Time of the Octopus: Based on the True Story of Whistleblower Edward Snowden

04:24 A.M._

The Lawyer’s phone began to vibrate on the table and the screen lit up.

“Just a moment!” The Lawyer pressed the button. “Yes! Good… Maybe it’s already a good morning, yes.”

He listened to the voice on the phone for a while, then it looked as if his face had begun to glow brightly from inside.

“Great!” The Lawyer smiled. “Yes, I’ll pass it on straight away. Thank you. All the best!”

Putting the phone aside, he looked at Kold slightly archly.

“In Russia on occasions like this people say: ‘You should dance, lucky man’. We’ve won, Mr. Kold. Your request has been met. I just had a call from the office of the head of the Federal Migration Service. Permission for temporary asylum in Russia for one year has been granted to you. The official document will be given to you in the nearest future.”

“Temporary asylum?” Kold said intently, looking straight at the Lawyer. “Please, explain…”

“Happily,” the Lawyer said, smiling, and taking a few pieces of paper from his briefcase: “Temporary asylum: the possibilities provided by the federal law ‘On Refugees’ to a foreign citizen or stateless person for a temporary stay on the territory of the Russian Federation.

“Temporary asylum can be granted to a foreign citizen or stateless person in two events:

“1) providing he has grounds for recognition as a refugee, and completes an application in writing with a request for temporary stay on the territory of the Russian Federation;

“2) if the person doesn’t have grounds for recognition as a refugee under the circumstances provided by the law of the Russian Federation ‘On Refugees’, but for humanitarian reasons cannot be expelled from the territory of the Russian Federation.

“In your case, Mr. Kold, we are dealing with the second point.”

“Humanitarian reasons,” Kold rubbed his chin in confusion. “Really… I never thought the moment would come when Russia would show humanity towards me.”

“Temporary asylum is provided for up to one year. The term of temporary asylum can be prolonged for each consecutive year by the decision of the territorial body on migration issues with which the person is registered,” the Lawyer went on. “A person, who receives temporary asylum, and members of his family arriving with him, have a right to use living accommodation on rental conditions, to receive assistance leaving the Russian Federation and can also claim other rights, provided by Russian Federation law, by international agreements of Russia and by the legislation for Russian Federation subjects.

“A person who receives temporary asylum in the Russian Federation has access to the internal labour market and can work without any special permission.”

“Oh, I can work in Russia and rent a flat here!” Kold exclaimed. He stood up, then sat down again and continued in complete confusion. “Honestly, I didn’t believe… The algorithm… You see – it’s been disrupted, it’s broken! I didn’t rely on Russia at all, I didn’t even consider it. I saw it only as a point of transit. I had everything itemised… I was going to travel, using only the airports of the states not on friendly terms with the United States. China, Russia, Cuba – and from there Ecuador, Bolivia or Venezuela. I considered all three possibilities. These were three of the most likely countries, although, in line with the algorithm, I applied to twenty-one countries… But when they began to play for time and then France and Portugal closed their airspace to Evo Morales’s aeroplane… Damn, I had been preparing to fly with him! And his plane was forced to land in Vienna and was searched as if it was an ordinary charter plane. Indeed, all animals are equal, but some are more equal and don’t care for international laws. I thought then that everything was lost… And to be honest, I thought that I’ll be here, in this underground prison, for the rest of my life. I did not suspect that you have such humane migration laws.”

“Congratulations, Mr. Kold,” the Lawyer put the papers aside and stretched out his hand. “This is our victory!”

Kold looked at the wide palm for a few seconds and then weakly shook it. The Lawyer felt the American shivering.

The phone rang again.

“There’s already an official statement from the Russian President,” the Lawyer said after a short conversation, passing the tablet over to Kold. The voice of the Russian leader sounded in the room.

“‘Cassandzhi and Kold consider themselves human rights activists who fight for freedom of information. Ask yourself a question: should people like this be handed over to be put into jail? Either way, I would’ve preferred not to deal with questions like that because it’s the same as cutting a piglet’s hair – a lot of screeching but little fur.’”

