David Wingrove - Chung Kuo 2 - The Broken Wheel

Chung Kuo. The words mean "Middle Kingdom," and since 221 B.C., when the first emperor, Ch'in

Shih Huang Ti, unified the seven Warring States, it is what the "black-haired people," the Han, or

Chinese, have called their great country. The Middle Kingdom—for them it was the whole world; a

world bounded by great mountain chains to the north and west, by the sea to east and south. Beyond

was only desert and barbarism. So it was for two thousand years and through sixteen great dynasties.

Chung Kuo was the Middle Kingdom, the very center of the human world, and its emperor the "Son of

Heaven," the "One Man." But in the eighteenth century that world was invaded by the young and

aggressive Western powers with their superior weaponry and their unshakable belief in progress. It was,

to the surprise of the Han, an unequal contest and China's myth of supreme strength and self-sufficiency

was shattered. By the early twentieth century, China—Chung Kuo—was the sick old man of the East: "a

carefully preserved mummy in a hermetically sealed coffin," as Karl Marx called it. But from the

disastrous ravages of that century grew a giant of a nation, capable of competing with the West and with

its own Eastern rivals, Japan and Korea, from a position of incomparable strength. The twenty-first

century, "the Pacific Century," as it was known even before it began, saw China become once more a

world unto itself, but this time its only boundary was space.

CHUNG KUO

BY DAVID WINGROVE

BOOK 2:

THE BROKEN WHEEL

JEFFERSON PARISH LIBRARY ! METAIRIE, LA.

published by

delacorte press

Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc.

666 Fifth Avenue New York, New York 10103

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Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data

Wingrove, David S ; The broken wheel

(Chung kuo ; v. 2) ISBN 0-385-29874-9

I. Title. II. Series: Wingrove, David. Chung kuo ; v. 2. ., PR6O73-I63B76 1991 823'.914

C9O-095033-I

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

(Revised for vol. 2)

Wingrove, David. Chung Kuo.

Contents: bk. r. The Middle Kingdom —

bk. 2. The broken wheel. I. Title.

PR6073-I545C5 1990 823'.914 89-16845

ISBN 0-385-29873-0 (v. i)

ISBN 0-385-29874-9 (v. 2)

Manufactured in the United States of America

Published simultaneously in Canada by Doubleday Canada Limited,

105 Bond Street, Toronto, Ontario, M$B iY3.

March 1991

10 987654321 RRH

for rose and ian

"A new sound from the old keys."

Keep away from sharp swords

Don't go near a lovely woman.

A sharp sword too close will wound your hand,

Woman's beauty too close will wound your life.

The danger of the road is not in the distance,

Ten yards is far enough to break a wheel.

The peril of love is not in loving too often,

A single evening can leave its wound in the soul.

—MENG CHIAO , Impromptu, eighth century A.D.

CONTENTS

B O O K 2 The Broken Wheel

PROLOGUE Summer 2206—THE SOUND OF JADE

PART i Summer 2206—THE ART OF WAR

Chapter i: The Fifty-Ninth Stone

Chapter 2: Conflicting Voices

Chapter 3: Connections

Chapter 4: Thick Face, Black Heart

PART 2 Autumn 2206—SHELLS

Chapter 5: The Innocence of Vision Chapter 6: Compulsions

PART 3 Autumn 2206—AN INCH OF ASHES

Chapter 7: The Pool in the Ruins

Chapter 8: Shadows

Chapter 9: The Veiled Light

Chapter 10: Islands

Chapter 11: King of the World

Contents

PART 4 Spring 2207—ARTIFICE AND INNOCENCE Chapter 12: The Feast of the Dead Chapter 13: Catherine

Chapter 14: The Lost Bride

EPILOGUE Summer 2207 —FALLEN PETALS

Author's Note

A Glossary of Mandarin Terms

Acknowledgments

In Times to Come . . .

