Twilight of the Dead by David Bishop

Author:David Bishop
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Science Fiction
Publisher: Abaddon Books

"For years there have been wild theories and concepts circulating in the scientific community for a new kind of bomb," Rainer began. "What could be called nuclear bomb, I suppose. In 1938 Fritz Strassman and Otto Hahn published a paper proving an Italian physicist had witnessed a uranium nucleus being split, resulting in nuclear fission. Once news of this spread among my peers, the race was on to describe the theoretical mechanism of this fission. It soon became obvious that large amounts of energy could be released by this process if it was replicated on a larger scale.

"When the war began, the scientific community knew German physicists were leading the world in this bold new area of study. Many of my colleagues pressed for the establishment of a programme to develop nuclear weapons, so they became reality instead of theory. But those in charge of the purse strings did not believe such weapons would be ready for use during the war.

"The progress of the Wehrmacht was such that nobody in Berlin believed we would ever have a need for such devices." The scientist eased off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose between thumb and forefinger, gently massaging the area where his spectacles usually rested.

"That was our first mistake. By neglecting this new field, we allowed the British and Americans to catch up and overtake us. I've heard tell of a project in the United States that employs thousands of men and women, all racing to create a stable bomb using this new technology." He gestured at the handful of dead colleagues nearby. "As you can see, we've never had such resources."

"The weapon," Gorgo growled. "Tell me about the weapon!"

"Of course," Rainer replied, easing his glasses back on. His trembling hands smoothed up a coiled blueprint and then unrolled the indigo paper to display a complex schematic imprinted on it. "When the Ostfront ground to a halt in 1942, several separate groups of physicists pressed for the funding to pursue nuclear weaponry. At least three different research efforts were officially sanctioned: one led by Werner Heisenberg at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute, a military team headed by Professor Kurt Diebner, and another cluster of scientists led by Dr Paul Harteck, operating under the auspices of the Kriegsmarine."

"Why would the German navy be interested in this weaponry?" I asked, intrigued.

Gorgo snarled at me and I fell silent, not wanting to antagonise our Rumanian commander further.

"Harteck's group was developing the gaseous uranium centrifuge invented by Dr Erich Bagge," Rainer explained. "It was hoped this could be utilised for a new U-boat propulsion system. My role was to move between the competing projects, using the progress of one team against the others in order to apply pressure. In fact, I had a secondary and far more significant job. I was responsible for collating the results of all three teams and bringing them here where an independent group of physicists and rocket scientists could identify the best elements from each group.

"By the end

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