Pharmageddon Chapter 19

Pretoria, July, year five (cont)

‘Good morning Gipsy! Did you sleep well?’ Shan was looking relaxed in a brightly colored cotton kurta, washed out jeans and leather sandals.

‘Hi Shan. Naah, not really. My mind was going round in circles all night. I think I drank too much of this...’ I held up my coffee cup.

He looked concerned. ‘I’m sorry. Are you okay now?’

‘Oh sure, thanks. Nothing that more caffeine can’t fix. I enjoyed the evening, by the way.’

‘Me too. I had no idea that general Ao was such a raconteur...’

‘I had a taste of it on the day I flew with him to the aircraft carrier. He told me all about his family’s tradition of military service.’

‘Did he, indeed? I read about his background in his file, but it also says he’s slow to open up to strangers, and to talk about personal matters.’

‘Ah. That would explain why the other uniforms on the chopper were soaking it up.’

‘And it would explain why you make such a good journalist.’

‘Thank you, boss. Flattery will get you everywhere.’

He smiled as he helped himself to fruit salad. ‘Actually I was surprised that we didn’t talk more about... the events that brought us all here, last night.’

‘Yeah. Ignoring the elephant in the room. Maybe it’s not surprising, since we don’t know where the elephant came from.’

He laughed. ‘That’s a profound thought. When we don’t know the provenance of something, we pretend it’s not there. The invisible elephant.’

‘Yeah. It’s just bizarre that someone so... evil... never claimed responsibility for their actions.’

‘I remember your op-ed about evil. Rather well, in fact. It was premised on the belief that the saboteurs intended to kill millions. Or at least were willing to risk millions of lives. Do you still believe that was their intent?’

‘Oh come on, Shan! They did such a good job of disrupting the supply of ARVs, how could they not have known that people would die?’

‘But what do you make of the timing of the sabotage?’

‘Well, maybe it was just easier to plant the bombs over the New Year’s weekend...’

‘And you don’t think they... the bombers... would have assumed that new drugs could be distributed in time - before any significant loss of life?’

‘Okay, I’ll give you that. But what about the contamination at NguniMed? That was obviously a ploy to make sure that South Africa, at least, landed in the shit.’

‘Are you sure, Gipsy? NguniMed supplied all the countries of southern African, not only South Africa. They all had looting of ARVs, but only South Africa, Swaziland and Lesotho failed to act appropriately.’

‘Yeah, I know. That’s why the South African government was such a strong suspect for me, although Art... colonel Baldwin seemed to think it was just a combination of intransigence and bad timing that brought South Africa crashing down.’

Shan stared at the distant hills as he spoke. ‘So then, if the South Africans weren’t behind the bombings, who was?’

‘I can only think it was extortion. Maybe whoever was behind it got paid, and we never heard from them again.’

‘What if it was all a mistake?’

I gave a real school-yard laugh. ‘A mistake? Riiight! Shit, we didn’t mean to plant those bombs! Soh-reee!’

He didn’t respond to my sarcasm, but kept staring into the distance. ‘No, I mean the outcome. What if the perpetrator didn’t foresee that anyone would die, let alone millions?’

I wondered briefly if he was teasing me, but his tone was serious so I decided to play along. ‘Okay. Well... uh... obviously they meant to threaten the supply of ARVs...’

‘Yes.’

‘But nobody seems to have benefited from the interruption of supply. Except maybe a few South African cops and politicians, in the short term. And ultimately India.’

Shan sat back in surprise. ‘India?’

‘Sure. To create the population and power vacuum, which you’ve so ably filled.’

Now he laughed. ‘Brilliant! Unless you’re an Indian, of course. But tell me this, who benefited from the attack on Vikmed?’

‘Well, nobody, because the bomb didn’t go off! But if it had, then... anyone who really wanted people with AIDS to die? Didn’t you say their drug could be used to save the day?’

‘Yes. But what if the bomb at Vikmed was different... was planted for a different reason to the others?’

‘Like to distract us from the real reason for the other bombings?’

‘Or vice versa.’

