Chapter 16

Anna
(August 2001; Prague)

At this point, I wanted the answers to two mysteries.

I wanted to know who the people who had died at the Red
Rose
Mansion were, why they had been killed, and who had done
it. And I wanted to know who Johan's mother was.
What do I know now? That Franz Bonaparta, owner of
the Red Rose Mansion, had once held prisoner a woman who
lived
on the second floor of a building with a sign of three
frogs. She was the mother of twins, and her name was
Anna.
Bonaparta tried to brainwash her, and also wrote her what
appeared to be a love letter. He disappeared in '81 or
'82.
Later, forty-six skeletons were unearthed from the
mansion.
As for the bodies, it's hard to imagine that they
were prisoners at the mansion. For one thing, I can't
think of a
good reason why so many of such people should be gathered
into that ballroom together and killed at one time, but
most
importantly of all, why would they need to bury political
prisoners in the garden of the mansion? The circumstances
of the
disposal of the bodies would suggest that it was an
illegal murder, in which case it would seem more likely
that the
entire staff of the mansion was poisoned on some
occasion, probably a party of some sort.
I put aside these suspicions and began looking for
anyone who might have known Johan's mother. After
contacting
several human rights organizations and meeting with
various people, I finally found some information pointing
to a mother
of twins, during an interview with a lawyer that Agent
Suk had introduced to me.
Her name was Jitka Hauserova. One of the 1,800 names
signed to Charter 77 in 1977 -- age 53. As a writer
(primarily of science fiction and fantasy, the body of
which was consistently placed on the banned books list
under the
old regime) and a lawyer, she is well known today for her
consistent efforts to reveal the inhumane actions of the
former
secret police.
Hauserova greeted me in a simple, bare-bones office
with nothing but a metal desk, chair, file cabinet,
computer
and telephone. She was an attractive woman, despite the
lack of make-up and the deep lines in her face. She had
large blue
eyes, a high, unmistakably Slavic nose, thin lips, and a
powerful jaw that spoke of strong opinions. I found
myself swayed
to believe the legend that she once held total silence
during a several-week stay in prison.

- I'm sorry; I realize you are busy. I'm here because

I am trying to compile a book about the Johan case, so I
am
looking for information about that subject.
"The case of Johan Liebert is business of ours as
well. We continue to investigate the particulars. The
problem
is, how do you determine whether Franz Bonaparta's
project was on a national scale or not, if not a single
document exists
to prove it? Many people will tell you Bonaparta was a
captain in the secret police, but that name does not
exist... He
erased all traces of his life when he disappeared. In my
opinion, what Bonaparta was running at the Red Rose
Mansion was
not a national-level crime, but a personal experiment
that received financial backing from certain figures in
the old
regime -- powerful ones. No doubt the people who were
involved in conducting the experiments themselves thought
they were
part of a secret national project, and that no paper
trail exists because Bonaparta or those shadowy sponsors
saw to it
that all traces were eliminated... but my thinking is
different. I think there might never have been any
documents in the
first place. Which makes it difficult to classify as a
public, government crime. We are currently cooperating
with a
citizens network in Germany to find more about Bonaparta
himself, but the trail turns up nothing."
 - What was the effect of the Red Rose Mansion on the
anti-government efforts?
"I can tell you for certain that some of the people
who had signed Charter 77 and then withdrawn their
signature
at the government's request or later became spies had
been taken there. But none of them can remember what
happened, and
without any idea as to the methods of their brainwashing,
there's little we can do."
- Do you know anything about Johan's mother?
"When you mentioned this over the phone, it reminded
me of someone. In fact, I just got back from the Libri
Prohibiti."
- Libri Prohibiti?
"It is a library that stocks books that were banned
or published underground during the old regime... Some of
my
compatriots' writings and journals are kept there as
well. I was searching for the journal of an activist
named Jirik
Letzel, who died in prison in 1982. I searched for this
because he once told me that he was harboring a witness
to what he
called 'the most vile and inhumane crime our government
has ever perpetrated.' Soon after, he was apprehended by
government agents, and died of a sickness in a
penitentiary near Prague several months later."
- And did you find something in Letzel's journal?
"Yes, and it matched up with your story. He wrote
that he had hidden a woman in one of his hideouts, on the
Mill
Colonnade in Prague. More precisely... (puts on glasses
and looks at her notepad) Today, I hide an activist from
my
hometown, a beautiful woman with blonde hair and blue
eyes, at the hideaway on Mill Colonnade. She has with her
a twin son
and daughter, also very handsome, and fortunately they
are quiet and obedient. I will keep her here for a time,
until we
can reveal the truth, the entire shocking truth, to all."

