to play here. This whole program de¬pends on you."
"I'm well aware of that." However, it hadn't answered his questions.
"Then you should also be aware of something else. This undertaking is a small, but highly crucial, part of some¬thing much larger. Nothing less than the fate of the Soviet Union in the next century rests on whether Project Daeda¬lus succeeds."
"What do you mean?" Yuri had watched him walk on, feeling his own impatience growing.
Lemontov had turned back again, brusquely. "This hy¬personic spacecraft is the symbol, the flagship, of a new Soviet alliance with the most technologically advanced na¬tion on earth. Even a 'flyboy' like you should be able to grasp that. Through this alliance we eventually will find a way to tap all of Japan's new technology. The world of the future—advanced semiconductors, robots, biotechnology, superconductivity, all of it—is going to be controlled by Japan, and we must have access to it."
Yuri had listened in silence, once more feeling he was being fed half-truths. Then Lemontov lowered his voice.
"Yuri Andreevich, by forming what amounts to a strate¬gic alliance with Mino Industries, we will achieve two objectives. We will gain access to Japanese technology and capital, to rejuvenate Soviet industry and placate our peo¬ple. And we will strike a preemptive blow against the peril of a new China on our borders in the next century."
"China?" Yuri had studied him, startled.
"My friend, don't be fooled by summits and talks of reconciliation. Neither we nor China care a kopeck about the other. Think about it. In the long run, China can only be our nightmare. If America had to look across its Cana¬dian border and see China, they too would be terrified. China has the numbers and, soon, the technology to threaten us. It's the worst nightmare you or I could ever have." Lemontov had paused to crush out his cigarette, grinding it savagely into the asphalt. "We must prepare for it now."
The hardliners have just found a new enemy, Yuri had realized. The Cold War lives!
"Like it or not," Lemontov had continued, "and just between us I'm not sure I do like it, we have no choice but to turn to Japan in order to have an ally in Asia to counter the new, frightening specter of a hostile China rising up on our flank."
"So how does Daedalus figure into all this?"
"As I said, it is the first step in our new alliance. From now on our space programs will be united as one." He had sighed into the icy
"I'm well aware of that." However, it hadn't answered his questions.
"Then you should also be aware of something else. This undertaking is a small, but highly crucial, part of some¬thing much larger. Nothing less than the fate of the Soviet Union in the next century rests on whether Project Daeda¬lus succeeds."
"What do you mean?" Yuri had watched him walk on, feeling his own impatience growing.
Lemontov had turned back again, brusquely. "This hy¬personic spacecraft is the symbol, the flagship, of a new Soviet alliance with the most technologically advanced na¬tion on earth. Even a 'flyboy' like you should be able to grasp that. Through this alliance we eventually will find a way to tap all of Japan's new technology. The world of the future—advanced semiconductors, robots, biotechnology, superconductivity, all of it—is going to be controlled by Japan, and we must have access to it."
Yuri had listened in silence, once more feeling he was being fed half-truths. Then Lemontov lowered his voice.
"Yuri Andreevich, by forming what amounts to a strate¬gic alliance with Mino Industries, we will achieve two objectives. We will gain access to Japanese technology and capital, to rejuvenate Soviet industry and placate our peo¬ple. And we will strike a preemptive blow against the peril of a new China on our borders in the next century."
"China?" Yuri had studied him, startled.
"My friend, don't be fooled by summits and talks of reconciliation. Neither we nor China care a kopeck about the other. Think about it. In the long run, China can only be our nightmare. If America had to look across its Cana¬dian border and see China, they too would be terrified. China has the numbers and, soon, the technology to threaten us. It's the worst nightmare you or I could ever have." Lemontov had paused to crush out his cigarette, grinding it savagely into the asphalt. "We must prepare for it now."
The hardliners have just found a new enemy, Yuri had realized. The Cold War lives!
"Like it or not," Lemontov had continued, "and just between us I'm not sure I do like it, we have no choice but to turn to Japan in order to have an ally in Asia to counter the new, frightening specter of a hostile China rising up on our flank."
"So how does Daedalus figure into all this?"
"As I said, it is the first step in our new alliance. From now on our space programs will be united as one." He had sighed into the icy