"The Thing" was a passive Russian listening device embedded in a gift sent to the US ambassador. Since it used no power it was hard to detect--basically a proto-RFD in 1945. It apparently lasted five years, but the real evidence of Russian perfidy is that the bug violated a US patent.
L. M. Bujold interview. Best response was about reactions to her writing--I figured she'd go with being glad she made someone happy (that's what the questions seemed to be leading to) but instead:
One that continues to baffle me is the indefatigable enthusiasm of some fans for explaining to others that Barrayaran neo-feudalism is a terrible system of government, as if their fellow readers couldn’t figure that out for themselves. [ . . . ] From the passion these readers bring to the table, one would gather they imagine insidious card-carrying Feudalists are dire threat to the lifeblood of our nation.