MAJOR CHARACTERS

Ascher, Emily—Trained as an economist, she joined the Ping Tioo revolutionary party at

the turn of the century, becoming one of its policy-formulating Council of Five. A

passionate fighter for social justice, she was also once the lover of the Ping Tioo's

unofficial leader, Bent Gesell.

DeVore, Howard—A one-time Major in the T'ang's Security forces, he has become the

leading figure in the struggle against the Seven. A highly intelligent and coldly logical man,

he is the puppet master behind the scenes as the great "War of the Two Directions" takes

a new turn.

Ebert, Hans—Son of Klaus Ebert and heir to the vast GenSyn Corporation, he has been

promoted to Major in the Security forces, and is admired and trusted by his superiors.

Ebert is a complex young man, a brave and intelligent officer; he also has a selfish,

dissolute, and rather cruel streak.

Fei Yen—Daughter of Yin Tsu, one of the heads of "The Twenty-Nine," the minor

aristocratic families of Chung Kuo. Her marriage to the murdered Prince Li Han Ch'in

has been nullified, and she is set to marry Han's brother, the young Prince Li Yuan. The

classically beautiful "Flying Swallow" is fragile in appearance, but surprisingly

strong-willed and fiery.

Haavikko, Axel—Smeared by the false accusations of his fellow officers, Lieutenant

Haavikko has spent the best part of a decade in debauchery and self-negation. At core,

however, he is a good, honest man, and circumstances will raise him from the pit into

which he has fallen.

Kao Chen—Once an assassin from the Net, the lowest levels of the great City, Chen

has raised himself from his humble beginnings and is now a Captain in the T'ang's

Security forces. As friend and helper to Karr, he is one of the foot-soldiers in the War

against DeVore.

Karr, Gregor—Major, later Colonel, in the Security forces, he was recruited by General

Tolonen from the Net. In his youth he was a "blood"—a to-the-death combat fighter. A

huge, giant of a man, he is the "hawk" Li Shai Tung plans to fly against his adversary

DeVore.

Lehmann, Stefan—Albino son of the former Dispersionist leader Pietr Lehmann, he has

become a lieutenant to DeVore. A cold, unnaturally dispassionate man, he seems to be

the very archetype of nihilism, his only aim to bring down the Seven and their great City.

Li Shai Tung—T'ang of Europe and one of the Seven, the ruling Council of Chung Kuo,

Li Shai Tung is now in his seventies. For many years he was the fulcrum of the Council

and unofficial spokesman for the Seven, but the murder of his heir, Han Ch'in, weakened

him, undermining his once-strong determination to prevent Change at all costs.

Li Yuan—Second son of Li Shai Tung, he has become heir to City Europe after the

murder of his brother. Thought old before his time, his cold, thoughtful manner conceals a

passionate nature, expressed in his wooing of and marriage to his dead brothers wife, Fei

Yen.

Shepherd, Ben—Son of Hal Shepherd, the T'ang's chief advisor, and

great-great-grandson of City Earth's architect. Shepherd was bom and brought up in the

Domain, an idyllic valley in the southwest of England where, deciding not to follow in his

father's footsteps and become advisor to Li Yuan, he pursues instead his calling as an

artist, developing a whole new art form, the Shell, which will eventually have a

cataclysmic effect on Chung Kuo society.

Tolonen, Jelka—Daughter of Marshal Tolonen, Jelka has been brought up in a very

masculine environment, lacking a mother's influence. However, her genuine interest in

martial arts and in weaponry and strategy mask a very different side to her nature; a side

brought out by violent circumstances.

Tolonen, Knut—Marshal of the Council of Generals and one-time General to Li Shai

Tung, Tolonen is a big, granite-jawed man and the staunchest supporter of the values and

ideals of the Seven. Possessed of a fiery, fearless nature, he will stop at nothing to

protect his masters, yet after long years of War even his belief in the necessity of stasis

has been shaken.

