at is needed at this point. As it is, things are
trending toward a collapse. The imperialists, especially the
Americans, of course, wish to dominate the area for their capitalistic
purposes. The Arab Union wishes to take over _in toto_ and make it
part of their Islamic world. We, of course, cannot afford to let
either succeed."

The Negro resumed his chair, sipped at his drink and listened, nodding
from time to time.

Kirill Menzhinsky said, "As you know, Marx and Engels when founding
scientific socialism had no expectation that their followers would
first come to power in such backward countries as the Russia of 1917
or the China of 1949. In fact, the establishment of true socialism
presupposes a highly developed industrial economy. It is simply
impossible without such an economy. When Lenin came to power in 1917,
as a result of the chaotic conditions that prevailed upon the military
collapse of Imperial Russia, he had no expectation of going it alone,
as the British would say. He expected immediate revolutions in such
countries as Germany and France and supposed that these more advanced
countries would then come to the assistance of the Soviet Union and
all would advance together to true socialism."

* * * * *

"It didn't work out that way," the man called Anton said dryly.

"No, it didn't. And Lenin didn't live to see the steps that Stalin
would take in order to build the necessary industrial base in Russia."
Kirill Menzhinsky looked about the room, almost as though checking to
see if anyone else was listening. "Some of our more unorthodox
theoreticians are inclined to think that had Lenin survived the
assassin's bullet, that Comrade Stalin would have found it necessary
to, ah, liquidate him."

The Russian cleared his throat. "Be that as it may, basic changes were
made in Marxist teachings to fit into Stalin's and later Khrushchev's
new concepts of the worker's State. And the Soviet Union muddled
through, as the British have it. Today, the Soviet Complex is as
powerful as the imperialist powers."

The espionage leader knocked back his vodka with a practiced stiff
wristed motion. "Which brings us to the present and to North Africa."
He leaned forward in emphasis. "Comrade, if the past half century and
more has taught us anything, it is that you cannot establish socialism
in a really backward country. In short, communism is impossible in
North Africa at this point in her social e