireza was growing impatient.
"In a number of ways, from classic microphones to putting together pictures taken by security cameras, to information found on the Internet. I will leave you the data for you to analyze, but as for my team and myself the picture is quite clear: the relationship between India and Pakistan is more like the one between two close allies than two rivals."
"Do you think there is some American initiative involved? Or Chinese?"
"Americans?! They have not yet figured out what is going on here, and no wonder, after they cut their secret service staff in our region by half in the last couple of years. Now that Paul Moreno has been re-elected as President on a renewed pledge on domestic security and Telomerax control, they will care even less. I think this is bad news for our two countries."
"I agree with you," Alireza replied, "I also hoped the Democrat candidate, Mark Callaghan, the governor of Massachusetts, could make it to the White House. But the idiot was unable to come up with a clear idea about Telomerax regulation. He balked at liberalization, he balked at security, and eventually people chose the devil they knew, just like Bush vs. Kerry back in 2004. If the United States disengages from our region, countries like ours have one less superpower to team up with."
"That's why I think it is imperative we reinforce our system," Tarek continued, as he got Alireza exactly where he wanted. "You know we have had some unconventional weapons in store for a few years now. It's chemical stuff, so in principle you should be able to manufacture it, if we provide you with some samples. Do not forget our neighbors in the East are both nuclear powers and you gave up the opportunity to become one of them, more than ten years ago. We need a little favor in exchange, of course."
Alireza waved his hand, showing Tarek he could proceed.
"We need access to your supercomputing facility to run a series of genetic simulations. We have our own national data center in Abu Dhabi, but it is not enough. We need some extra power, so we thought about connecting to your center in Shiraz, the one you built with Chinese technology. I know this means delaying your hidden nuclar simulation program, but we need more computing power and yours is the only center we can trust."
"What is this research about? As much as we need your help, I do not want to help committing the resources of the Islamic Republic to some evil project. Was it initiated by the Emirati rulers or your own?"
"Alireza, please, you know you have to cater to multiple loyalties, especially in our countries. I do not see anything wrong with that, as long as the loyalties do not conflict and you do not betray trust. All I can tell you is that the team that originally designed Telomerax needs this research to contain its catastrophic side effects and possibly make a step forward towards its retirement. They are looking to scientifically prove some detrimental long-term effects on those that are addicted to it. You know Westerners; they won't stop in front of anything that hinders their will of power, except if we bring some conclusive scientific argument. Science is the only religion they still believe in."
Alireza’s thoughts went back to the morning news update. He waved his hands on the virtual keyboard embedded on his desk, and sent it to the holographic projector. The news service from RAI, the Italian State broadcaster, started playing, while the system translated it in real time. The anchorwoman was announcing that the Italian Government, in agreement with the Vatican, had authorized a massive protest against the ongoing Telomerax ban in most European countries. The coordinators had chosen Rome, given the Pope’s strict disapproval of the drug. More than one million people were expected to show up in two weeks time, on Saturday April 7th 2029, just after Easter Sunday.
As the news service ended, Alireza downheartedly commented,
"All of this all because about four centuries ago the Roman Catholic Church felt satisfied with Galileo's retractation. They should have been consequential and have burned him. But now it's too late."
"Alireza, I do not think that burning Galileo would have changed much," Tarek replied, trying to be as humble as possible. "It was already snowballing. Maybe it would have delayed the process a bit, but nothing more. Now it is up to us to try to stop this, or at least contain it, inshallah. Or perhaps this is just how God the Almighty has chosen to start the end of the world and Judgment Day is approaching. Would you help me get access to your data centers?"
Alireza waited in silence. He then looked at the clock and stood up.
"I do not know yet, Tarek. It's prayer time now, would you mind joining me? I am going to ask the Almighty to clear my mind."
"Of course, Alireza, of course," Tarek said, as he hurried towards one of the office chairs where some carpet prayers laid, for guests to grab.