Page 488 of Edge of Eternity (The Century 3)

"That's kind of awesome."

"Yeah."

They told him the story of their escape in detail. "Looking back, it was easy," Alice said. "But at the time I was scared to death."

They were living temporarily in an apartment rented for them by the Franck factory accountant, Enok Andersen. "What are you going to do, long term?" Walli asked.

Helmut said: "I'm an electrical engineer, but I'd like to learn about business. Next week I'm going on the road with one of the salesmen for Franck televisions. Your father, Werner, says that's the way to begin."

Alice said: "In the East I was working in a pharmacy. At first I'll probably do the same here, but one day I'd like to have my own shop."

Walli was pleased they were thinking about work. He had nursed a secret anxiety that they might want to live on his money, which would have been bad for them. He smiled and said: "I'm glad neither of you wants to be in the music business."

Alice said: "But the main thing we want to do is have children."

"I'm so glad. I can't wait to be a granddad rock star. Are you going to get married?"

"We've been talking about that," she said. "We never cared about it, living in the East, but now we kind of want to. How would you feel about that?"

"Marriage itself is not a big issue for me, but I'd be kind of thrilled if you decided to do it."

"Good. Daddy, would you sing at my wedding?"

That came from behind and knocked Walli over. It was all he could do not to cry. "Sure, honey," he managed to say. "I'd be glad to." To cover his emotion he turned to the television.

The screen was showing a demonstration the previous evening in Leipzig, in East Germany. Protesters carrying candles marched in silence from a church. They were peaceful, but police vans drove into the crowd, running over several people, then the cops jumped out and started arresting marchers.

Helmut said: "Those bastards."

Walli said: "What is the demonstration about?"

"The right to travel," said Helmut. "We've escaped, but we can't go back. Alice has you, now, but she can't visit her mother. And I'm separated from both my parents. We don't know if we'll ever see them again."

Alice said angrily: "People are demonstrating because there's no reason why we should live like this. I should be able to see my mother as well as my father. We should be allowed to go to and fro between East and West. Germany is one country. We should get rid of that Wall."

"Amen to that," said Walli.

*

Dimka liked his boss. Gorbachev in his deepest soul believed in the truth. Since Lenin died, every Soviet leader had been a liar. They had all glossed over what was wrong and declined to acknowledge reality. The most striking characteristic of Soviet leadership for the last sixty-five years was the refusal to face facts. Gorbachev was different. As he struggled to navigate through the storm that was battering the Soviet Union, he held on to that one guiding principle, that the truth must be told. Dimka was full of admiration.

Both Dimka and Gorbachev were pleased when Erich Honecker was deposed as leader of East Germany. Honecker had lost control of the country and the party. But they were disappointed by his successor. To Dimka's annoyance, Honecker's loyal deputy, Egon Krenz, took over. It was like replacing Tweedledum with Tweedledee.

All the same, Dimka thought Gorbachev would have to give Krenz a helping hand.

The Soviet Union could not permit the collapse of East Germany. Perhaps the USSR could live with democratic elections in Poland and market forces in Hungary, but Germany was different. It was divided, like Europe, into East and West, Communist and capitalist; and if West Germany were to triumph that would signal the ascendancy of capitalism, and the end of the dream of Marx and Lenin. Even Gorbachev could not allow that--could he?

Krenz made the usual pilgrimage to Moscow two weeks later. Dimka shook the hand of a fleshy-faced man with thick gray hair and a look of smug satisfaction. He might have been a heartthrob in his youth.

In the grand office with the yellow-paneled walls, Gorbachev greeted him with cool courtesy.

Krenz brought with him a report by his chief economic planner saying that East Germany was bankrupt. The report had been suppressed by Honecker, Krenz claimed. Dimka knew that the truth about East Germany's economy had been hidden for decades. All the propaganda about economic growth had been lies. Productivity in factories and mines was as low as 50 percent of that in the West.

"We have kept going by borrowing," Krenz told Gorbachev, sitting on a black leather chair in the grand Kremlin room. "Ten billion deutschmarks a year."

Even Gorbachev was shocked. "Ten billion?"

"We have been taking out short-term loans to pay the interest on long-term loans."

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