‘Vice versa? You mean, Vikmed may have been the real target, and the others were just a... smokescreen?’ I tried to compute this, but it didn’t make sense. Shan wasn’t any help, as he turned to his fruit salad.

I hate it when I’m put on the spot like this, but I wanted to see where Shan was leading so I tried to work it through. ‘Well, okay, let’s say the bombers wanted us to THINK their goal was to disrupt the supply of ARVs, even though they knew they’d be restored before any serious harm was done. And let’s say we knew somehow their goal wasn’t extortion...’

Shan had a mouthful of food, but he nodded.

‘Art told me recently that if the bomb at Vikmed had gone off, it wouldn’t have interfered much with their research. The real damage was done because someone wiped their data off their computers.’

Shan nodded again. I caught the flash in his eyes.

‘So the bomb at Vikmed could also have been a... smokescreen? Deleting their research data could have been the main objective.’

Shan swallowed, and wiped his mouth with a napkin. ‘Only deleted?’

I stared at him. ‘You mean, it was stolen? The real agenda was to copy their data?’

Shan smiled and began to help himself to more fruit salad.

‘But... didn’t you try to persuade Kurt Hohner to let you in on his research? At the UN meeting, I mean? So you wanted that data. Maybe others did, too? Or maybe you planted the bombs!’

Shan’s hand paused in mid-air, leaving a serving spoon loaded with colorful chunks of mango, kiwi-fruit, strawberries, gooseberries and roasted pine nuts hovering above the pristine white tablecloth. But in a moment the spoon continued towards his bowl, leaving the linen unmarked.

‘Well, that would certainly fit the facts.’

My heart stopped. While watching his spoon I’d been trying to decide whether to beg forgiveness for the biggest faux pax of my life, or to pass it off as a joke. And now... this! Maybe he was teasing me, to give me a taste of my own medicine. It had to be.

‘So how do you think the others would have reacted last night, if you told them that you are the API bomber?’ I pronounced it like a French woman saying ‘happy bomber’. ‘Or does general Ao know already? Or Art Baldwin?’

‘No, you’re the only one who knows.’

Oh Jesus! ‘Ah... this is interesting!’

‘Isn’t it?’

‘Can I finish my breakfast before you have me dragged away and shot. I really can’t face death on an empty stomach.’

He laughed, his usual guffaw, without any reserve. ‘I have no intention of doing anything to you, Gipsy. I think the right question is, what will you do with me?’

I swallowed the last of my espresso, to buy time. My hand wasn’t nearly as steady as Shan’s. ‘So we’re not joking, here?’

Now he looked a little more serious. ‘I don’t think the deaths of millions of people is a joke. And I know you don’t.’

‘No... but you said it was a mistake.’

‘Yes it was. But that’s not really a defense. I should have foreseen the possibility.’

‘Why didn’t you?’

He frowned. It struck me that I’d never seen him looking unsettled, until this moment. ‘It... seemed too far fetched. I just couldn’t imagine... couldn’t foresee what actually happened, here in South Africa.’

The enormity of my situation began to sink in. I could barely breathe. I didn’t have any of my electronic wizardry on me – I didn’t even have a pen and paper – so it was my word against his. But I was desperate not to break the spell, so I pushed on.

‘So... what? It was just business?’

He gave me a strange smile. ‘It seemed like a good idea at the time.’ 

I struggled to get past that. ‘How so?’

‘Well, we... I... had two priorities. The first was to get hold of that research data from Vikmed, on their bio- engineering methods. We’d reached a dead-end in our own research, and I had to know how they resolved certain issues. A lot depended on it. Like the future of our bio-engineering division. Maybe the whole company.’

‘You mean, the technology of making the injectable ARV?’

‘Not ARVs specifically, no. Vikmed’s new drug was the product of a lot of new thinking and new science. I wasn’t interested in the drug itself so much as the technology and methods they used to develop it.’

‘And you couldn’t just hack into their system?’

He shook his head. ‘No. I tried, believe me. It was well protected. I had to get someone inside their plant... physically. But even then I realized we couldn’t extract the data without attracting suspicion, and I knew if we were found out it would lead straight back to me. I had to create another script for the story. A... diversion.’

