Chapter 5
The intelligence agencies of the world regularly try to eavesdrop on each other. This is done by monitoring the radio traffic emanating from a particular country. All the major powers and many of those who have pretensions of being major powers, have listening stations scattered over their territories which do this job. This catch-all method is rather like panning the silt of a river for that elusive speck of gold. It is possible to strike pay-dirt sometimes, but the odds against success are astronomical. The more accurate method is by bugging a suspected target. This method has obviously a much greater chance of coming up with sensitive information, the only problem is, the intelligence community is quite paranoid about bugging, and every intelligence outfit worth the name, takes a lot of trouble securing itself against this form of electronic snooping. Nonetheless prospects of breaking in the secrets of the adversary are so alluring that the race to perfect newer and more ingenious bugging devices goes on. It is a cat and a mouse game. Every advance in the technology of bugging is met with a corresponding progress in anti-bugging devices. But as elsewhere in life, here chance seems to favour the cat who wants to break in, rather than the mouse who only wants to protect itself. Therefore stories of intelligence scoops based on electronic snooping are not all that unusual.
The headquarters of intelligence agencies are natural targets for this kind of electronic surveillance, and the agencies naturally take great pains to sanitise their environment and make it bug proof. The Central Intelligence Agency is no exception in this regard. Its headquarters at Langley, in the state of Virginia, is situated in a building that is shaped like a dumbbell, two circular wings connected by a central corridor. The building stands in a perimeter of more than a hundred acres, protected by a wall with watch towers every fifty meters. There are no trees in a belt of about thirty yards that runs around the perimeter. Trees are home to birds and rodents, they can be used for climbing over and hiding in. They provide roosting places for homing pigeons, some of which may contain bugging devices. It is therefore best to keep a part of the premises, if not most of it, clear of trees. That is why you do not find many trees in the compound of the Central Intelligence Agency, even though many of the directors have been passionate amateur gardeners.
In recent years the Chinese have, for obvious reasons stepped up their intelligence gathering in the USA. China sees itself as the next superpower and the future rival of the US. Given its highly intelligent and industrious population and vast land mass, this is quite a reasonable proposition. But if China is to come abreast of the US it has to bridge the technological gap between the two countries, which is still quite huge in many areas, and for this espionage provides a cheap and quick alternative to indigenous research. One bugging device that the Chinese have developed lately is the butterfly, and it so happened that Bill Hornby, who who happened to be the director of the agency at the time of this story fell an unwitting victim to this device.
The butterfly is just that; a butterfly that looks in every way like a the real thing. Only in this case, its body is made of nylon and its tiny antennae and miniscule body contain a powerful recorder that can receive and store even the faintest of sound signals. The Chinese say that the butterfly can record even the tiny sounds made by a moth as it feeds on leaves-- it is that sensitive. Retrieval is quite easy, because these butterflies can fly like real thins, their wings can be moved at high speed by a small built-in motor and their flight can be guided by a remote control device. It is a simple matter therefore to guide these butterflies to alight on the clothes of an insider who is likely to sit in on a meeting where classified information is to be discussed. There they sit, attached to the fabric by their velcro talons, virtually undetectable because they have no metal parts and do not transmit any signals that can be picked up. When the important proceedings have been recorded they fly away innocently, for the all the world like a real butterfly flying away.
It was one these butterflies, or a moth whose mottled brown colour blended perfectly with the brown jacket that he was wearing, that alighted on Bill Hornby's suit as he sat drinking tea in his house. The butterfly remained sitting on his back when he entered his room in the CIA building in Langley undetected by all the electronic gadgetry and other security devices that are employed in this fortress like building. Among the many precautions that are taken to protect the secrecy of this building, no one, it seems, has yet thought of insisting on a change of clothing or a strip down under an air jet. Who knows, one day, even this might become standard operating procedure. But until that day comes, if you have the electronic wizardry to design a device like the butterfly, you still have a chance to take a peek into the doings of the agency.
However all this is to anticipate things. For the purposes of this narrative, it is necessary first to mention that Bill Hornby was summoned to the White House one winter morning, not long after the meeting between the Tibetan Lama and the Foreign Office mandarin took place. The President nearing the end of his term, was relaxed and affable. After briefing Hornby about the discussions that he had with the British Prime Minister, he came to his own plan of action. "So there you have it Bill, a secret treaty, that no one knows of and that could profoundly alter the course of history, if only we could lay our hands on it.
"What do you want us to do Mr President?"