[Picture] (sketch of a sharp-faced woman holding a pen)

Ms. Hauserova is well known in Eastern Europe as a
science fiction writer. Her signature work, "Tears of a
Golem," tells
the story of a boy who befriends the eponymous creature
of legend, in a terrifying future of genetic
manipulation.

- What was his hometown?

"I seem to remember that it was Brno. She might have
been a graduate of Brno University. Brno is in the center
of
the Moravia region. Mendel, the father of genetics, lived
in a monastery there. If my memory is correct, Jirik
Letzel said
that she studied genetic engineering at school, met a man
on vacation in Prague, and found herself involved in a
secret
national project."
- Could she have been a member of Charter 77 as well?
"No, I didn't see anyone that fit her specifications
in the organization. There were many underground groups
and
activists in those days... She could have been one of
them, instead."
- Could this experiment have been the one started to
create a pure and elite Czechoslovakian race, separate
from
what was conducted at the Red Rose Mansion?
"I would imagine so. The thought makes me sick."
- Do you know anything else about this experiment?
"Yes, I knew a few victims... Each one says, she fell
in love with a man and got pregnant, but then he
disappears
and the next thing she knows, she's held in some strange
facility, gives birth, and her baby is taken away... It
sounds
crazy, but several women had the same story. They're all
in their 40s now. They all gave birth about 23-24 years
ago. At
first, we were just baffled at the story."
- And where are their children now?
"We've looked, but never found any traces of them. At
the end of their breastfeeding, the children were taken
away... They told the mothers, you have done a great
service to your country. Your children will be raised by
the country
now... and they were released. The women were then kept
under surveillance for several years after that. It's
frightening.
They were forbidden to use their names in that place, nor
were they allowed to name their children. And even after
the
babes were taken away, the poor women were forbidden from
even bringing up the topic or thinking of their children,
under
threat of death. Most of them can barely remember what
happened. One of them only remembered because she was in
a car
accident, and the life-and-death experience rattled loose
the memory that she once had a baby. After we revealed
this
story in our publication, several more women wrote to
echo that story with their own experiences."
- Could it be like the Czechoslovakian version of
Hitler's old superhuman genetic experiments?
"Not quite. Worse, in fact, because the women were
indeed in love with their partners. These weren't some
wild,
impressionable cultists. How did they get those women to
fall in love?"
- Did you ever learn anything about the men?
"Just one. He was an army officer... All we know is
that he was chosen out of a list of thousands of photos.
The
rest is a mystery."
- Did you hear his side of the story?
"No. After his release in 1989, he died in a car
crash. He was single and grew up in an orphanage, so he
had no
extended family. I have the feeling that all the men
involved in that experiment met their end in this way."
- What criteria do you supposed they used to choose
those men and women?
"All the women who fell victim to this experiment
were beautiful. They were tall and healthy, all well-
educated...
and from excellent stock. Intelligent fathers, mothers
and grandparents. I suspect that many of the men were
from the
military. They would have been strong, smart, attractive.
Probably officers. And also lonely, I believe..."
- What were their political thoughts?
"That's the strange part. Most of the women chosen
were involved in liberal activism in some way or another,
and
had a history of arrest. You'd think it would be easier
if they chose the patriots."
- Do you believe Franz Bonaparta was involved in this
plan?
"I do. The victims all said that they did not
recognize his face, but I believe he was."
- All these groups: the army, Omnipol, party
officials... And some people say that this project was
planned by
just a tiny group of insiders.
"I suppose so. They would have to have been
eccentrics with a strong interest in genetics."
- Would that include Bonaparta?
"I don't believe that he was actually fascinated by
genetics. He was more intrigued by how to recreate people
who
were already born. This is why I believe they only chose
women who showed anti-governmental proclivities. I
suppose he
must have felt just like some Greek god when those
stubborn women fell under the spell of love, just as his
formulas had
shown."
- What do you suppose the people who used Bonaparta
to conduct this experiment are doing now?
"I hope they're dead. But they're probably alive. I
hope they're living in fear of their misdeeds being
brought to
light, but I figure they've probably got all their bases
covered and are living quiet, enjoyable lives. Our job
now is to
make sure that such people are never able to wield power
in Czechoslovakia again."