‘Some diversion!’

‘Well, yes. It started out as a more modest exercise, but I got... ah, caught up in it. I’m afraid I have a tendency to do that. I persuaded myself that a challenge to the ARV supply chain would show everyone just how vulnerable developing nations are to this kind of thing. Not only drugs, of course. Materials, technology, information. And I... well, I became obsessed with finding out if it was possible to get away with something on... such a grand scale. To beat the global security establishment at their own game.’

I saw Shan’s eyes move over my shoulder, and my heart lurched again. I turned to see the steward approaching. He asked what we’d like from the kitchen and, to my amazement, I realized I was hungry, so I asked for an idli sambar with scrambled eggs and another espresso. It felt like a lifetime since Dolly brought me the same breakfast on Shan’s Gulfstream. When I turned back my host was smiling, waiting patiently for my next question.

‘So blowing up your own factory made you look like the victim, rather than the perpetrator?’ He nodded, but said nothing.

‘Art Baldwin said there were many times South Africa could have backed away from the trap they were getting themselves into, but they kept making bad decisions – mainly because of rumors that surfaced on our forums.’

‘I know. And you’re wondering whether I planted those rumors.’

‘Did you?’

‘No. After the devices detonated, I did nothing to make things worse. Quite the contrary, in fact. I didn’t want a treatment interruption. So you can imagine how amazed I was when colonel Baldwin proposed the sting operation to catch the bombers.’

‘The what?’ I had no idea what he was talking about.

Shan gave me a puzzled look. ‘Those decommissioned chemical reactors that we supposedly discovered in our research lab in Shimla? When I told you we’d try convert our lab to production, to make NRTIs for second-line ARVs? Your friend Nicola Kershaw’s visit to my headquarters?’

The world seemed to lean sideways, and I felt like I was falling. I wanted to turn the feeling off. To laugh and say – oh that! To buy enough time to clutch onto something solid. But I heard the wrong words coming out of my mouth, in an unfamiliar tone. ‘What are you saying? That it was all bullshit? Dreamed up by Art Baldwin? That Nikki... UNAIDS were part of it, and I was just your... mouthpiece?’

He hesitated. ‘I’m sorry. I really thought you knew. Especially since she’s your... friend.’ For a moment I went into overload, and couldn’t speak, but Shan carried on. ‘I couldn’t believe the irony of the situation! Being asked to help catch... myself! But I must admit it was fun watching your friend falling in love with colonel Baldwin.’

My independent mouth started up again. ‘How long have you known about my friendship with Nikki?’

‘Oh, from the beginning. I have a team of people monitoring your communicators – your laptops, headsets and handhelds. They give me regular briefings – obviously I can’t read and listen to everything myself.’

I was convinced I was going through a personality separation. My brain was refusing to function, but I could hear another voice asking: ‘But... do these people know you are the...’

Shan smiled. ‘The happy bomber? No, you’re the only one. The men who actually planted the devices – well, it was all done through intermediaries. I was a virtual client – they have no idea who I am. It’s not hard to arrange, as long as the money is real.’

‘So how does The World Online fit in?’

‘Well, as I said when I first met you – when I got wealthier I found I could afford better information. I’m afraid that was a euphemism for industrial espionage. But when I conceptualized the pharmageddon project, I realized I’d need a global information gathering and dissemination mechanism. An online newspaper was perfect. So I called Jim Wallace.’

My brain was still grinding through the revelations in that last sentence, but my mouth was keeping the party going. ‘Why?’

‘Oh, strategically the greatest risk to my plan was that the bombings would be hushed up. I needed a lot of noise. Media coverage. And I needed to hear what was going on, what was being said, everywhere and all the time. I found myself thinking about a medium that couldn’t be turned off, or shut out. Then, like a lot of my ideas, it acquired a life of its own...’

In the distance I heard my voice. ‘So you didn’t care if TWO made money?’

