to the ground.'
The waiter came and removed the remains of Annika's pizza: the crusts and some particularly leathery processed pigs' snouts.
'My father talked a bit about IB,' Annika said. 'He thought it was all ridiculously exaggerated. It has to do with the safety of the nation, he said, and the Social Democrats should really be commended for making the country safe.'
Berit put down her glass with a bang. 'The Social Democrats set up registers of people's political opinions for the good of the party. They broke their own laws and lied about it. They're still lying, by the way. I spoke to the Speaker of the Parliament today. He flatly denies having known Birger Elmer or having had anything to do with IB.'
'Maybe he's telling the truth,'
Berit gave Annika a pitying smile. 'Trust me. IB is the Achilles' heel of the Social Democratic Party. Their great big, gigantic mistake that also happened to keep them in power for over forty years. They'll do anything to keep their secrets. Through SAPO they mapped out the entire Swedish population. They persecuted people for their political opinions, had them frozen out at their workplaces and even fired. They will go on lying as long as no one produces the hard evidence, and that's when they start to equivocate.'
'So what was SAPO? A Social Democratic security police?'
'No, SAPO stands for the Social Democratic Organization for Workplace Representatives. It was completely kosher on the surface- the SAPO reps were the party mouthpieces in the workplace.'
'So why all the secrecy?'
'SAPO were the ants on the floor in the IB organization. Everything they reported ended up with Elmer and the government. SAPO is the crux of the matter, the proof that IB and the Social Democrats are one and the same.'
Annika looked over toward the window and the summer night outside. Three dusty artificial green plants obstructed her view. Behind them was the grimy window that laid a gray film against the busy street outside.
'So what was in this foreign archive?' she asked.
'The names of agents, journalists, seamen, aid workers. People who traveled a lot. They would hand in reports with the aim of predicting impending crises. They had agents in Vietnam whose information was passed straight to the Americans and to a great extent also to the Brits. Strictly speaking they were regular intelligence reports, outlining things like the Vietnamese infrastructure, how the people lived, how they responded to the war, how bad the devastation was.'
'But Sweden's a neutral state,' Annika said with surprise.
'Yeah, sure,' Berit said tartly. 'Birger Elmer used to have lunch with the American ambassador and their Secret Service chief in Sweden. And Elmer and the Prime Minister Olof Palme met quite often. 'I'll handle the politics, you keep the Americans happy,' Palme told him. 'I've got to walk in the demonstrations, meanwhile you take care of the Americans.''
'And a copy of their archive has suddenly shown up.'
'I'm convinced that the originals still exist,' Berit said. 'The only question is where.'
'What about the domestic archive?'
'It was entirely illegal and contained detailed personal data about people who were considered the enemies of the Social Democrats. Somewhere in the region of twenty thousand names. Everyone on that register was to be imprisoned if war broke out. They might have found it difficult to get a job and they were excluded from all union work. You didn't have to be a Communist to end up like that. It was enough to read the wrong papers, to have the wrong friends. Be in the wrong place at the wrong time.'
They sat in silence for a while.
Annika cleared her throat. 'Still, these things happened forty years ago. In those days people were sterilized by force and DDT was sprayed everywhere. What makes these papers so important today?'
Berit pondered the question. 'They are most likely full of unpleasant details about bugging, break-ins, and stuff like that. But the really sensitive material is gone: the whole picture.'
'What do you mean?'
Berit closed her eyes. 'In practice it means that high-ranking Social Democrats were American spies. Today, the proof of repeated deviations from Sweden's official neutrality that may be hidden among these documents would be worse than the systematic registration of political affiliations. The Social Democrats didn't just lie to the nation; they were horse-trading under the table with the superpowers. This wasn't completely without risk. The Soviet Union knew what was going on in Sweden, the spy Wennerstrom had seen to that. It was accounted for in the Russians' war preparations. Sweden was probably a primary target if war broke out, precisely because of this double game.'
Annika looked wide-eyed at Berit. 'Jesus Christ. Do you really think it was that bad?'
Berit drank the last of her beer. 'If the activities of IB were to be thoroughly investigated, down to the last vile detail, it would be devastating for the Social Democrats. They would lose all credibility. Completely. The key is in the archives. The Social Democrats would find it difficult to form a government for a long time if they came to the surface.'
The young people left the restaurant and spilled out loudly onto the street. They left an abstract pattern of peanuts and spilled beer on their table. Annika and Berit followed them with their gaze through the window, saw them cross the busy road and walk to the bus stop, where the 62 bus rolled in and the youngsters climbed on it.
A thought suddenly occurred to Annika. Should she tell Berit about the Ninja Barbies?
Berit looked at her watch. 'Time to go. My last train will leave soon.'
Annika hesitated and Berit waved to the waiter.
Never mind, Annika thought. No one's ever going to find out.
'I'm off tomorrow,' she said. 'I'm really looking forward to it.'
Berit gave a sigh and smiled. 'I'll have to give this IB stuff everything I've got for a couple of days. Though I'm enjoying it, really.'
Annika returned her smile. 'Yes, I can see that. Are you a Communist yourself?'
Berit laughed. 'And you're spying for SAPO, I guess!'
Annika joined in the laughter.
They paid the check and stepped outside. Slowly the evening had changed color and texture and become night.
Seventeen Years, Eleven Months, and Eight Days
