Complete Short Fiction, page 67
December 2, 1938
From Secretary, Bureau of Physics
To Chief, Science Branch, Gestapo
Subject Herr Professor Kenrube
Inclosed is the quarterly precis of the reports of our Agent Seventeen.
For your information, please.
August Buehnen
Author’s Note: Buehnen, a party man who was educated in one of the Nazi two-year Science Schools, replaced G.L. as secretary of the Bureau of Physics about September, 1938.
It is not known exactly what became of Lesser, who was a strong party man. There was a Brigadier General G. Lesser, a technical expert attached to the Fuehrer’s headquarters at Smolensk. This man, and there is some evidence that he is the same, was killed in the first battle of Moscow.
QUARTERLY PRECIS OF REPORTS OF AGENT SEVENTEEN
1. Herr Professor Kenrube is working hard on the model. He has at no time expressed bitterness over the enforced cessation of work on the main machine, and apparently accepts readily the explanation that the government cannot afford to allot him material until the model proves the value of his work.
2. The model will have an orifice of six inches. This compares with the ten-foot orifice of the main machine. Kenrube’s intention is to employ it for the procuration of liquids, and believes that the model will of itself go far to reducing the oil shortage in the Reich.
3. The machine will be in operation sometime in the summer of 1939. We are all eager and excited.
February 7, 1939
From Secretary, Bureau of Physics
To Gestapo
Subject Secret Six
The following precautions have been taken with the full knowledge and consent of Herr Professor Kenrube:
1. A diary in triplicate is kept of each day’s progress. Two copies are sent daily to our office here. As you know, the other copy is submitted by us to your office.
2. Photographs are made of each part of the machine before it is installed, and detailed plans of each part are kept, all in triplicate, the copies distributed as described above.
3. From time to time independent scientists are called in. They are invariably impressed by Kenrube’s name, and suspicious of his mathematics and drawings.
For your information, please.
August Buehnen
March 1, 1939
From Reich and Prussian Minister of Science
To Herr Heinrich Himmler, Gestapo
Subject The great genius, Herr Professor Kenrube
It is my privilege to inform your Excellency that the world-shaking invention of Herr Professor Johann Kenrube yesterday went into operation, and has already shown fantastic results.
The machine is not a pretty one, and some effort must be made to streamline future reproductions of this model, with an aim toward greater mobility. In its present condition, it is strung out over the floor in a most ungainly fashion. Rough metal can be very ugly.
Its most attractive feature is the control board, which consists of a number of knobs and dials, the operator of which, by an arrangement of mirrors, can peer into the orifice, which is located on the right side of the control board, and faces away from it. (I do not like these awkward names, orifice and hyper-space. We must find a great name for this wonderful machine and its vital parts.)
When Buehnen and I arrived, Professor Kenrube was busy opening and shutting little casements in various parts of that sea of dull metal. He took out and examined various items.
At eleven forty-five, Kenrube stationed himself at the control board, and made a brief speech comparing the locator dials of the board to the dial on a radio which tunes in stations. His dials, how ever, tuned in planets; and, quite simply, that is what he proceeded to do.
It appears that the same planets are always on exactly the same gradation of the main dial; and the principle extends down through the controls which operate to locate sections of planets. Thus it is always possible to return to any point of any planet. You will see how important this is.
The machine had already undergone its first tests, so Kenrube now proceeded to turn to various planets previously selected; and a fascinating show it was.
Gazing through the six-inch orifice is like looking through a glassless window. What a great moment it will be when the main machine is in operation, and we can go through the ten-foot orifice.
The first planet was a desolate, frozen affair, dimly lighted by a remote red sun. It must have been airless because there was a whistling sound, as the air rushed out of our room into that frigid space. Some of that deadly cold came trickling through, and we quickly switched below the surface of the planet.
Fantastic planet! It must be an incredible heavy world; for it is a treasure house of the heavier metals. Everywhere we turned, the soil formation showed a shifting pattern of gold, silver, zinc, steel, tin—thousands of millions of tons.
At Professor Kenrube’s suggestion, I put on a pair of heavy gloves, and removed a four-inch rock of almost pure gold. It simply lay there in a gray shale, but it was so cold that the moisture of the room condensed on it, forming a thick hoarfrost. How many ages that planet must have frozen, for the cold to penetrate so far below the surface!
The second planet was a vast expanse of steaming swamps and tropical forests, much as Earth must have been forty million years ago. However, we found not a single trace of animal, insect, reptile or other nonfloral life.
The third, fourth and fifth planets were devoid of any kind of life, either plant or animal. The sixth planet might have been Earth, except that its green forests, its rolling plains showed no sign of animal or intelligent life. But it is on this planet that oil had been located by Kenrube and Seventeen in their private tests. When I left, a pipe line, previously rigged up, had been attached to the orifice, and was vibrating with oil at the colossal flow speed of nearly one thousand miles per hour.