Tsu Ma—T'ang of West Asia and one of the Seven, the ruling Council of Chung Kuo,

Tsu Ma has thrown off his former dissolute ways as a result of his father's death and

become one of Li Shai Tung's greatest supporters in Council. A strong, handsome man,

he has still, however, a weakness in his nature; one which is almost his undoing.

Wang Sau-leyan—Fourth and youngest son of Wang Hsien, T'ang of Africa, he has

been placed closer to the center of political events by the murder of his two eldest

brothers. Thought of as a wastrel, he is, in fact, a shrewd and highly capable political

being who is destined—through circumstances of his own devising—to become the

harbinger of change inside the Council of the Seven.

Ward, Kim—Born in the Clay, that dark wasteland beneath the great City's foundations,

Kim has a quick and unusual bent of mind. His vision of a giant web, formulated in the

darkness, had driven him up into the light of the Above. However, after a traumatic fight

and a long period of personality reconstruction, he has returned to things not quite the

person he was. Or so it seems, for Kim has lost none of the sharpness that has made him

the most promising young scientist in the whole of Chung Kuo.

LIST OF CHARACTERS

THE SEVEN AND THE FAMILIES

Chi Hsing—T'ang of the Australias. Hou Tung-po—T'ang of South America. Li Feng

Chiang—brother and advisor to Li Shai Tung. Li Shai Tung—T'ang of Europe.

Li Yuan—second son of Li Shai Tung and heir to City Europe. Pei Ro-hen—head of the

Pei Family (one of the "Twenty-Nine" Minor Families).

Tsu Ma—T'ang of West Asia. Wang Hsien—T'ang of Africa. Wang Sau-leyan—fourth

son of Wang Hsien. Wang Ta-hung—third son of Wang Hsien and heir to City Africa.

Wei Chan Yin—eldest son of Wei Feng and heir to City East Asia. Wei Feng—T'ang of

East Asia. Wu Shih—T'ang of North America. Yin Chan—Minor-Family Prince; son of

Yin Tsu.

Yin Fei Yen—"Flying Swallow," Minor-Family Princess; daughter of Yin Tsu. Yin

Sung—Minor-Family Prince; son of Yin Tsu.

Yin Tsu—head of Yin Family (one of the "Twenty-Nine" Minor Families). Yin Wu

Tsai—Minor-Family Princess and cousin of Fei Yen.

FRIENDS AND RETAINERS OF THE SEVEN

Auden, William—Captain in Security.

Chang Li—Chief Surgeon to Li Shai Tung. Chang Shih-sen—personal secretary to Li

Yuan. Ch'in Tao Fan—Chancellor of East Asia.

Chu Ta Yun—Minister of Education for City Europe. Chuang Ming—Minister to Li Shai

Tung. Chung Hu-yan—Chancellor to Li Shai Tung. Ebert, Berta—wife of Klaus Ebert.

Ebert, Hans—Major in Security and heir to GenSyn. , , , Ebert, Klaus Stefan—Head of

GenSyn (Genetic Synthetics) and advisor to Li Shai tbng.

Erkki—guard to Jelka Tolonen. Fan Liang-wei—painter to the court of Li Shai Tung.

Fest, Edgar—Captain in Security.

Fischer, Otto—Head of Personal Security at Wang Hsien's palace in Alexandria.

Haavikko, Axel—lieutenant in Security. Haavikko, Vesa—sister of Axel Haavikko.

Heng Yu—Minister of Transportation for City Europe. *

Hoffmann—Major in Security.

Hua—personal surgeon to Li Shai Tung. .-.-'•.<-

Hung Feng-chan—Chief Groom at Tongjiang.

Hung Mien-lo—advisor to Wang Ta-hung and Chancellor of City Africa.

Kao Chen—Captain in Security. Karr, Gregor—Major in Security.

Lautner, Wolfgang—Captain in Security Personnel at Bremen. Lung Mei Ho—secretary

to Tsu Ma.

