Berlintoxication by Stephanie Laimer-Read (good book recommendations txt) 📖

/> ‘A deal?’
‘You’ll learn about that later.’
‘And how did you find me?’
‘Yesterday I was at Königsallee at the same time as you. I felt you react to the despair of that guy. It practically oozed out of him, didn’t it?’
‘Who was it? What was the matter with him?’
The Mindhunter shrugged. ‘He was some young guy. I guess it was about a girl or something, as usual. Anyway - I could feel that you felt it, too. I followed you and waited outside the house.’
‘I see.’ Walter lit a cigarette. ‘You waited in the dark for three hours?’
She nodded. ‘It’s part of my job, and it’s worth it.’
‘And what do you want from me?’
‘Well, I’ve already told you that it’s not up to me to explain things. I only make the first contact, and my boss will do the explaining – provided that you agree to come with me, of course. That is all you need to know for now. Apart from the fact that we want you to use your power for something good and offer you 1,000 gold marks for it.’
Walter just managed to stop himself from gasping. He desperately tried to read her mind, tried to find out who she was and what she planned or at least what her name was, but she was a block. Feelings of power, confidence and impatience, he could sense that. Everybody could have sensed that. But he couldn’t find anything else. She shut him off.
‘But... no...,’ he said feebly, ‘I know I could use that power for many things. I could play cheap tricks on people, or I could take advantage of them. If it’s anything like that, I don’t want to be involved. That’s not what I want to do. I’m honest. I’m not like that.’
‘I never said you were,’ said the Mindhunter, clearly not impressed by Walter’s remark. ‘Neither are we. Do you want to find out what we’re offering you, or not?’ She stood up and nodded at him. ‘Follow me.’

They walked across the square. They walked through the Bahnhof Alexanderplatz train station, a brick building with arches. Trains rumbled through it, puffing out steam.
Walter and Alexandra went through alleyways and underpasses and crossed a bridge over the Spree river.
Eventually they reached an office block, a big, grey building in a side street.
Walter followed the Mindhunter through a gate, across a big, empty yard and then up some stairs.
She knocked on a metal door.
‘Yes?’ answered a deep voice inside.
‘The Prussian winter has begun,’ said the Mindhunter.
‘The autumn was long and colourless,’ the voice answered.
‘But spring is on its way.’
The door opened, and a bulky man in a black uniform looked out. He nodded at the Mindhunter, then looked – his expression nearly justified the word glared - at Walter.
‘Who’s he?’ he said to the Mindhunter.
‘Walter Busch. He’s one of them

. I vouch for him.’
The guard gave Walter another look of deep suspicion. ‘Are you sure?’ he said to her.
‘I am.’
‘Date of birth, address and occupation, please,’ the guard demanded, speaking to Walter for the first time.
Walter gave him the required information.
‘And now let us pass, Herr Springer is waiting for us,’ the woman said sharply. ‘Does he like to be kept waiting, do you think?’
The guard stepped aside without a word and waved them past. His glance could have melted rocks.
The two walked through the door and down some corridors, then up a narrow flight of stairs. The Mindhunter knocked on more doors. She gave code words and showed an official-looking card. From time to time she glanced impatiently at Walter as he followed her.
Then they reached the office they wanted to get to. A man in a green uniform opened the door, ushered them in and stood in the doorway with the slightly threatening expression that is generally so useful for guards.
Behind him there was a large room that was dominated by a desk with a man sitting at it. He seemed vaguely familiar, but Walter couldn’t really place him. He looked around sixty years old, stocky, grey-haired.
‘Good afternoon, Herr Springer,’ said the Mindhunter with a surprisingly deferential note in her voice. ‘This is the man I told you about yesterday.’
‘Well done, thank you.’ The man nodded at Walter. ‘Pray take a seat.’
Walter did.
‘Thank you,’ the man at the desk repeated to the Mindhunter, ‘You can leave us now.’
The woman smiled, nodded and left the room.
‘Glad to see you,’ said the man. ‘What is your name?’
Walter told him.
‘Sehr erfreut