"I want you to send your best operatives into Tibet and get this treaty out."
"Why not get the Brits to do the job. It was they who started the Great Game after all, and they still claim to be good players." Hornby, who was of Scottish ancestry, still looked upon English as the old Enemy."
"They are in this with us, but they haven't got sufficient penetration in the area. Besides, it is the US which is the superpower and we have to take the initiative in a matter like this."
"Mr President, have you thought of the damage to Sino-US relations that would follow an operation like this. China is a vast market, a potential gold mine for US companies."
"Yes, Bill I have thought of that, that is why I want you organize this operation in such a way that it looks like the doing of the Tibetan underground. A lone ranger act, without the trace of any super-power involvement. No one should be able to point a finger at us, should things go wrong. You know what that means, Bill?"
"I know, it means sitting tight and letting our man fend for himself. It means letting the Chinese torture the poor bastard, should he, or she, be so unfortunate as to fall into their hands. It means masterly inactivity. It means practically a death warrant for whoever is assigned this job, which is why I don't like the look of it. Mr President, why can't we let the Tibetans do this on their own, or even bring the Indians into it?"
"The Indians will be in on it. I have talked to the Indian Prime Minister and he is pretty enthusiastic about the thing, The Indians will provide the logistical support and do the rescue act, should this be necessary," said the President, "So you don't have to write off your operative, whoever you decide to send in. As for you first question, I want you to do this job, because I want the US to have the treaty in its hands. I don't want the diplomatic leverage to go to someone else. And yes, I want history to know that we had a role to play in furthering the aspirations of the Tibetan people. Call it my last bow, if you like, my parting shot eh?"
"All right, Mr President, if that's the way you want it, that's the way it shall be."
"One last question Bill, who are you going to put on the job?" Said the President.
"Mary Job Cameron."
"A woman? For God's sale Bill!"
"Yes Mr President, simply because she is the best operative we have, and she is the only one who looks and talks lile a native Chinese. There os no else who could do this job, not on their own,"
"Poor woman," said the President.
Bill Hornby came back and summoned a meeting. His Chief of staff, carl Rogers, Mary joe herself, and the China expert Ed Sanders attended. Hornby briefly explained the scenario to the assembled trio.
"Well that's the long and short of it. The first question that I want to ask you is, can it be done? Carl?"
"I would say yes, provided we can do two things. First whoever we send in must have a pretty good cover, and I presume the moving finger will stop with Mary Joe, so she must have a pretty good cover. Second, she must be able to dodge the Chinese security in the Potala where presumably the treaty lies, and be able to get it out of the building without detection. If we can do these two things, the rest should not be difficult." Said Carl Rogers.
"All right, first things first, what cover do you suggest," asked Hornby.
"Well the closer to the truth the better, why can't we send her in simply as an American tourist. Tourists are now allowed into the Potala. What's to stop her from detaching herself from the tour party and then going off to look for the treaty." Said Carl Rogers.
"No! that's ruled out, because if things go wrong fingers will immediately point at us, and that's to be avoided at all cost. This has to look like a local job, with the Tibetan resistance behind it." Hornby was emphatic.
"Then Mary Joe will have to go in as a Chinese, how about a Chinese doctor.?" Said Rogers.
Mary Joe spoke for the first time. "I know nothing about medicine, carl."
But Rogers was not to be put off, "well, how about a Tibetologist then, working at some good Chinese university. That would also explain her interest in the Potala."
The China expert now entered the conversation, "there are no Tibetologists in China Carl, the only experts on Tibet are in the People's Liberation Army, and their expertise is only in military matters. No, my suggestion would be for Mary Joe to become a Chinese Policewoman, or better still to enter the CITS, the official Chinese tourist service, who conduct visitors inside the Potala."
"And how am I expected to do that?" asked Mary Joe.
"Quite simple! my dear, you have only to enter Lhasa with a Chinese identity, find a Chinese host and then use your considerable charms to find an opening in the Chinese tourist service." The China expert was almost jocular.
His suggestion however was taken seriously by Hornby. "That's settled then. The next question is how does she go in. The simplest option is an air drop over Lhasa. A high flying B52 Super fortress bomber could drop her over the city at night time without anyone getting wind of it. How about it eh!?"
Carl Rogcn and the China expert seemed to agree. "I think on balance much the safrst option, unless she has the misfortune to land in an army camp or walk into a PLA patrol." Said Rogers.
It was at this point that the China expert noticed the strange moth sitting on the back of Bill Hoenby's brown jacket. "Bill," Said the China expert. "I didn't know you went picking wild flowers in the woods of Virginia?"
