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t。　At　Langley；　I　saw　some　stuff　on　their　fighter　planes　that　the　Air　Force　got；　mainly　through　the　Israelis。　The　goddamned　parts　don't　fit　together！　They　can't　even　cut　aluminum　sheets　into　regular　shapes。　I　mean；　a　high…school　kid　in　shop　class　would　have　to　do　better　or　flunk　out　of　school。　We　know　they　have　petent　engineers；　especially　the　guys　who　work　in　theoretical　stuff；　but　their　manufacturing　practices　are　so　primitive　that　you'd　expect　better　from　third…graders。〃
　　　〃Not　in　all　areas；　Jack；〃　Harding　cautioned。
　　　〃And　not　all　the　Pacific　Ocean's　blue；　Simon。　There　are　islands　and　volcanoes；　sure。　I　know　that。　But　the　rule　is　the　ocean　is　blue；　and　the　rule　in　the　Soviet　Union　is　shitty　work。　The　problem　is　that　their　economic　system　doesn't　reward　people　for　doing　good　work。　There's　a　saying　in　economics：　'Bad　money　drives　out　good。'　That　means　poor　performance　will　take　over　if　good　performance　isn't　recognized。　Well；　over　there；　mainly　it　isn't；　and　for　their　economy　it's　like　cancer。　What　happens　in　one　place　gradually　carries　over　to　the　whole　system。〃
　　　〃There　are　some　things　at　which　they　are　very　good　indeed；〃　Harding　persisted。
　　　〃Simon；　the　Bolshoi　Ballet　isn't　going　to　attack　into　West　Germany。　Neither　is　their　Olympic　team；〃　Jack　retorted。　〃Their　military　may　be　petently　led　at　the　higher　levels；　but　their　equipment　is　crummy；　and　the　middle…level　management　is　practically　nonexistent。　Without　my　gunnery　sergeant　and　my　squad　leaders；　I　could　not　have　used　my　platoon　of　Marines　efficiently；　but　the　Red　Army　doesn't　have　sergeants　as　we　understand　them。　They　have　petent　officers…and；　again；　some　of　their　theoretical　people　are　world…　class…and　their　soldiers　are　probably　patriotic　Russians　and　all　that；　but　without　proper　training　at　the　tactical　level；　they're　like　a　beautiful　car　with　flat　tires。　The　engine　might　turn　over　and　the　paint　job　might　shine；　but　the　car　isn't　going　anywhere。〃
　　　Harding　took　a　few　contemplative　puffs。　〃Then　what　are　we　worried　about？〃
　　　Jack　shrugged。　〃There's　a　hell　of　a　lot　of　them；　and　quantity　does　have　a　quality　all　its　own。　If　we　go　forward　with　our　defense　buildup；　however；　we　can　stop　anything　they　try。　A　Russian　tank　regiment　is　just　a　collection　of　targets　if　we　have　the　right　equipment　and　our　guys　are　properly　trained　and　led。　Anyway；　that's　what　my　report　is　probably　going　to　say。〃
　　　〃It's　a　little　early　for　a　conclusion；〃　Simon　told　his　new　American　friend。　Ryan　hadn't　yet　learned　how　a　bureaucracy　was　supposed　to　work。
　　　〃Simon；　I　used　to　make　my　money　in　trading。　You　succeed　in　that　business　by　seeing　things　a　little　faster　than　the　next　guy；　and　that　means　you　don't　wait　until　you　have　every　last　little　crumb　of　information。　I　can　see　where　this　information　is　pointing　me。　It's　bad　over　there；　and　it's　getting　worse。　Their　military　is　a　distillation　of　what　is　good　and　bad　in　their　society。　Look　at　how　badly　they're　doing　in　Afghanistan。　I　haven't　seen　your　data；　but　I've　seen　what　they　have　at　Langley；　and　it　isn't　pretty。　Their　military　is　performing　very　poorly　in　that　rockpile。〃　