‘Oh, but I did! Well, maybe not when I first talked to Jim, but when he came back with that beautiful, elegant plan, I began to care very much. Making money is the ultimate test of one’s ideas, don’t you think? And of course it was another wonderful irony that The World Online really started making money after those bombs went off.’

‘I don’t see anything wonderful about killing people...’

‘No, I don’t mean that. And for what it’s worth, I feel very bad about those casualties. When it became obvious the situation in southern Africa was getting out of hand, I decided to focus on the opportunity. To redeem myself, I suppose. Assuming I’m not past redemption.’

‘How did you do that? Focus on the opportunity?’

‘Well, by planting the seed of the Indian engagement here, for one thing. Our UN ambassador, Divesh Dutta, was at school with me and we went up to Cambridge together. I didn’t have to do much, once he had the bit between his teeth. Except encourage him to think big, like Operation Truro. And when the president of India approached me to be the governor here – well, the ironies just kept piling up.’

‘How do you really feel about all this... about yourself, Shan?’

‘Ah. The big question. Well, it’s... complicated. I knocked over the first domino, yes, but every other country made the right decisions, and nobody in those countries got hurt. Even here in South Africa, I can’t help seeing the hand of Charles Darwin at work...’

‘You have to be kidding me! Are you trying to say they deserved to die?’

‘No, of course not. It’s just that, as a species, we’ve become very good at stopping evolution. Keeping the weak alive, facilitating the procreation of those who nature is trying to cull from the population. We’ve almost stopped the traditional means of controlling numbers – wars, famines, epidemics, even natural disasters. We’re advancing technologically, but genetically we’re getting weaker. And our weakness is built on one thing – conscience. Our sense of obligation towards those weaker than ourselves.’

‘Jesus, Shan! Conscience is the only thing that keeps us from behaving like animals. Surely that’s our strength, not our weakness?’

He shrugged. ‘I’m too close to my own actions to know... to quantify my culpability. That’s why I decided it was time that you knew. Now you’re my conscience.’

‘Your conscience? What do you mean?’

‘Yes. I haven’t told you, or anyone, before now because I wanted to make sure that... well, that matters have reached critical mass here in South Africa. Now they will go forward, with or without me. Even if I were to be exposed.’

‘Fucking hell, Shan. This is all I need in my life!’

‘There’s no better person, Gipsy. You’ve been the eyes, ears and voice of pharmageddon from the beginning. If anyone is going to expose the villain, it must be you.’

‘Do you want to be exposed?’

‘No, of course not. There’s no happy ending to that scenario. But whether you choose to throw me to the wolves or not, you have to know the truth. It’s like... backing up the data. You’re an observer and recorder of history, and this is history. If and when you feel the time is right, you should tell the world.’

‘But... what will happen when I tell everyone what you’ve done? How will they feel when they hear their nation was destroyed – accidentally – by industrial espionage?’

He laughed. ‘You do have a talent for cutting through the sewage, Dr North. But remember what you told general Ao about your father...’

‘Jesus, you heard that?’

‘Yes – as I said, I monitored your electronic gadgets. But my point is that Bertie North didn’t make you a weaker person, Gipsy. Quite the contrary, in fact. The same applies to nations. Many were founded by... monsters. Alexander the Great, Attila the Hun, Timur the Lame. Even here, if you ask the Zulu people how they feel about the homicidal maniac who created their nation, Shaka Zulu, they’ll speak of their glory days, not the slaughter of their ancestors.’

‘So this brave new nation will forget or forgive?’

He smiled and shook his head. ‘I believe that history is made up of a sprinkling of deliberate action in an ocean of chance. I’ve taken a few deliberate actions, but the end result was shaped by factors outside of my control.’

Once again his eyes moved past me, and I half turned to see the steward coming towards us with a tray. The smell of the curry now made me feel queasy, but the coffee smelled and tasted good. Shan seemed content to stare into the distance while I sipped. I thought through everything he’d told me, to fix it in my mind and look for gaps. I could think of only one thing.

‘You said you had two priorities when you decided to plant those bombs.’ 

‘Yes. The second one was to get Maurya out of making antiretrovirals.’ 