Nan Ho—Li Yuan's Master of the Inner Chamber. Nocenzi, Vittorio—General of

Security, City Europe. Panshin, Anton—Colonel in Security.

Pearl Heart—maid to Li Yuan. , .

Russ—Captain in Security. Sanders—Captain of Security at Helmstadt Armory.

Scott—Captain of Security. Shepherd, Ben—son of Hal Shepherd. Shepherd,

Beth—wife of Hal Shepherd.

Shepherd, Hal—advisor to Li Shai Tung and Head of Shepherd family. Shepherd,

Meg—daughter of Hal Shepherd.

Sun Li Hua—Wang Hsien's Master of the Inner Chamber. Sweet Rain—maid to Wang

Hsien. Sweet Rose—maid to Li Yuan. Tender Willow—maid to Wang Hsien. Tolonen,

Helga—aunt of Jelka Tolonen. Tolonen, Jelka—daughter of Knut Tolonen.

Tolonen, Jon—brother of Knut Tolonen.

Tolonen, Knut—Marshal of the Council of Generals and father of Jelka Tplonen.

WangTaChuan—Li Shai Tung's Master of the Inner Palace. Wu Ming—servant to

Wang Ta-hung. Ying Chai—assistant to Sun Li Hua. Ying Fu—assistant to Sun Li Hua.

Yu—surgeon to Li Yuan.

D I S P E R S I O N I S T S

Berdichev, Soren—head of SimFic (Simulated Fictions) and leader of the Dispersionists.

DeVore, Howard—former Major in Li Shai Tung's Security forces. :

Douglas, John—Company Head. "•;•;,

Kubinyi—lieutenant to DeVore. Lehmann, Stefan—albino son of former Dispersionist

leader Pietr Lehmann and Lieutenant

to DeVore. Wiegand, Max—lieutenant to DeVore.

PING T I A O

Ascher, Emily—economist and member of the Council of Five. Gesell, Bent—unofficial

leader of the Ping Tioo and member of the Council of Five. Mach, Jan—maintenance

official for the Ministry of Waste Recycling and member of the Council of Five.

Mao Liang—Minor-Family Princess and member of the Council of fjvb, Shen Lu

Chua—computer expert and member of the Council of Five. Yun Ch'o—lieutenant to

Shen Lu Chua.

OTHER CHARACTERS

Barycz, Jiri—scientist on the Wiring Project. Beattie, Douglas—alias of DeVore.

Chan Wen-fu—friend of Heng Chian-ye. Chuang Lian—wife of Minister Chuang.

Ebert, Lutz—half brother of Klaus Ebert. Ellis, Michael—assistant to Director Spatz.

Ganz, Joseph—alias of DeVore.

Golden Heart—young prostitute bought by Hans Ebert for his household. Hammond,

Joel—Senior Technician on the Wiring Project. Heng Chian-ye—son of Heng Chi-po

and nephew of Heng Yu.

Herrick—an illegal-implant specialist. Kao Ch'iang Hsin—infant daughter of Kao Chen.

Kao Wu—infant son of Kao Chen. Kung Wen-fa—Senior Advocate from Mars.

Ling Hen—henchman for Herrick. Liu Chang—brothel keeper/pimp. Loehr—alias of

DeVore. Lotte—student at Oxford; sister of Wolf. Lo Wen—personal servant to Hans

Ebert. Lu Cao—amah (maidservant) to Jelka Tolonen. Lu Ming Shao—"Whiskers Lu,"

Triad boss.

Lu Nan Jen—the "Oven Man." Lu Wang-pei—murder suspect.

Mi Feng—"Little Bee," maid to Wang Hsien.

Mu Chua—Madam of the House of the Ninth Ecstasy, a singsong house, or brothel.

Novacek, Lubos—merchant; father of Sergey Novacek. Novacek, Sergey—sculptor

and student at Oxford.