[Picture] (four photos of narrow streets and tall

buildings)
Johan and Nina's parents fell in love in this town...
Could the project to create a perfect Czech race have
even created
an artificial, controlled love?

- And what of the other children who were taken away?

"Are you asking of the possibility that there could
be another Johan? Let us pray there is not."
- Returning to Johan's mother, could there be any
women among the victims of the experiment who remember
her?
"Probably not, because each subject was in complete
isolation... We don't even know where the facility was.
I've
looked into Johan's mother out of personal interest
myself, but Letzel's journal is still the only clue I
have."
 - What about if there was an Anna in the list of Brno
University graduates who fit the conditions?
"I checked with Brno after you mentioned the name
Anna in your call. There are not any graduates of Brno
University between the ages of 38 and 55 that are both
named Anna and currently missing. I also put out an
advertisement
in the paper asking if anyone was familiar with a woman
named Anna, but nothing came of it."
- What do you suppose that means?
"Either Johan's mother is not named Anna, she is not
from Brno, everyone involved is keeping their silence...
Or
perhaps there is a more sinister kind of suppression at
work."
- More sinister?
"Think about it. Bonaparta is a devil who steals the
names of others, a genius at stripping memories away. How
hard is it to imagine he could have found some new method
that we could never think of?"
- At some point, Bonaparta fell in love with her. I
believe this is why he pursued her so persistently when
she
escaped from the facility. His way of loving her was to
take her name away, erase her memory and become the only
person in
the world who recognized her for who she was. This sounds
just like Johan.
"Stealing one's name... Or to be the only person who
knows one's name... Just as knowing one's true name gives
the
knower power over one's life... Rendering you impervious
to one's magic... This concept of the name being the true
source
of one's nature is commonly found in myths and legends
the world over. This is why ancient peoples were said to
only use
their true name among the family, and go by an alias
elsewhere. The first time I read a scene in a fantasy
novel with a
magician scheming to find another's true name, I thought
it was silly. But seeing the way Bonaparta brainwashed
his
victims, it makes you think it's not quite so silly after
all. Jung said that myths are the expression of the human
unconscious -- and I think that if he lived today, he
would point to this as proof."
- I suppose Johan's father is equally hard to look
up.
"Yes, there are no records of a young military
officer matching his specifications dying in 1974 or
1975. But if
Johan's father was a German-born Czech, then he would be
in a significant minority for a career soldier. It's
possible
that some civilians might remember a man like that. I've
requested help from a citizens' group in Bohemia."

We promised further cooperation as we parted. She

gave me a valuable piece of information at the last. "If
you
want to know more about Bonaparta, go to Karel Bridge on
Wednesdays. There's a man who does a puppet show there...
and he
claims to be Bonaparta's son. He answered questions from
the police, but he didn't help with our own
investigation. I
think he wants to put it all behind him. However, he
might be helpful if you can convince him to speak to
you."