precautions for a particular plutonium isotope. Maybe it’s the fuel source. There are some special handling precautions as well. The bottom line is a place – presumably the manufacturer’s address.”
“Who . . . who’s the manufacturer?”
“Um, doesn’t actually say their name, I’m afraid, just the place . . . the address: the Huang Hai Industrial State.”
Duval spontaneously shook his head. “Do you know of it?”
“Yes. That region was once part of north-eastern China . . . Liaoning Province. But it was given autonomy about thirty years ago. My family are from a town on the coast in the same province, to the south of Dandong. The area is entirely urbanised. The Huang Hai Industrial district itself comprises an island in the West Korean Bay and also about twenty square kilometres of the mainland. Back home, on a good day, you could see it across the water, and if not the island, then the smog that hung over it.” David Chung grimaced at the thought of the pollution. “The region pays a large land rent and taxes to the central government in return for complete autonomy. Most of the world’s leading industrial companies have facilities there. It’s always been a hothouse of innovation and scientific progress because research is unfettered by governmental restrictions. No authority, no censorship, so over the years nobody has had any real idea of what’s been going on. Only rarely is information released and many people, including some prominent scientists, have just disappeared behind the security curtain. Take it from me – people in China just don’t go there unless they have a really good reason. And you don’t look it up on the World Net either – or you might get somebody knocking on your door in the middle of the night. Really, it is not a nice place, and the most polluted in that part of Asia too.” Chung shrugged. “The area has been in steep decline for the last few years, Commander; the late forties was the watershed, when oil and gas became very expensive and reserves began to dry up. Three years ago, when I was finishing my postgraduate studies in Beijing, the Chinese government all but cut off the region’s remaining energy supply, diverting more to the people. But it made very little difference to the most powerful industrial companies, as they had their own suppliers. There was talk of pressurised contracts; threats to government officials; corruption; bribes; prioritised raw material deliverers – including food! The biggest companies in the zone became predators of the small. With their own docks and refineries they survived.”
“Is there anything else, David?” quizzed Duval. He was growing noticeably edgy. “More specifically, that may be of concern to us.”
David Chung rubbed his chin suspiciously. “The concept of such an industrial region had already become very unpopular in certain quarters and the government was considering its options. Despite their massive tax revenues, the country was losing face because of illegal activities and a blatant disregard of international laws by industrial giants like Tongsei and Spheron. There was a lot of talk about it, and not just at home, but in the cyber-press too. I remember it clearly. When Tongsei Heavy Industries was the pride of Chinese Corporate success their headquarters was the largest building in Shanghai. When I left China to join the Asian Space and Science Agency that building was being closed.”
“Did any of these companies build spacecraft?” interjected Carol Boardman. “I’m not a big one on international espionage.”
“Tongsei built the mineral barge Colossus , Carol,” replied Duval. “Nobody else had the financial ability. They got their money back and a lot more besides by exploiting the Moon’s resources. It was a monopoly for years, certainly until the lunar independence. When we left there was an international investigation underway. As David said, extortion, bribery . . . you
“Who . . . who’s the manufacturer?”
“Um, doesn’t actually say their name, I’m afraid, just the place . . . the address: the Huang Hai Industrial State.”
Duval spontaneously shook his head. “Do you know of it?”
“Yes. That region was once part of north-eastern China . . . Liaoning Province. But it was given autonomy about thirty years ago. My family are from a town on the coast in the same province, to the south of Dandong. The area is entirely urbanised. The Huang Hai Industrial district itself comprises an island in the West Korean Bay and also about twenty square kilometres of the mainland. Back home, on a good day, you could see it across the water, and if not the island, then the smog that hung over it.” David Chung grimaced at the thought of the pollution. “The region pays a large land rent and taxes to the central government in return for complete autonomy. Most of the world’s leading industrial companies have facilities there. It’s always been a hothouse of innovation and scientific progress because research is unfettered by governmental restrictions. No authority, no censorship, so over the years nobody has had any real idea of what’s been going on. Only rarely is information released and many people, including some prominent scientists, have just disappeared behind the security curtain. Take it from me – people in China just don’t go there unless they have a really good reason. And you don’t look it up on the World Net either – or you might get somebody knocking on your door in the middle of the night. Really, it is not a nice place, and the most polluted in that part of Asia too.” Chung shrugged. “The area has been in steep decline for the last few years, Commander; the late forties was the watershed, when oil and gas became very expensive and reserves began to dry up. Three years ago, when I was finishing my postgraduate studies in Beijing, the Chinese government all but cut off the region’s remaining energy supply, diverting more to the people. But it made very little difference to the most powerful industrial companies, as they had their own suppliers. There was talk of pressurised contracts; threats to government officials; corruption; bribes; prioritised raw material deliverers – including food! The biggest companies in the zone became predators of the small. With their own docks and refineries they survived.”
“Is there anything else, David?” quizzed Duval. He was growing noticeably edgy. “More specifically, that may be of concern to us.”
David Chung rubbed his chin suspiciously. “The concept of such an industrial region had already become very unpopular in certain quarters and the government was considering its options. Despite their massive tax revenues, the country was losing face because of illegal activities and a blatant disregard of international laws by industrial giants like Tongsei and Spheron. There was a lot of talk about it, and not just at home, but in the cyber-press too. I remember it clearly. When Tongsei Heavy Industries was the pride of Chinese Corporate success their headquarters was the largest building in Shanghai. When I left China to join the Asian Space and Science Agency that building was being closed.”
“Did any of these companies build spacecraft?” interjected Carol Boardman. “I’m not a big one on international espionage.”
“Tongsei built the mineral barge Colossus , Carol,” replied Duval. “Nobody else had the financial ability. They got their money back and a lot more besides by exploiting the Moon’s resources. It was a monopoly for years, certainly until the lunar independence. When we left there was an international investigation underway. As David said, extortion, bribery . . . you
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