Reynolds—alias of DeVore. Schenck, Hung-li—Governor of the Mars Colony.

Siang Che—martial arts instructor to Jelka Tolonen. Spatz, Gustav—Director of the

Wiring Project. Sweet Flute—mui tsai to Madam Chuang Lian. T'ai Cho—tutor and

"guardian" to Kim Ward.

Tarrant—company head. Tissan, Catherine—student at Oxford. Tong Chou—alias of

Kao Chen,

Tsang Yi—friend of Heng Chian-ye. Tung T'an—Senior Consultant at the Melfi Clinic.

Turner—alias of DeVore. Wang Ti—wife of Kao Chen. Ward, Kim—Claybom orphan

and scientist.

Wolf—student at Oxford and brother of Lotte.

PROLOGUE I SUMMER 2205

The Sound of Jade

At rise of day we sacrificed to the Wind God,

When darkly, darkly, dawn glimmered in the sky.

Officers followed, horsemen led the way;

They brought us out to the wastes beyond the town,

Where river mists fall heavier than rain,

And the fires on the hill leap higher than the stars.

Suddenly I remembered the early levees at Court

When you and I galloped to the Purple Yard.

As we walked our horses up Dragon Tail Way

We turned and gazed at the green of the Southern Hills.

Since we parted, both of us have been growing old;

And our minds have been vexed by many anxious cares;

Yet even now I fancy my ears are full

Of the sound of jade tinkling on your bridle-straps.

—po chu-i, To Li Chien (a.a 819)

IT WAS NIGHT and the moon lay like a blinded eye upon the satin darkness of the Nile. From where

he stood, on the balcony high above the river, Wang Hsien could feel the slow, warm movement of the

air like the breath of a sleeping woman against his cheek. He sighed and laid his

hands upon the cool stone of the balustrade, looking out to his right, to the north, where in the distance

the great lighthouse threw its long sweeping arm of light across the delta. For a while he watched it,

feeling as empty as the air through which it moved; then he turned back, looking up at the moon itself. So

clear the nights were here. And the stars. He shivered, the bitterness flooding back. The stars . . .

A voice broke into his reverie. "Chieh Hsia? Are you ready for us?"

It was Sun Li Hua, Master of the Inner Chamber. He stood just inside the doorway, his head bowed, his

two assistants a respectful distance behind him, their heads lowered. Wang Hsien turned and made a

brief gesture, signifying that they should begin; then he turned back, staring up at the stars.

He remembered being with his two eldest sons, Chang Ye and Lieh Tsu, on the coast of Mozambique in

summer. A late summer night with the bright stars filling the heavens overhead. They had sat there around

an open fire, the three of them, naming the stars and their constellations, watching the Dipper move

across the black velvet of the sky until the fire was ash and the day was come again. It was the last time

he had been with them alone. Their last holiday together.

And now they were dead. Both of them lying in their coffins, still and cold beneath the earth. And where

were their spirits now? Up there? Among the eternal stars? Or was there only one soul, the hun, trapped

and rotting in the ground? He gritted his teeth, fighting against his sense of bitterness and loss, hardening

himself against it. But the bitterness remained. Was it so? he asked himself. Did the spirit soul—the p'o

—rise up to Heaven as they said, or was there only this? This earth, this sky, and Man between them?

He shuddered. Best not ask. Best keep such thoughts at bay, lest the darkness answer you.

He shivered, his hands gripping the stone balustrade fiercely. Gods, but he missed them! Missed them

beyond the power of words to say. He filled his hours, keeping his mind busy with the myriad affairs of

state. Even so, he could not keep himself from thinking of them. Where are you? he would ask himself on

waking. Where are you, Chang Ye, who smiled so sweetly? And you, Lieh Tsu, my ying too, my baby

peach, always my favorite? Where are you now?

Murdered, a brutal voice in him insisted. And only ash and bitterness remain.

