Aslan Norval

13.

Accompanied by her secretary, Aslan called a cab and drove to her hotel. She took a short hot bath, threw herself onto the bed, closed her eyes, and banished all thoughts having to do with the hearing.

As Aslan had wished, Amy appeared by her bedside forty minutes later: “Ma’am, it’s time. Your meal is served.”

Aslan picked out a new dress. When she entered the living room, she found Amy already sitting at the table with a platter of beef and four kinds of vegetables in front of her.

“It’s a shame, ma’am, that you can’t eat such a good meal as this. It is wonderful, and I am hungry as a wolf in northern Manitoba in the deepest winter.”

“Have you ever been to Manitoba, Amy?”

“Three years ago. But it was summer. It was lovely. Many lakes. Many mosquitoes. Friendly inhabitants. And the food! Every plate you got would have fed four people.”

Aslan looked at the slab of meat on Amy’s plate as she was cutting off a nice chunk dripping with red juice. Squinting at Amy’s meal with longing, Aslan said: “Order this dish for me later tonight, Amy. However, given the hot afternoon I am about to face in the hearing, I will stick to my normal daily lunch so as to keep it light on my stomach.”

It was indeed a modest meal for a healthy young woman like Aslan who had been on her feet since six o’clock in the morning: a soft-boiled egg, a sandwich with one slice of ham and one slice of cheese, three salad leaves, a pear, a banana, an apple, and a large glass of milk.

“Have you talked to Mr. Beckford on the phone, Amy?” asked Aslan, pulling the slice of cheese out of the sandwich and placing it back on the plate for fear of overeating.

“Yes, ma’am, while you were asleep. He said he would be here on time with the materials you put on the list for this afternoon.”

“Putting materials in order and having them ready at exactly the right second is something he knows how to do. It seems that’s the only thing he’s good for at all.”

“Maybe so. But do you know, ma’am, this Mr. Beckford really is incorrigible. He asked me again—and in the middle of the hearing—whether I would marry him, and if I didn’t want to get married whether I would at least go out to dinner with him.”

“And you, Amy, said yes, of course.”

“Me? I don’t think so. He’s not my type. Too heavy for me and my feelings.”

“Too heavy for you and your feelings?” Aslan gazed into her secretary’s face inquisitively, apparently trying to figure out the meaning of Amy’s words. But Amy was so busy with her steak at that moment that she was clearly not thinking about an answer. “He is,” said Aslan, “exactly the kind of guy to become a Marine Corps sergeant, and probably not even a good one at that. He has no idea what to do with a brain.”

“But, ma’am, he does have something boyish about him. He never feels responsible, no matter what he is doing or plans to do. He just lives in the moment. He doesn’t worry about the future.”

“That’s possible. I’ve never considered him from that perspective. I just haven’t had enough time. And no interest. He can be entertaining for a quarter of an hour. But then he really gets on your nerves. However, for me and my plans, he’s the most suitable man I’ve been able to find. Without a brain, without imagination, without the ability to think for himself. A drill sergeant.”

“I think that it’s time to go, ma’am,” said Amy, washing down her last bite with a sip of water.

Aslan got up and stretched. “I feel like new. The hardest part is over. The honorable pencil pushers listened to me and allowed me to explain what I had to clarify. And that, if I may say so myself, is a great success.”

When Aslan and Amy were sitting in the cab, Amy asked innocently: “Ma’am, do you think that you have convinced the gentlemen that your company is healthy and that there is not the slightest fraud at play?”

“Amy,” said Aslan, checking her freshly made-up face in a little hand mirror, “Amy, you little innocent lamb. Have you not realized that I am acting in the loveliest and most amusing comedy with these venerable gentlemen?”

“What do you mean, ma’am?”

“It’s a propaganda comedy, my little lamb. Oh, here we are. Pay the driver.”

A few minutes later, Aslan was back in the chamber. A few senators were loitering in order to listen to some of the lobbyists in the hallway and to figure out how much they might gain from this or that promise and what personal advantages such a half affirmation might bring them.

Dozens of attentive women watching from home had nothing better to do than to sketch the outlines of Aslan’s dress. They guessed that it must have been made in Paris; since nothing like it was available in New York. In fact, this heavenly creation came from Vienna.