This immense flow has now been continuous for more than twenty-four hours; and I understand it has already been necessary to convert the great water reservoir in the south suburbs to storage space for oil.
It may be noveau riche to be storing oil at great inconvenience, when the source can be tapped at will. But I personally will not be satisfied until we have a number of these machines in action. It is better to be childish and have the oil than logical and have regrets.
I cannot conceive what could go wrong now. Because of our precautions, we have numerous and complete plans of the machine. It is necessary, of course, to ensure that our enemies do not learn our secret, and on this point, I would certainly appreciate your most earnest attention.
The enormous potentialities of this marvelous instrument expand with every minute spent in thinking about it. I scarcely slept a wink last night.
March 1, 1939
From Chief, Criminal Investigation Branch, Gestapo
To Reich and Prussian Minister of Science
Subject Secret Six
Will you please inform this office without delay of the name of every scientist or other person who has any knowledge, however meager, of the Kenrube machine?
Reinhart Heydrich
Author’s Note: This is the Heydrich, handsome, ruthless Heydrich, who in 1941 bloodily repressed the incipient Czech revolt, and who, now that the notorious Himmler is Minister of Interior, has succeeded his former master as head of the Gestapo.
March 2, 1939
From Secretary, Bureau of Physics
To R. Heydrich
Subject Secret Six
The list of names for which you asked is herewith attached.
August Buehnen
COMMENT AT BOTTOM OF LETTER
In view of the importance of this matter, some changes should be made in the precautionary plan drawn up a few months ago with respect to these personages. Two, not one of our agents, must be assigned to keep secret watch on each of these individuals. The rest of the plan can be continued as arranged with one other exception: In the event that any of these men suspect that they are being watched, I must be informed at once. I am prepared to explain to such person, within limits, the truth of the matter, so that he may not be personally worried. The important thing is, we do not want these people suddenly to make a run for the border.
Himmler
SPECIAL DELIVERY
PERSONAL
March 2, 1939
From Reich and Prussian Minister of Science
To Herr Heinrich Himmler
Subject Professor Johann Kenrube
I this morning informed the Fuehrer of the Kenrube machine. He became very excited. The news ended his indecision about the Czechs. The army will move to occupy.
For your advance information, please.
March 13, 1939
From Gestapo
To Reich and Prussian Minister of Science
Subject The Dresden Explosion
The incredibly violent explosion of the Kenrube model must be completely explained. A board of discovery should be set up at Dresden with full authority. I must be informed day by day of the findings of this court.
This is a very grim business. Your agent, Seventeen, is among those missing. Kenrube is alive, which is very suspicious. There is no question of arresting him; the only thing that matters is to frustrate future catastrophes of this kind. His machine has proved itself so remarkable that he must be conciliated at all costs until we can be absolutely sure that everything is going right. Let me know everything.
Himmler
PRELIMINARY REPORT OF AUGUST BUEHNEN
When I arrived at the scene of the explosion, I noticed immediately that a solid circle, a remarkably precise circle of the wall of the fifth floor of the laboratories—where the Kenrube machine is located—had been sliced out as by some inconceivable force.
Examining the edges of this circle, I verified that it could not have been heat which performed so violent an operation. Neither the brick nor the exposed steel were in any way singed or damaged by fire.
The following facts have been given to me of what transpired:
It had been necessary to cut the flow of oil because of the complete absence of further storage space. Seventeen, who was in charge—Professor Kenrube during this whole time was at Gribe Schloss working on the main machine—was laboriously exploring other planets in search of rare metals.
The following is an extract from my interview with Jacob Schmidt, a trusted laboratory assistant in the government service:
Q. You say, Herr—(Seventeen) took a piece of ore to the window to examine it in the light of the Sun?
A. He took it to the window, and stood there looking at it.
Q. This placed him directly in front of the orifice of the machine?
A. Yes.
Q. Who else was in front of the orifice?
A. Dobelmanns, Minster, Freyburg, Tousand-freind.
Q These were all fellow assistants of yours?
A. Yes.
Q. What happened then?
A. There was a very loud click from the machine, followed by a roaring noise.
Q. Was anyone near the control board?
A. No, sir.
Q. It was an automatic action of the machine?
A. Yes. The moment it happened we all turned to face the machine.
Q. All of you? Herr—(Seventeen), too?”
A. Yes, he looked around with a start, just as Minster cried out that a blue light was coming from the orifice.
Q. A blue light. What did this blue light replace?
A. A soil formation of a planet, which we had numbered 447-711-Gradation A-131-8, which is simply its location on the dials. It was from this soil that Herr—(Seventeen) had taken the ore sample.
Q. And then, just like that, there was the blue light?
A. Yes. And for a few instants, that was all there was, the blue light, the strange roaring sound, and us standing there half paralyzed.
