Chapter Fifty-Two
As is usually the case in ceremonial events like the one about to take place in Tehran, the majority of time was taken up by speakers extolling the virtues of the event being commemorated.
Chairman Jeng’s double gave a speech highly praising the Ayatollah for his determination to jointly complete the country’s ability to provide oil to a portion of the world that had been denied the resource because of politics.
The speeches continued until it was time to initiate the pipeline’s operation, which was accomplished by the double and the Ayatollah’s representative simultaneously pushing buttons on a panel mounted with gauges, dials and other mechanical devices needed to control the operation.
It was at the point when the two buttons made contact that things started to go