The Lawyer translated this difficult text, omitting the phrase about the piglet just in case.

“Is that all?” asked Kold with a rasping voice.

“Earlier the President said that you can feel safe in Russia,” the Lawyer smiled. “He also sympathises with you, Mr. Kold. He said that you are an odd lad and condemned yourself to a quite difficult life. This is true and you know it. But our President thinks that time will pass and America itself will understand that it’s dealing not with a traitor or a spy but with a man who has certain principles that can be considered in different ways. And maybe in this case some compromises will be found. But it definitely won’t happen now.”

“And thank God for that,” Kold folded his arms on the table like a schoolboy, then smiled shyly. “A path of a thousand li, as is well known, starts with the first step. I have come part of the way but I have to carry on until the end. Do you know what I want now?” he suddenly changed the subject and without waiting for an answer literally blurted out: “An ice-cream cake with pineapples and vanilla syrup! My father used to buy cake like this when I was little and we lived in Elizabeth City.”

“You look as if your cherished dream has come true,” the Lawyer noted. “But in the meantime…”

“In the meantime, it’s not the end; it’s the beginning of a new cycle,” Kold agreed. “Of course I understand it. I won’t be surprised if a reaction from the White House will follow immediately.”

“You’re absolutely right. I was told that a briefing from the White House Press Secretary Mr. Sarney will start in a few minutes. I think it might be useful for both of us to listen to him.”

“Yes, yes, of course…” Kold sighed deeply. It did not escape the Lawyer that he was lost in confusion again.

As the call signs of the official channel of the US President’s press service boomed from the screen, Kold fell silent. But the moment Jay Sarney appeared in front of the cameras, gleaming in his Harvard glasses, Kold said hurriedly:

“They are not going to say now that Obama has managed to make an agreement with Mr. Putin and I will be extradited? Right?”

“This night has exhausted you, my friend,” the Lawyer reassuringly patted Kold on the arm. “Don’t worry. As far as I know Mr. Putin is not one of those people who change their decisions easily. Everything will be fine.”

The Lawyer repeated last phrase in Russian and Kold repeated it like a mantra:

“Vsio budet khoroshio…”

In the meantime, Sarney’s firm, confident voice resounded in the room:

“‘The Russian Federal Migration Service has officially confirmed that they have granted temporary asylum for a period of one year to Mr. Kold and have allowed him to leave the airport. We are deeply disappointed that the Russian leadership has taken this step, contrary to our completely clear and lawful demands, expressed at both official and non-official levels, to extradite Mr. Kold to the USA where he is indicted.

“‘Mr. Kold is not a whistleblower. He was accused of the disclosure of classified information in accordance with three counts of criminal law and must be returned to the USA as soon as possible, where he will face all lawful procedures and where he will be provided with necessary protection.

“‘This action by the Russian leadership undermines the long-term history of our cooperation in the area of the rule of law – cooperation which very recently was at a high after the explosion during the Chicago marathon.’”

“You see?” The Lawyer leaned back on the chair. “He hasn’t said a single word about…”

“Wait!” Kold interrupted him rather crossly.

One of the journalists was asking a question:

“‘The Russian side has stated that they are not going to extradite him to the USA. So what are the next steps of the American administration in trying to bringing him back home?’”

Sarney replied, without changing his facial expression:

“‘We will continue contact with the Russian authorities, expressing our extreme disappointment with their decision and making it clear that there is an absolutely lawful rationale for returning Mr. Kold to the USA, where he is charged with three criminal accusations in relation to disclosure of classified information. He is not a dissident. He is not a whistleblower. He was convicted of a crime. Upon his return to the United States he will be granted all the rights and privileges provided to those accused within the framework of our legal system.

“‘We have expressed this point of view at an official level and in private conversations with representatives of the Russian leadership. Therefore I am confident that discussions will carry on.’”

“They are not talking about guarantees anymore,” Kold said quietly, keeping his gaze on the screen.

The Lawyer decided he should not say anything. After all, his client is not a child and doesn’t require consolation.