　　　〃I　think　they　will　ultimately　succeed。〃
　　　〃It's　possible；〃　Jack　conceded；　〃but　it'll　be　an　ugly　win。　We　did　a　lot　better　in　Vietnam。〃　He　paused。　〃You　guys　have　ugly　memories　of　Afghanistan；　don't　you？〃
　　　〃My　great…uncle　was　therein　1919。　He　said　it　was　worse　than　the　Battle　of　the　Somme。　Kipling　did　a　poem　that　ends　with　an　instruction　to　a　soldier　to　blow　his　brains　out　rather　than　be　captured　there。　I'm　afraid　some　Russians　have　learned　that　lesson；　to　their　sorrow。〃
　　　〃Yeah；　the　Afghans　are　courageous；　but　not　overly　civilized；〃　Jack　agreed。　〃But　I　think　they're　going　to　win。　There's　talk　at　home　about　giving　them　the　Stinger　SAM。　That　would　neutralize　the　helicopters　the　Russians　are　using；　and　without　those；　Ivan's　got　a　problem。〃
　　　〃Is　the　Stinger　that　good？〃
　　　〃Never　used　it　myself；　but　I've　heard　some　nice　things　about　it。〃
　　　〃And　the　Russian　SAM…seven？〃
　　　〃They　kind　of　invented　the　idea　of　a　man…portable　SAM；　didn't　they？　But　we　got　a　bunch　through　the　Israelis　in　seventy…three；　and　our　guys　weren't　all　that　impressed。　Again；　Ivan　had　a　great　idea；　then　couldn't　execute　it　properly。　That's　their　curse；　Simon。〃
　　　〃Then　explain　KGB　to　me；〃　Harding　challenged。
　　　〃Same　as　the　Bolshoi　Ballet　and　their　ice　hockey　teams。　They　load　a　lot　of　talent　and　money　into　that　agency；　and　they　get　a　fair　return　for　it…but　they　have　a　lot　of　spooks　skip　over　the　wall；　too；　don't　they？〃
　　　〃True；〃　Simon　had　to　concede。
　　　〃And　why；　Simon？〃　Jack　asked。　〃Because　they　fill　their　heads　with　how　corrupt　and　messed　up　we　are；　and　then　when　their　people　get　here　and　look　around；　it　isn't　all　that　bad；　is　it？　Hell；　we　have　safe　houses　all　over　America　with　KGB　guys　in　them；　watching　TV。　Not　many　of　them　decide　to　go　home；　either。　I've　never　met　a　defector；　but　I've　read　a　lot　of　transcripts；　and　they　all　say　pretty　much　the　same　thing。　Our　system　is　better　than　theirs；　and　they're　smart　enough　to　tell　the　difference。〃
　　　〃We　have　some　living　here　as　well；〃　Harding　admitted。　He　didn't　want　to　admit　that　the　Russians　also　had　a　few　Brits…nowhere　near　as　many；　just　enough　to　be　a　considerable　embarrassment　to　Century　House。　〃You're　a　hard　man　to　debate；　Jack。〃
　　　〃I　just　speak　the　truth；　buddy。　That's　what　we're　here　for；　isn't　it？〃
　　　〃That's　the　theory；〃　Harding　had　to　admit。　This　Ryan　fellow　would　never　be　a　bureaucrat；　the　Brit　decided；　and　wondered　if　that　was　a　good　thing　or　bad。　The　Americans　took　a　different　slant　on　things；　and　the　contrast　to　his　own　organization's　take　was　entertaining；　at　least。　Ryan　had　a　lot　to　learn。。。　but　he　also　had　a　few　things　to　teach；　Harding　realized。　〃How's　your　book　ing　along？〃
　　　Ryan's　face　changed。　〃Haven't　gotten　much　work　done　lately。　I　do　have　my　puter　set　up。　Hard　to　concentrate　on　that　after　a　full　day　here…but　if　I　don't　make　the　time；　the　thing　will　never　get　done。　At　heart；　I'm　lazy；〃　Ryan　admitted。
　　　〃Then　how　did　you　bee　rich？〃　Harding　demanded。　He　got　a　grin。
　　　〃I'm　also　greedy。　Gertrude　Stein　said　it；　pal：　'I've　been　rich　and　I've　been　poor。　It's　better　to　be　rich。'　Truer　words　have　never　been　spoken。〃