Senator Drake chaired the committee now. He noticed Beckford, who was fiddling with maps, boards, and tables, and remembered how his victorious moment had been spoiled when Aslan came to Beckford’s rescue the day before. He said to himself: “I abhor this bear of a man. I can’t stand him. He hasn’t done anything to me, but I would hold him in contempt of this court if I could. What an unpleasant character! I wonder where she found him. He must be the errand boy of the company, even if they are presenting him here as the general manager. She took his place just in time, and now she’s running the show. And how well she does it. Instead of fearing us, now we are the ones who have started to fear her. One wrong word, and she’s got us. Thirty—oh, who am I kidding, sixty million people are watching and laughing at us as this heiress makes a mockery of us.”

“Miss Norval,” he started, “let us forget about other canals, and the prices of grain, cotton, sugarcane, and coffee! Let us also forget the state of Illinois and let us finally talk about your canal, which the company you founded plans to build.”

“If you misunderstood me, sir, then I apologize with all due respect. However, I cannot defend our project successfully if I’m not allowed to compare our allegedly unfeasible plan with others that are similar and were indeed successfully executed.”

“Would you not agree, Miss Norval, that the Panama Canal, which the U.S. already owns, fulfills its purpose and renders your project redundant?”

“Whether the Panama Canal fulfills its purpose is a question that has not been answered to date.”

“Now, how are we supposed to understand that, Miss Norval?”

“Since you’ve now brought up the Panama Canal again, it seems very important to return to this point, both for the purposes of this investigation and for the defense of our project. The question of the Panama Canal might in fact force our government to participate actively in our project.”

“Are you not exaggerating a little, Miss Norval?”

“Not at all, sir.”

Aslan moved her hand, and a map of Panama as well as three boards full of numbers appeared behind her.

“Gentlemen, I am not including the costs for the construction of the Panama Canal itself in the sum of money I will mention here. That amount constitutes the indemnity that we paid to the Republic of Panama to ensure their continued friendship.”

“An indemnity, Miss Norval?”

“That is right, an indemnity. Or rather, we should call it a bribe. Let us enumerate: In 1904, our government paid Panama ten million dollars for the right to use the canal zone. Between 1914 and 1936, our government paid Panama two hundred fifty thousand dollars annually. In gold, I might add. That already adds up to five million seven hundred fifty thousand dollars. The Panamanian government demanded an increase of the indemnity, and therefore our government paid four hundred thirty thousand dollars annually between 1937 and 1955, although no longer in gold. In 1955, our government pledged to pay one million nine hundred thirty thousand dollars each year. And please note that Panama demanded an annual payment of five million dollars before the signing of the agreement in 1955. Currently, Panama insists on a yearly indemnity of fifty percent of net earnings.

“Gentlemen, if you add it all up, our government has paid about thirty million dollars to the Panamanian government since 1904. That sum does not include the twenty-five million dollars in gold that our government paid Colombia in 1921 as compensation for the loss of Panama, which had been a province of Colombia before our government took over. By the end of 1960, we will have paid approximately sixty-four million dollars for the right to use the canal zone. That is a truly gigantic sum for a strip of relatively infertile land, ten miles wide and fifty miles long, half of which is water.

“And now, gentlemen, if you think about the enormous sums of money that we pay Panama, which will probably increase considerably in the future, I ask you: Does our government have any guarantee that Panama will not demand the return of the canal zone one day, unexpectedly and without warning? Demand its return on the basis that the zone is an integral part of Panama—and therefore, ‘Foreigners, get out of Panama, especially Yankees.’”

“Miss Norval, I assure you that this will not happen.”

“Oh, it will not? Are you sure, Mr. Senator? Is it not a mistake to deny that the possibility exists? We do not have a permanent guarantee for our supposed rights in Panama. No guarantee and no security. What happened in Egypt a few years ago can happen in Panama any day.”

“Never, Miss Norval. Never. The circumstances are completely different and cannot be compared in any way, shape, or form with those of the Suez Canal.”

“I apologize, Mr. Chairman, I disagree. The circumstances are not as different as they might seem upon superficial examination.”

“Different or the same, Miss Norval. We will know how to defend rights that we obtained legally and through mutual agreement.”

“Of course, Mr. Chairman. Of course. We will send our Marine Corps troops to Panama, like we sent them to Nicaragua when we planned to build a canal through that country. Honorable committee, the growth of our neighbor, Latin America, is downright eerie. It is not the weak, helpless, economically dependent Latin America that existed when our government committed the irresponsible error of bombing the Mexican port of Veracruz. Nor is it the Latin America of thirteen years later, when we committed a similarly embarrassing error by occupying Nicaragua for six years, supporting a dictator and tyrant of the worst kind until the day of his assassination.