The briefing went on. The conversation came to the visit of the President of the USA to Russia.

“‘I am not prepared to talk today about the timetable of the President’s business trips.’” Sarney said. “‘Obviously, events are taking an unwanted turn. But because we have a wide circle of questions, in accordance with which we interact with Russia, we are now looking into the expediency of this visit.’”

“Tell me,” Kold asked suddenly, “Could a war start because of me?”

“Of course not,” the Lawyer indulged in a smile. “In the history of our countries’ relations there have been many more dramatic episodes, but on both our side and America’s, there have always been sober-minded politicians. I will go further – even such hawks as for example, Senator McCain really don’t want war. Politics is the art of possibility. Many people in it have a certain role but nobody wants to leave it and turn from tribune and demagogue into executioner and murderer. Especially because the same McCain had enough grief during the war in Vietnam.”

“Speak of the devil,” Kold nodded towards the screen. And there was a question in relation to McCain:

“‘Do you consider the actions of the Russian side as a conscious attempt to infringe upon the interests of the United States, as Senator McCain claims?’”

“‘We consider these actions as an unwanted development and we’re deeply disappointed by it,” Sarney rapped. “‘We’ve made it very clear that we have legitimate legal basis for returning Mr. Kold to the USA and that he will be granted all rights provided to those accused in our country within the framework of our legal system. As for the motivation for the actions of the Russian side, I’ll leave it to the Russian authorities to clarify.’”

A few more questions followed straight away:

“‘What are the diplomatic consequences of this step? And what are the possibilities in this regard beyond the diplomatic?’”

Sarney hesitated for a moment but quickly regained control:

“‘Your colleague just asked me a question about President Obama’s visit to Moscow. I have already stated that I cannot tell you what our decision will be at the moment. We are judging the expediency of this visit in the light of this and other events. But for now I can’t say what the decision will be.’”

“‘I would like to put a wider question,’” a large man in a blue suit asked. “‘In the light of this event have you considered rethinking the rebooting of the relationship between Russia and USA started by Hilary Clinton?’”

“‘Our relations with Russia, just as with other influential countries in the world, are based on realism,’” Sarney looked at the audience victoriously and continued: “‘And it’s absolutely clear that the so-called reboot in our relationship with Russia has brought positive results in relation to our national security and the interests of the American people. Thanks to that reboot we have Russian cooperation in the transit of cargo and materials to our military in Afghanistan. It has also provided us with cooperation in relation to Iran. It has provided Russian cooperation on a new agreement about the reduction of nuclear arms under START. And it has provided other forms of cooperation which benefit the United States, our people and our national security.

“‘During the evolution of our relations with Russia over the last four and a half years, we have had conflicts. We have had disagreements with Russia, and we have always stated our position in respect of these conflicts and disagreements very clearly. The last time was over the situation in Syria. That is how things were in the past and that is how it’ll be in the future.

“‘Of course, those who assumed it wasn’t worth rebooting our relationship with Russia after president Obama came to power, may today reiterate that the results achieved weren’t worth the effort spent on them. But I don’t think this is the case. And I don’t think that anyone can convincingly prove otherwise.’”

“They would justify their actions even if the whole world found out that they were killing and eating babies in the White House,” Kold said. “The octopus will never acknowledge that he is wrong. And at one point I really believed that everything would change with the arrival of Obama…”

“The most interesting bit is starting,” the Lawyer nodded at the screen. There was a dialogue emerging.

“‘Jay, what do you think the Russians are trying to achieve?’” a pleasant-looking blonde woman asked. “‘Obviously, when taking a decision to grant Kold asylum, they were not expecting their decision would be met with understanding in the White House…’”

Sarney answered at once:

“‘Yes, I don’t think they were expecting that.’”

“‘And yet they did it. Why, do you think?’” the blonde was pushing the Press Secretary, but hadn’t managed to confuse him.