, pleased to meet you.’
‘Pleased to meet you, sir.’
At that point something in the corner of the room caught Walter’s eye. The other man followed his gaze and nodded.
‘So you’ve noticed her?’
‘Is that an eagle?’ Walter asked, unable to bite back the question. He couldn’t help glancing at the silver cage with the bronze-coloured animal inside it. The bird sat quietly in a space that was far too small, head cocked, apparently listening.
‘Yes, it is.’ The man regarded the cage affectionately. ‘This is Aquila, the only tame eagle in Berlin. She’ll do anything I tell her.’
Tame eagle... wait, where had he heard that...
‘My name is Springer,’ the man added. ‘Gustav Springer. As in Springer Aufzüge & Compagnie.’
Of course, yes. That was how Walter knew him. A man who had made a fortune selling lifts. He owned a big factory in the northwest of the city; he was known for his wealth; he had founded a few hospitals after his son had died of a tumour or something like that; he was a philanthropist and a pillar of the community; and, of course, he had his very own tame eagle.
‘You would like to work for me, Herr Busch?’ said Springer.
Walter didn’t know what to say. ‘I...’
‘Let me assure you that it is for a very worthy cause and you won’t have any reason to regret it. I am a - you might call me a private benefactor. I work to achieve more stability for the Reich; I want to save our values and protect our interests.’
Walter nodded. There was certainly nothing wrong with that.
‘And that is not easy,’ Springer continued. ‘There is insurgence throughout the land. Do you know what happened during the past years? Have you heard of the books that have been written? Do you know the things people claim? Do you know about their demands?’
The question was slightly too general. ‘Uh... not really. I mean, you hear strange things, but do you mean anything in particular?’
‘Well, let me tell you, we are in danger. Disobedience and instability are rife, and dangerous ideas spread in this country. Do you know what happened in 1848?’
Walter hesitated and then ventured, ‘You mean the revolution?’
‘Of course I do,’ said Springer.
Walter hadn’t been alive when the revolution took place; he had been born twelve years later - but yes, everybody knew about the revolution, didn’t they? It had been like an outbreak of collective madness – not only here, but more or less all over Europe. People had rebelled and demanded constitutions; they had refused to work and generally caused chaos.
There had been fights in Prussia, in Austria, in Hungary, Italy, France. There had been fights here in Berlin, on the Alex and on the Schlossplatz, the big square in the heart of Berlin close to the Kaiser’s palace. The army had fought back, and hundreds of people had been killed.
Well, but that was all over now, wasn’t it? The rebels had had some of their demands fulfilled. They had wanted a united country of German-speaking states rather than the federation of independent states that existed at the time. This had not happened then and not to that extent, but after all, the German Reich (though without Austria) had been founded in 1871.
Some European kings had abdicated; there had been changes to the right to vote so a few more people were entitled; the first parliament for the whole of Germany had been established in free elections. Now all the unrest was over, and Walter couldn’t see why people would worry anymore.
‘Of course I mean the revolution,’ Springer repeated impatiently.
‘What about it?’ said Walter uncertainly.
‘Something like that might happen again. Have you heard of Karl Marx and Charles Darwin, for example?’
‘Oh, yes.’ Who hadn’t?
Marx was, of course, the founding father of Communism, and everybody – at least everybo- dy Walter had anything to do with - knew that Communists were up to no good. They would toss the world upside down with their ideas about taking land, factories, the money and the means of production from the rich or whatever they wanted. They complained about everything, and in the end they would cause nothing but mess.
As for Charles Darwin... he mainly seemed to say that humans were really a different type of ape and not really God’s creation at all. That was as much as Walter knew, and as much as he wanted to know about people like that.
Yes, of course these teachings were crazy and dangerous, but they had never bothered Walter very much. Certainly everybody knew those people and their followers were mad, didn’t they? And they were dead anyway, and they hadn’t even lived in Germany (well, certainly not Darwin, and Marx had left the country a long time ago), had they? How could some strange people in another country matter that much? Were they really a threat?
They were, according to Springer.
‘People like that give the normal citizens ideas. They may be dead, but their teachings are still around causing trouble. People are angry. They don’t understand what freedom and prosperity really mean. They want more money; they refuse to work; they don’t have any morals; all the wrong people demand the right to vote. People doubt everything and will start to complain and sulk and fight. Haven’t you noticed that?’
He seemed to have a point; Walter couldn’t deny that there seemed to be a lot of political unrest, crime and complaints.
‘Too many people don’t understand that what’s good for the Kaiser is good for the country and what’s good for the country is good for its people. They rise against the rulers of the world, they rise against the Kaiser. In most cases it is not even their fault – it is because they have been misled, because there is no one to take proper care of them and protect them. And that’s something I won’t allow to happen.’
‘I don’t really know a lot about politics...’ Walter began diffidently.
‘This is not about politics. I am not a politician, I am a businessman. Everybody knows industry and politics don’t belong together, right? It’s about charity, about keeping peace and saving the world from chaos. That’s what I want to do. Some months ago I founded the Berliner Wohlthaetigkeits-Gesellschaft

, the Charitable Society of Berlin. The woman who brought you here is one of my most important helpers, and the guards are trustworthy supporters. We intend to make this city a safer, richer and cleaner place. New Berlin will be a true utopia.’
‘And... and what do you want from me?’
‘I am collecting certain powers most people don’t have. Once I’ve got enough of them, I’ll be able to stop fights. I’ll be able to make people happy. You’ve got the power to read minds, but you don’t know what to do with it, do you?’
Walter kept silent because it was true.
‘I do,’ said Gustav Springer. ‘If I had your power, I would learn to control it properly, and I’d use it to fight for the strength