False Horizon - Alex Archer [57]
“Maybe it doesn’t need defending,” Mike said. “It’s been able to remain hidden here for years. Maybe that is its best defense.”
“That was also before satellite technology,” Annja said. “And despite what Guge might say, I’m not ready to believe that it’s invisible to what we have flying around the earth. Someone knows about this place or they will soon enough. And when that happens, there’s going to be a rush to get here and exploit whatever natural resources they have.”
“Probably the geothermal ones,” Mike said. “Hot springs and underground vents that could produce this type of environment would be badly sought by governments around the world.”
Annja nodded. “And the Chinese have one of the fastest-growing populations in the world, coupled with a real energy crisis. Even being able to tap into this place to help them offset the energy requirements of Tibet would be a boon and a massive savings for them.”
“You think that’s it? That they want to channel the geothermal heat out of here to run power in Tibet?”
Annja shrugged. “Like I said, I don’t know. I just got handed all of this information and I’m still processing it. If I had to guess, I’d say they’re as likely to grab the entire Mustang province as they would be to just take over this valley. But we’ve also got a very real geographical dilemma here.”
“Which is?”
Annja looked at him. “We don’t know which side of the border we’re on. We were straddling it when we were in the mountain. Presumably we’re someplace else now, but where exactly? I don’t think Guge and Vanya have the latest maps to show us. And if it turns out that we’re on the Tibetan side, then we are, in effect, in Chinese territory. They could literally do anything to this place and suffer no repercussions.”
“And we’d be screwed,” Mike said.
“Definitely,” Annja replied.
Mike looked around and let out a huge sigh. “Isn’t it always like this? Doesn’t it just suck that you think you finally find something amazing—something that has driven you your entire life. I read James Hilton’s novel Lost Horizon when I was just eight years old and it captivated me so entirely that my life was devoted to this even before I knew it would be.” He shook his head. “And now at last, when I’m on the threshold of my own lost horizon, I find the place of my dreams, only to have to come to grips with the idea that it may be taken away from me.”
Annja put a hand on his arm. “Mike, I don’t think we should jump to any drastic conclusions yet. Like I said, I’m still processing the information I was just given.”
Mike sighed again. “What’s the point anymore? Where is the harmony in the universe that would allow a place like this to blossom only to stub it out and wreck the happiness it provides to so many people?”
“I don’t know that there is any universal justice,” Annja said. “Despite what people think and believe. Sometimes it really does seem like the bad guys get to win and the good guys go home without the ball.”
“It shouldn’t be like that,” Mike said. “And you can bet that when I get to whatever afterlife awaits me, I’m going to have some really hard questions for the people in charge.”
Annja smiled. “I don’t doubt it at all.”
Mike pointed at the party, which was finally beginning to show signs of breaking up. Dozens of people were now clearing the tables and carting off chairs to some other locale. “These people seem to have lived in peace and prosperity for years, only rarely coming into contact with the outside world. How is that now they’re in jeopardy?”
“I don’t know,” Annja said. “I just don’t know.”
Mike shook his head. “That’s not a good enough explanation, Annja. And it’s not one I can accept.”
Annja watched him storm off. She took a deep breath. She couldn’t blame Mike for feeling this way. With a brain tumor growing in his head and only a matter of time before his last days on the planet, all he wanted was to find a peaceful