“‘I was asked this question before,’” Sarney reassured her. “‘I am not going to invent motives for them. I guess the official representatives of Russia can explain them themselves. We are obviously disappointed in this development. We have a wide and important agenda for interaction with Russia. It includes the areas where we’ve achieved agreement and we cooperate, and it also includes areas where we have disagreements and conflicts.

“‘We stated long ago, just as president Putin did, that we don’t want the Kold affair to become a problem in our bilateral relations, because of their scale and importance. We are aware of this and will therefore continue moving forward in our relations with the Russian leadership.’”

The secretary announced a break in the briefing.

“This already looks like pouring water into mortar,” the Lawyer spread his arms. “But in politics it’s important to present a good face in a bad game. Mr. Sarney does it quite well.”

“In the book you gave me, I liked one phrase,” Kold said, looking at Sarney as he departed. “‘To judge people impartially, we need to reject our preconceived opinions and our habitual attitudes towards the people and objects that usually surround us.’ There in the White House, they think I’m just like everyone else, that they have calculated everything… Idiots! We are all different. Martin, Mitchell, Banning, Cassandzhi and I. Although there is one man I would associate myself with. He also wanted to make his country – and in the end the whole world – a better place.”

“And who is that?” the Lawyer asked with interest.

“Guy Fawkes!” Kold stated solemnly, and his eyes began to glitter. “Since I was a child I admired this man who wasn’t afraid to stand up against the cruel and unfair system existing at that time in England.”

“People say that in English schools children still learn a rhyme about Guy Fawkes,” the Lawyer noted: “‘Remember, remember the fifth of November, gunpowder treason and plot’.”

“There are two of them,” Kold said in his usual uninformative manner.

“Two of what?”

“Rhymes. They start in the same way but then… Compare them yourself, here’s the variation where Guy Fawkes is a sneaky traitor:

“Well, it doesn’t lack historic truthfulness,” the Lawyer smiled. “Guy Fawkes was a criminal.”

“He was a hero,” Kold objected. “A second rhyme says more:

“Hmm,” the Lawyer shook his head. “I haven’t heard this version before. But it doesn’t remove the essential truth: Guy Fawkes was plotting against the legitimate authority.”

“I’ve heard that’s happened a few times in Russia too,” Kold’s voice became sarcastic. “How many of your emperors didn’t live long enough to become old in the last two hundred and fifty years? Four?”

“Three,” the Lawyer smiled. “Paul I, Alexander II and Nicholas II. Though, if you count Peter III, then indeed there were four. As for English history, apart from the execution of Charles I after at least a parody of a court, there’ve been many similar things. How about Edward II killed with a red-hot poker up his back passage? So I would argue with English people on how law-abiding they are. But you Americans don’t take part in this argument.”

“That is because in our political system the power gets passed on painlessly by the establishment and the new administration doesn’t chop the heads off to the old one.”

“Dear Mr. Kold,” the Lawyer allowed himself some sarcasm too, “Today in this room we heard the words: ‘This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it. Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing Government, they can exercise their ‘constitutional’ right of amending it or their ‘revolutionary’ right to dismember or overthrow it’ (Lincoln’s inaugural address, 1861). You understand that these lines potentially contain more scaffolds and axes than the whole of English and Russian history put together?”

“Whose fault is it that we’ve became rams… I will quote Dostoevsky again,” Kold closed his eyes to try to remember the words. But he quickly snapped his fingers and almost shouted: “‘Power is given only to those who dare to bend and pick it up. But there’s only one thing, just one: dare!’”

The Lawyer didn’t think it appropriate to pursue this slippery subject, especially because the end of the break was just being announced at the White House.

The second part of the briefing began with a detailed question from a grey-haired man in glasses:

“‘Jay, you said Mr. Kold is not a whistleblower. But how about the fact that the House of Representatives voted for these programs and came close, it seems, to reducing them. During the hearings this week, the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee Patrick Lee cast doubt on them. And today, the president is meeting a group of legislators in White House, some of who also doubt these programs. So is it possible that Mr. Kold has in some sense done a service to the American people and to the nations of the world by declassifying these programs, if you take into consideration the public indignation they have provoked?’”