　　　〃I　must　discover　that　for　myself　someday；〃　the　British　civil　servant　observed。
　　　Oops；　Ryan　thought。　Well；　it　wasn't　his　fault；　was　it？　Simon　was　smart　enough　to　make　money　in　the　real　world；　but　he　didn't　seem　to　think　in　those　terms。　It　made　good　sense　to　have　a　smart　guy　here　in　the　analyst　pool　at　Century　House；　even　though　that　meant　sacrificing　his　own　well…being　for　his　country。　But　that　was　not　a　bad　thing；　and　Ryan　reflected　that　he　was　doing　it；　too。　His　advantage　was　that　he'd　made　his　money　up　front　and　could　afford　to　kiss　this　job　off　and　go　back　to　teaching　whenever　the　urge　struck　him。　It　was　a　sort　of　independence　that　most　government　employees　would　never　know。。。　And　their　work　probably　suffered　because　of　it；　Jack　thought。
　　　Zaitzev　made　his　way　out　past　the　various　security　checkpoints。　Some　people　were　frisked　at　random　by　the　guards　to　make　sure　that　they　weren't　taking　anything　out　with　them；　but　the　checks…he'd　suffered　through　his　share　of　them…were　too　cursory　to　be　effective；　he　thought。　Just　enough　to　be　a　nuisance；　and　not　regular　enough　to　be　a　real　threat…perhaps　once　in　thirty　days…and；　if　you　got　frisked　one　day；　you　knew　you　were　safe　for　at　least　the　next　five　or　so；　because　the　guards　knew　all　the　faces　of　the　people　they　checked　out；　and　even　here　there　was　human　contact　and　friendly　relationships　among　the　employees；　especially　at　the　working　level…a　kind　of　blue…collar　solidarity　that　was　in　some　ways　surprising。　As　it　happened；　Zaitzev　was　allowed　to　pass　without　inspection　and　made　his　way　into　the　capacious　square；　then　walked　to　the　metro　station。
　　　He　didn't　usually　dress　in　the　paramilitary　uniform…most　KGB　employees　did　not　choose　to　do　so；　as　though　their　employment　might　make　them　seem　tainted　to　their　fellow　citizens。　Neither　did　he　hide　it。　If　anyone　asked；　he　gave　an　honest　answer；　and　the　questioning　usually　stopped　there；　because　everyone　knew　that　you　didn't　ask　questions　about　what　went　on　at　the　mittee　for　State　Security。　There　were　occasional　movies　and　TV　shows　about　KGB；　and　some　of　them　were　even　fairly　honest；　though　they　gave　little　away　concerning　methods　and　sources　beyond　what　some　fiction　writer　might　imagine；　which　wasn't　always　all　that　accurate。　There　was　a　small　office　at　The　Centre　that　consulted　on　such　things；　usually　taking　things　out　and…rarely…putting　accurate　things　in；　because　it　was　in　his　agency's　interest　to　be　fearful　and　forbidding　to　Soviet　citizens　and　foreigners　alike。　How　many　ordinary　citizens　supplement　their　ines　by　being　informers？　Zaitzev　wondered。　He　almost　never　saw　any　dispatches　about　that…that　sort　of　thing　rarely　went　overseas。
　　　The　things　that　did　go　out　of　the　country　were　troubling　enough。　Colonel　Bubovoy　would　probably　be　in　Moscow　the　next　day。　There　was　regular　air　service　between　Sofia　and　Moscow　through　Aeroflot。　Colonel　Goderenko　in　Rome　had　been　told　to　sit　down　and　shut　up；　and　to　forward　to　The　Centre　the　Pope's　appearance　schedule　for　the　indefinite　future。　Andropov　hadn't　lost　interest　in　that