"Material?" The deputy commander honestly did not understand the term.
"The people they keep there. Not staff. The people they keep for the necessary tests — with their… their work. Some of them got loose. One or two are still missing. They shouldn't use politicals for that. Politicals are too mischievous, too bright. They ought to use deserters or prisoners of war. Common scum."
"I wish you'd told them so, Commander. They need practical advice like yours."
"I did tell them so, last year." The commanding general put out his cigarette. "Well, no harm's done. They asked for autonomy and they got it. Now they can chase their own laboratory material through the woods. We can't help them. They'd start telling Moscow, 'the MVD's moving in. The MVD's moving in.' And then the Fatherlet would fuss at us. Give them help if they ask for help, that's my motto. Come along. We can still see the parade."
VLADIVOSTOK, MAY 1: THE LOCAL SECRET POLICE CHIEF
"I talked to the Big Boy in Chita. He checked with Those People, you know who I mean. Well, Those People said to watch strangers but that they would do their own looking. If Those People want to do their own policing, we'd better let them do it. Just put on the ordinary emergency conditions. The one that inspects all travelers and picks up all passes for validation. And don't say any more about it. Don't even think about Those People. It isn't safe for you and me to butt in."
* * *
Dugan hid the motorcycle in a tree; he moved slowly through the woods, traveling only at night. At a police post, he stopped over long enough to rest and to mail a packet of letters wrapped in a jacket. To do this, he had to steal the stamps from the police post itself and to drop the parcel in a big letter-box on the chance that it might pass uninspected. The motorcycle, the package, and the stopover were noticed by different people; but these people, being unimportant people themselves, were not in on the secrets of the N.K.A.R. And the N.K.A.R. itself was not sure enough that the visitor was anything more than some escaping Material, which would not live long in any case. Someone had gotten out with the motorcyclist, but there was no evidence of his getting far. There had been a lot of disturbances and several crimes that May Day eve.
The stage was set for the birth of a brand-new Japanese officer, a Soviet prisoner of war.