Lion, Tiger, Bear | 315 With great feeling, Geer hissed: Our Ahnenerbe commander Wolfram Sievers for one. He has influenced hundreds of scholars back home in secret. What about the existing camps? The SS genetic experiments? The missing? The sickening genocide? asked Bernie. Hess said to me that Himmler will always be loyal to Hitler while hes alive, especially when Eyes bulging, Schafer mashed his fist on the table. I dont know, damn you! As a simple scientist I dont have all the answers, I only know what can be done realistically. Now. Hopefully the genocide policies will end via…via negotiation an-an and diplomacy. Its nothing new, remember your historyTurks and Armenians, the Irish potato famine, the American Indian tribes. Himmler will eventually make things right and I believe in him…or I used to, perhaps that is my own naivete to overcome. Think we like whats going on? Our hearts are broken as well. Ive witnessed horrible high-altitude experiments on Russian prisoners; Klaus was one quarter Jew, he has relatives in Dachauchildren! But he was the best archeologist we had, probably the best in the world because he understood the genuine truth of it, and in Berlin they make exceptions for such men. A minute went by as Schafer shook a little from anger and frustration, having pitched his coffee to the wall. A guard peered in. Science and society must advance, and there are always huge costs involved, history bears this out. Evolution comes only from severe stress. Bernie said: Swell, just plain swell. If this is a foretaste of whats to come, I dont want any part of it. Whats in it for us? whispered Alice nicely. Ditto, said Bea. Were a cut above the usual cutthroats. For one thing, no firing squad in the morning, snarled Geer. Poppel wants you gone, one way or another. He has the authority here to override a prisoner exchange with you three and youre not that important in the grand scheme of things. If he had his way, hed send you back to Germany to be tortured and interrogated by experts, but theres no room on the transport plane for you in any case, full to the brim with Kammler and his men; they took off at five sharp. Its a practical decision. No loose ends. You are safe only with us. This is a highly classified operation here, strict timetables, if it wasnt for Ernst and I they would have Bea said: One condition. We want our colleague with us, Gwafa. Non- negotiable, added Alice.