I first learnt of Abing’s story from Director Qian. It was the first story, in fact, that I ever heard about Unit 701. When I was told the tale, Qian was still the man in charge; still in the service; still a ‘man in the know’. He actually related the story to me before official declassification, and even now it is still classified. According to conventional practice, declassification of Unit 701 documents normally takes place about ten years after the agents in question have officially retired. If I were to calculate according to this practice, the story I am about to tell you would probably have to wait until next year before finally coming to light. As a result, I do not know all of the specific details. I must therefore be very careful not to speculate about what happened and most definitely not to engage in flights of fancy. This hasn’t got anything to do with being brave or cowardly of course; it’s just common sense, really. Those who make mistakes in the face of common sense aren’t brave, they’re just stupid.

Well, how is it then that Director Qian dared to tell me this very story about Abing before it was declassified? I’ve thought about that for quite some time. Probably it was because he knew that official declassification was imminent and that Abing’s files would be amongst the first batch of released documents (which has turned out to be true). You could perhaps say that Director Qian possessed a certain boldness, a certain foresight. He was audacious. Since at that time he was in charge of everyone else at Unit 701, it is natural that he would usually be the first to know what was going on. But to my mind, this wasn’t the main reason for him to tell me this story in advance. To be honest with you, there is perhaps no concrete reason for him to have told me, only possible ones. First, he was the primary person involved in it, the sole authority. Secondly, I suspect that he had misgivings about his future. When we spoke, he seemed overly preoccupied with the very real possibility that in the very near future, on any given day, he might find himself summarily dismissed from his post. I guess he thought that telling me in advance was his best option. Later, as he expected, he was indeed retired with very little advance notice. On that night then, it must have seemed to be best to telephone me, to speak of the past; perhaps he felt that to sleep would mean to never wake up. I shall relate to you the story that he told me, serving as his medium, as it were; his voice.

What follows is the old man’s verbal record …

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