The Alchemist’s Code Read Online Free PDF

his strongly accented English.
    Dulles remained calm, unflappable. He emptied his pipe of the tobacco which was now reduced to embers and began to clean it with care. “You see, general, as far as I’m concerned, this whole thing is a waste of time. If you’re here, it’s because I recognise your good faith and for me, what we’ve already agreed upon would be enough.” He examined his pipe and only when he was certain that it had been cleaned to his satisfaction did he return his gaze to the general. “However, although I do have some room for manoeuvre in this, I cannot decide autonomously to leave out one of the terms of the agreement. Especially one which is considered essential.”
    The general gathered his courage and tried to get his counterpart to reveal his hand.
    â€œI suspect that Churchill is behind this ultimatum, and it makes me think that I was right in considering his frequent – how to say? – communications deceptive. But I wouldn’t expect you Americans to throw away such an important agreement for a… a
legend
. You are too pragmatic.”
    Dulles rose to his feet without losing his temper, put his hands in his pockets and walked slowly to the door, then returned to the general and, without taking his eyes from him, placed his hands flat on the table and leant forward.
    â€œChurchill’s friendships are not our concern here, General Wolff, and if you consider it a legend, then you should have no problem giving it to us. You are betraying the Third Reich because you have realised that only by doing so can you prevent further deaths. And for your own benefit, of course. You have already decided, therefore, to put the lives of millions of people before the madness of Hitler. So what prevents you from agreeing to this request? As far as you’re concerned, it’s nothing but smoke.”
    Wolff hesitated.
    â€œGeneral,” replied Dulles almost whispering, “Let me remind you that
your
people came into possession of this…
thing
via the betrayal of a pact which my superiors considered more important than me, you and any politician or soldier on earth. As regards the brotherhood, even the most fanatical of your colleagues vowed to respect it. Except one, that is. I understand that you do not want to endanger the lives of your soldiers, but let me underline that we are still at war, and whatever happens before the signing of the treaty of surrender will be considered a normal, albeit tragic, act of war. For my part, your betrayal will be limited – so to speak – to that upon which we have already agreed. This can be considered further evidence of good faith, which will remain between me and you. Neither the squad that will be chosen, nor anyone else involved in Operation Sunrise, nor history itself, will ever know where the tip-off came from.”
    Wolff was on the ropes. If he stubbornly refused to give Dulles what he wanted, Dulles would use his power to suspend negotiations and prolong the torment of Germany, which, thanks to Hitler’s reckless policies and the Allied offensive, was already in ruins. However, he knew that telling Dulles what he wanted to know meant sentencing to death some of his most loyal soldiers, young members of the SS who were in a secret hiding place known only to him. This made his torment even greater, because he could almost imagine the amazement of those young faces at the sight of American weapons. An amazement accompanied by the immediate realisation that their deaths had a name: Karl Friedrich Otto Wolff.

3
From Light to Darkness
    Events reconstructed by Lorenzo Aragon
    Naples, December, 2012
    That day had seemed to begin perfectly. I’d slept like a log until the beautiful winter sunlight had bathed the covers and gently awoken me.
    I took my time getting up, enjoying the warmth of the bed: it was only a few days until Christmas and outside the weather was bitterly cold, but the bright