He turned savagely, angry with himself. Now he would not sleep. Bone-tired as he was, he would lie

there, sleepless, impotent against the thousand bittersweet images that would come.

"Sun Li Hua!" he called impatiently, moving the diaphanous curtain aside with one hand. "Bring me

something to make me sleep! Ho yeh, perhaps, or tou chi."

"At once, Chieh Hsia."

The Master of the Inner Chamber bowed low; then went to do as he was bid. Wang Hsien watched him

go; then turned to look across at the huge low bed at the far end of the chamber. The servants were

almost finished. The silken sheets were turned back, the flowers at the bedside changed, his sleeping

robes laid out, ready for the maids.

The headboard seemed to fill the end wall, the circle of the Ywe Lung—the Moon Dragon, symbol of the

Seven—carved deep into the wood. The seven dragons formed a great wheel, their regal snouts meeting

at the hub, their lithe, powerful bodies forming the spokes, their tails the rim. Wang Hsien stared at it for a

while; then nodded to himself as if satisfied. But deeper, at some dark, unarticu-lated level, he felt a sense

of unease. The War, the murder of his sons—these things had made him far less certain than he'd been.

He could no longer look at the Ywe Lung without questioning what had been done in the name of the

Seven these last five years.

He looked down sharply. Five years. Was that all? Only five short years? So it was. Yet it felt as though

a whole cycle of sixty years had passed since the New Hope had been blasted from the heavens and war

declared. He sighed and put his hand up to his brow, remembering. It had been a nasty, vicious war; a

war of little trust— where friend and enemy had worn the same smiling face. They had won, but their

victory had failed to set things right. The struggle had changed the nature—the very essence—of Chung

Kuo. Nothing would ever be the same again.

He waited until the servants left, backing away, bowed low, their eyes averted from their lord's face.

Then he went across and stood before the wall-length mirror.

"You are an old man, Wang Hsien," he told himself softly, noting the deep lines about his eyes and mouth,

the ivory yellow of his eyes, the loose roughness of his skin. "Moon-faced, they call you. Maybe so. But

this moon has waxed and waned a thousand times and still I see no clearer by its light. Who are you,

Wang Hsien? What kind of man are you?"

He heard a noise in the passageway outside and turned, tensing instinctively; then he relaxed, smiling.

The three girls bowed deeply, then came into the room, Little Bee making her way across to him, while

Tender Willow and Sweet Rain busied themselves elsewhere in the room.

Little Bee knelt before him then looked up, her sweet, unaffected smile lifting his spirits, bringing a breath

of youth and gaiety to his old heart.

"How are you this evening, good father?"

"I am fine." He lied, warmed by the sight of her. "And you, Mi Feng?"

"The better for seeing you, my Lord."

He laughed softly, then leaned forward, and touched her head gently, affectionately. Little Bee had been

with him six years now, since her tenth birthday. She was like a daughter to him.

He turned, enjoying the familiar sight of his girls moving about the room, readying things for him. For a

while it dispelled his previous mood, made him forget the darkness he had glimpsed inside and out. He let

Little Bee remove his pau and sit him, naked, in a chair; then he closed his eyes and let his head fall back

while she began to rub his chest and arms with oils. As ever, the gentle pressure of her hands against his

skin roused him. Tender Willow came and held the bowl with the lavender glaze while Sweet Rain gave

him ease, her soft, thin-boned fingers caressing him with practiced strokes until he spilled his seed. Then

Little Bee washed him there, and, making him stand, bound him up in a single yellow-silk cloth before

bringing a fresh sleeping garment.

He looked down at her tiny, delicate form as she stood before him, fastening his cloak, and felt a small

shiver pass through him. Little Bee looked up, concerned.

"Are you sure you are all right, Father? Should I ask one of your wives to come to you?"

"It's nothing, Mi Feng. And no, I'll sleep alone tonight."

David Wingrove - Chung Kuo 2 - The Broken Wheel

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