‘WHAT!?’

He gave a wan smile. ‘Yes. The fact of the matter is that making ARVs – or the active ingredients for them – was killing us. It’s my own fault, I suppose. When I started selling them at cost it was wonderful advertising for our company. But then I found we were trapped in a vicious cycle of having to produce more and more product for no financial return, with no end in sight. You can’t imagine the pressure we were under from people like Bill Clinton and the UN to keep going...’

‘The black hole scenario.’

‘Yes, in a way. Selling at cost meant we were tying up resources which could be used to make far more profitable lines...’

‘Like?’

He looked uncomfortable. ‘Well, treatments for diabetes, hypertension, obesity...’

‘Lifestyle diseases?’ I could hear the distaste in my voice. That other voice. So could Shan.

‘I know. I’m sorry, Gipsy. It means I’m no better than anyone else. Worshipping the holy greenback.’ 

I remembered Jim’s joke about everyone having their price. And I knew what I had to do.

Epilogue

The world’s media were on hand to witness the inauguration of the new president on the steps of the Union Buildings in Pretoria.

A formation of Hawk jets screamed overhead as the colors of the old South Africa and of India were lowered, and the flag of the new nation of Azania was raised. A military band played familiar anthems, and a range of cultural performances led up to the climax – the swearing in of president Wilfred Hlope by the chief justice.

I was sitting in an area reserved for invited guests, among several hundred others. After the ceremonies we were ushered into a vast white tent, where a three-course meal was served. I greeted a number of old friends in the crowd including the newly elected premier of the Cape of Good Hope, Thami ‘BT’ Abrahams, lieutenant general Ao, and Dr Miu Andersson, now representative in the local office of UNICEF.

After I retired from TWO to write this book I lost my place in the pecking order, so I was surprised to receive the invitation to the handover of power. And I wanted to attend, if only to say that I was there when it started, and there when it ended.

In the tent I found myself seated among strangers, including a stocky African man. When I enquired what he’d done in the old South Africa, he told me he’d been the regional commissioner of police in the Eastern Cape province. He enquired whether I’d ever visited that region.

‘Only once, I’m afraid. And only for a few hours. I visited NguniMed to investigate the contamination of antiretroviral drugs.’

He snorted. ‘The so-called contamination.’

‘What do you mean, so-called?’

‘There was no contamination.’

‘Oh... really? Dr Shabangu said the entire batch of drugs had to be recalled.’

He looked at me with a half-smile. ‘Yes, I know she did. That was the whole point.’ 

‘The point of what?’

‘We arranged for some people to say that they were suffering terrible stomach cramps – vomiting and diarrhea – after they took those medicines. So that the department of health would have to call them back. They were actually fine.’

‘But... why?’

‘So that we could sell the ARVs we had, of course. If they replaced all the drugs in the hospitals, all our work would have been for nothing.’

‘Your work? You mean... taking the drugs in the first place?’

‘Yes, of course. We had to choose – look like fools, or make the department of health look like fools.’

Not for the first time in my life I wondered how some people could be so oblivious – or indifferent – to the consequences of their actions. I resisted the urge to slap him, and focused on his story instead.

‘And what is your role in the new Azania? Are you still a police officer?’

‘I have been appointed senior adviser to the minister of police, Mr Sipho Bhengu.’

At that moment president Hlope rose to speak, and everyone stood to applaud the new head of state. In his address Hlope covered familiar ground.

‘It is sad – it is a tragedy – that so many millions died to make our nation possible but, like any region rising from the ashes, the greatest tribute we can pay to those who suffered is to make the future better than it was during their lifetimes. Indeed, we have set ourselves an even more ambitious goal – to make the entire world a better place.

‘Azania is a unique country, a multinational enterprise, drawing on the strengths of old and new global powers, while tapping into the raw energy and boundless resources of Africa. Truly, this is the laboratory in which the new age will be discovered and refined.’

As he spoke I caught the eye of the head chemist of this laboratory, seated at the top table among presidents and prime ministers. Shan smiled, and raised his glass to me in a silent toast.

The end.