“Gentlemen, today, Latin America is a power of approximately two hundred million very enterprising people, full of nationalism of the kind that our country does not even see during wartime. If the republic of Panama were to announce an end to our friendship—a friendship forced upon them—and our government attempted to deal with the termination of our relationship by sending the Marine Corps, we would have all of Latin America against us. We would have a much larger force against us than the British and French, who stood against the entire Arab world when they attempted to take back the Suez Canal with the help of airplanes, warships, and tanks. We should not get the wrong impression about the peoples of Latin America. They do not hate us. That is true. Nevertheless, they do not like us regardless of the number of beautiful speeches or mutual visits. One of the reasons why they distrust us is that our government supports every dictator morally and economically, no matter how bloodthirsty and tyrannical he may be. We keep those tyrants in power as long as they serve certain powerful circles in our country in political and financial terms. Our government is cleverly attempting to prevent a unification of the Latin American peoples, like the Arab peoples are doing at the moment. You might think that the motto of our government is to keep those countries apart to make them more amenable to our wishes and interests. And I doubt that we could count on Canada in a serious conflict with Latin America.

“The time of solving political errors with weapons is over—absolutely over. It is doubtful that weapons have ever resolved anything of a lasting character anywhere in the world. I personally cannot remember a single case in history when a war, a military occupation, or a dictator’s decree achieved something that was not lost within a generation due to rebellions, uprisings, or clever abuse of political and economic entanglements. Gentlemen, look at India, Indonesia, Indochina, Egypt, Sudan, Tunisia, Morocco, Libya, Cyprus, and Algeria. You may also rest assured that the vassal states of the Soviet Union will not remain where they are today. Not a single one will remain. None of the political or economic systems in existence today will continue to exist. It is a matter of root causes and their consequences based on human character. The history of humanity tries to make us understand this fact. However, we do not seem willing to pay enough attention to the lessons of history. The dignified men in power are as stubborn and obstinate as a roulette player who claims to be following his lucky star. They continue to commit the same errors over and over in their blind belief that this time, in their one particular case, the final advantage will be on their side despite ten-thousand-year-old lessons of history.” The chairman’s neighbor, Senator Clifford, lightly tapped him on the shoulder to catch his attention. Understanding, the chairman nodded at Senator Clifford, picked up his mallet, and energetically pounded the table several times.

“Miss Norval, why are you telling us all this? It really does not have anything, absolutely anything, to do with the matter at hand.”

“Mr. Chairman, with all due respect, I honestly thought that the honorable gentlemen of the committee would have guessed my intention by now. Allow me to explain it briefly: Let us look at the Republic of Panama, and not only their government, but the people of Panama, who have never had any say in any negotiations or treaties since the abundantly dark circumstances of the founding of the Republic of Panama. Let us assume that the people remember that they have an inalienable right to their homeland: a right that a government installed by one foreign power cannot sell to another foreign power. And suppose that the people of Panama insist on the return of their native land, then what, Mr. Chairman? Will we honor the right of the Panamanian to self-determination? Or will our Marines teach the Panameños the necessary respect for the so-called holy treaties with machine guns, bayonets, and if they must, with atom bombs? I am not a prophet, gentlemen, but I am convinced that our government will be in hot water about the Panama Canal much sooner than we might think, given current global developments.”

“Miss Norval,” the chairman interrupted her, “I think that it is not our job here to worry about complications and difficulties that will probably never occur.”

“As you say, Mr. Senator, they will probably never happen. However, your choice of the word ‘probably’ allows for the possibility that such a complication might occur, even in your own mind.”

The chairman looked at Aslan blankly. Apparently, he did not know how to reply. He looked at his watch, compared it to the clock on the wall, glanced at his colleagues, rapped his gavel, and announced: “The committee has decided to adjourn the hearing until Monday at eleven o’clock in the morning. At that time, the questioning will continue.”

He rapped the gavel again. All those present rose, and the senators disappeared in order to come up with questions for the next interrogation, while the cameras followed their every movement.

“Good grief, I am so happy,” said Aslan to Beckford. “I am so glad that they adjourned the meeting. I was so caught up that I did not know how to get back to our canal. I can deal better with direct questions.”

“What do you need on Monday, ma’am?” asked Beckford.

“Every statistic that might possibly come up.”

Beckford was also glad that they had adjourned the hearing. He was pretty sure that one of the assistants in uniform who kept cavorting around him would not be opposed to a dinner invitation. He figured he could bribe her and make her more willing by offering her a job in his office. Assistant secretary or something like that. After all, her salary would not come out of his own pocket.

She accepted the invitation. However, when they arrived at her hotel, she said a quick “Good night!” and disappeared inside. That was all.