“The first proper question!” Kold moved forward, staring at the screen.

“‘When a man gives an oath to keep the secrets of the United States, he has to keep them – and if he doesn’t then appropriate consequences come,’” Sarney was looking over the heads of the journalists. “‘There are also established procedures for potential whistleblowers, for those who wish to give information about a violation. An unauthorized disclosure of classified information can bring great harm to the interests of our national security.’”

“Is that all he can say?” Kold was sincerely surprised. “Where did this guy come from anyway? I wouldn’t trust him to advertise popcorn in a cinema.”

The grey gentleman persisted:

“‘But if he hadn’t publicised these programs, then people would never have known about them. And we would not be discussing them today. And he would still be in the United States. But he dared to do it. He revealed these programs.’”

Sraney looked annoyed but his voice came out evenly and without emotion:

“‘Yes, we’ve found out much from this unauthorized disclosure of classified information. But even so, these programs were already being discussed and controlled by Congress and the courts, and they already contain protective elements to balance security and privacy. And the President has made it very clear that he wishes to achieve this balance. He supports this balance, considers that this balance has been found and he also thinks that there should be a discussion about these problems. And that is what he’s engaged in now.

‘Today, as you probably know, he is meeting with members of Congress – the Senate and the House of Representatives, both Republicans and Democrats, to discuss these problems. Among the participants invited there are congressmen critical of the programs we discussed in sections 215 and 702 of the Surveillance Act.”

“Demagogy!” Kold shouted. “Ah, how I would liked to tell them in person. Vile hypocrites!”

“You will have this opportunity,” the Lawyer said quietly.

“‘Without doubt, our intelligence services require adequate instruments to protect our national interests, to protect us from possible attacks,’” Sarney continued, “‘And, I assume, the majority of Americans will agree with them.

“‘We also develop these programs in such a way that we lay in various safety elements and a multi-layer control system to guarantee that they do not violate the right of American citizens to privacy. This is the balance about which the President speaks. And this is the balance which underpins the implementation of these programs. With the agreement of the acting administration, the Department of National Intelligence has made efforts to declassify a significant amount of information after Kold’s leaks. And I am certain that this process will continue. But I don’t think that we can responsibly state that these programs, intended to protect us from terrorist acts, are not needed right now.’”

“‘So the President thinks that these programs should have been kept secret?’” the correspondent asked.

“‘Again, you’re mixing different problems. The fact that the Patriot Act and FISA are confirmed is well known. Congress is aware of these documents. The general public also knew about them. Certainly, there are details in these programs which the public has discovered as a result of the leaks. But the President is convinced that it’s unacceptable to make extremely sensitive classified information public, because it can harm interests in our national security, and already has. It can endanger our citizens.’”

“He is wriggling like an eel in a fishing basket!” Kold noted with satisfaction, then turned to the Lawyer: “Although I have to admit that your analogy of the snake and the frying pan is better.”

“I don’t envy him,” the Lawyer grinned. “You have made him sweat, Mr. Kold.”

“Though who would envy me,” Kold answered in annoyance, drumming his fingers on the table. “God knows, I didn’t want this sort of fame and would’ve preferred the whole story not to have any publicity. I cannot imagine how they figured out it was me so quickly?”

“By using the same programs you informed Greywald about,” the Lawyer suggested.

“Then in my case, they’ve worked extra efficiently…”

At that moment, another question came:

“‘Republican Senator Graham has called the release of Joshua Kold a change in the rules of the game in Russian-American relations. Has it really gone that far?’”

Sarney sighed:

“‘I’ve already said quite clearly that we are deeply disappointed by the fact that the Russian authorities made this step, contrary to our clear and legitimate demand made at official levels and during private conversations to expel Kold from Russia and return him to the USA. Again, as I said before, I’m not going to make any guesses about the result of our discussions with Russian official representative on this and other questions currently on the negotiating table, except to say that we are deeply disappointed with the turn of the events. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen! Goodbye.’”

And without looking at the audience, Sarney quickly left the stage.

The Lawyer switched the TV off.