"I don't."
"Then how do you happen to have this strange creature on your back. I have also studied the genus Lepidopetra, but never seen a specimen like this one. A rare being indeed." With this, he gingerly lifted the butterfly off Hornby's jacket and looked at it closely. "Ah, the creature seems lifeless. Hullo! what is this, by God! This is the cleverest bugging device I have seen yet, have a look chief!"
The little bug was dissected methodically to reveal the tiny radio operated motor that moved the wings, the miniature recorder and the small antennae that also acted as microphones, picking up sound signals and sending them to the recorder. There was also a little capsule of some radio active material that puzzled the spy masters.
"What's this?" asked Homby, picking up the small button shaped object.
"Drop that chief!" said Clark with sudden alarm. Look at the Geiger counters. They are going wild. This is radio active. Probably plutonium oxide, could be a new kind of signalling device."
"Gosh! This means someone has been listening in? Who?"
"Could be anyone. Could be the Chinese. I have heard they have perfected something like this," said the China expert, picking up the dismantled wings of the butterfly.
"Clark, is it possible to transmit anything from this room?" asked Hornby
"Not with these mufflers and dampers. They would intercept any electro- magnetic radiation and absorb it, but gamma rays, who knows? There is no known technology yet, for using them to transmit anything."
"There is possibility therefore that some of what we have been discussing might be known to a third party, possibly hostile to us."
''That's a very slight possibility. This is most probably simply a recording device. However the possibility can't be entirely discounted."
"Assuming the worst, supposing we have been overheard, does it mean, we have to abort the mission," asked Hornby.
"Not necessarily, Bill," it was Mary Joe who broke in, "the Chinese do not know enough about the mission for us to abort it, they have no idea of where the secret location is within the Potala. They can't get at the treaty, on their own, even if they ransack the archives, which they have already done. They could try to strip down everything, look into cupboards and under floorboards, and so on, but the Potala has more than a thousand rooms. The process could take years. All that they can do is to increase surveillance in and around Lhasa. Be on the watch for an intruder. That's all."
"Which makes your job that much harder." Said Hornby.
"It also means no air dropping over Lhasa. I am afraid Mary Joe will have to enter Lhasa the hard way, "said the China expert.
"You mean through China, or through the Himalayan passes and then on to Lhasa,"asked Hornby.
"No sir, we can't use the Chinese route for the same reason we can't use the air drop. Too risky. There would be increased vigilance over Lhasa and the Chinese entry points into Lhasa, both through Schezwan, and the northern route through Amdo are very closely watched by the China. Security is much tighter here than within Tibet. The same applies to the main routes from India, going go Tibet. They are bristling with PLA encampments and military traffic. No! Mary Joe will to have to get into Lhasa the hard way, from the north, via the Chang Tang, Tibet's empty quarter, and then cross the Nyenchen Thagla, into Lhasa. That is to say if she can cross them, they are an almost vertical mountain wall that defeated Sven Hedin in 1908." Said the China expert.
''What's the Chang Tang like Ed? "
"A barren windswept wilderness nearly twice the size of Texas, Where the temperatures often drop 50 below zero and winds gust upto sixty miles an hour. Sven Hedin wandered there for fifty four days, without seeing another human being. Apart from a few nomads who live in their yak-hair tents, no one lives there, at least not in the northern portions. There are plenty of wild animals however, vast herds of antelope, the wild ass which the Tibetans call Kiyang, herds of Yak, packs of wolves, even bears and snow leopards. These animals wander over the plain without any fear of man, for the Tibetans being Buddhists do not believe in hunting wild animals. Mary Joe can count on plenty of company, though not, I am afraid, on human company.''
"A pretty god-forsaken place huh!," said Hornby, "this means we have to bring the Tibetans into it. No one can do this journey alone, not Mary Joe, not Scott and Shackleton, even if they combined."
The Tibetans have to be brought into anyway, remember, you said you want to make it look like a local Job. Besides they are the only ones who know where the secret chamber is. We can't get to the treaty without their co- operation." Said Mary Joe.
"Absolutely," said Hornby, "and for the same reason we have to bring in the Indians. The training and final preparations for this mission will have to be done on their territory and we will have to sneak Mary Joe into Tibet from some unguarded mountain pass between Tibet and India, if that is possible. If that is not possible the Indians will have to find a way of smuggling her in. Mary Joe, my dear, if I were you I would get ready to fly to India."