Q. Then it flared forth?
A. It was terrible. It was such an intense blue it hurt my eyes, even though I could only see it in the mirror over the orifice. I have not the faintest impression of heat. But the wall was gone, and all the metal around the orifice.
Q. And the men?
A. Yes, and the men, all five of them.
March 18, 1939
From Secretary, Bureau of Physics
To Chief, Science Branch, Gestapo
Subject Dresden Explosion
I am inclosing a precis of the report of the Court of Inquiry, which has just come to hand. The report will be sent on to you as soon as a transcription has been typed.
For your information, please.
August Buehnen
PRECIS OF REPORT OF COURT OF INQUIRY
1. It has been established:
(a) That the destruction was preceded by a clicking sound.
(b) That this click came from the machine.
(c) That the machine is fitted with automatic finders.
2. The blue flame was the sole final cause of the destruction.
3. No theory exists, or was offered, to explain the blue light. It should be pointed out that Kenrube was not called to testify.
4. The death of Herr—(Seventeen) and of his assistants was entirely due to the momentary impulse that had placed them in the path of the blue fire.
5. The court finds that the machine could have been tampered with, that the click which preceded the explosion could have been the result of some automatic device previously set to tamper with the machine. No other evidence of sabotage exists, and no one in the room at the time was to blame for the accident.
COPY ONLY
FOR MINISTRY OF SCIENCE
March 19, 1939
From Major H.L. Guberheit
To Minister for Air
Subject Destruction of plane, type JU-88
I have been asked to describe the destruction of a plane under unusual circumstances, as witnessed by several hundred officers and men under my command.
The JU-88, piloted by Cadet Pilot Herman Kiesler, was approaching the runway for a landing, and was at the height of about five hundred feet when there was a flash of intense blue—and the plane vanished.
I cannot express too strongly the violence, the intensity, the blue vastness of the explosion. It was titanic. The sky was alive with light reflections. And though a bright sun was shining, the entire landscape grew brilliant with that blue tint.
There was no sound of explosion. No trace was subsequently found of this machine, no wreckage. The time of the accident was approximately ten thirty a.m., March 13th.
There has been great uneasiness among the students during the past week.
For your information, please.
H.L. Guberheit
Major, C. Air Station 473
COMMENT AT BOTTOM OF LETTER
Excellency—I wish most urgently to point out that the time of this unnatural accident coincides with the explosion of “blue” light from the orifice of the Kenrube machine.
I have verified that the orifice was tilted ever so slightly upward, and that the angle would place the beam at a height of five hundred feet near the airport in question.
The staggering feature is that the airport referred to is seventy-five miles from Dresden. The greatest guns ever developed can scarcely fire that distance, and yet the incredible power of the blue energy showed no diminishment. Literally, it disintegrated metal and flesh—everything.
I do not dare to think what would have happened if that devastating flame had been pointed not away from but at the ground.
Let me have your instructions at once, because here is beyond doubt the weapon of the ages.
August Buehnen
March 19, 1939
From Chief, Science Branch, Gestapo
To Reich and Prussian Minister of Science
Subject Secret Six
In perusing the report of the inquiry board, we were amazed to note that Professor Kenrube was not questioned in this matter.
Be assured that there is no intention here of playing up to this man. We absolutely require an explanation from him. Send Herr Buehnen to see Kenrube and instruct him to employ the utmost firmness if necessary.
K. Reissel
March 21, 1939
From Secretary, Bureau of Physics
To Chief, Science Branch, Gestapo
Subject Dresden Explosion
As per your request, I talked with Kenrube at Gribe Schloss.
It was the second time I had seen him, the first time being when I accompanied his Excellency, the Minister of Science, to Dresden to view the model; and I think I should point out here that Herr Professor Kenrube’s physical appearance is very different from what I had been led to expect from the description recorded in File Secret Six. I had pictured him a lean, fanatic-eyed type. He IS tall, but he must have gained weight in recent years, for his body is well filled out, and his face and eyes are serene, with graying hair to crown the effect of a fine, scholarly middle-aged man.
It is unthinkable to me that this is some madman plotting against the Reich.
The first part of his explanation of the blue light was a most curious reference to the reality of mathematics, and, for a moment, I almost thought he was attempting to credit the accident to this actuality of his incomprehensible number system.
Then he went on to the more concrete statement that a great star must have intruded into the plane of the planet under examination. The roaring sound that was heard, he attributed to the fact that the component elements of the air in the laboratory were being sucked into the Sun, and destroyed.
The Sun, of course, would be in a state of balance all its own, and therefore would not come into the room until the balance had been interfered with by the air of the room.
(I must say my own explanation would be the reverse of this: that is, the destruction of the air would possibly create a momentary balance, a barrier, during which time nothing of the Sun came into the room except light reflections. However, the foregoing is what Kenrube said, and I presume it is based on his own mathematics. I can only offer it for what it is worth.)
Abruptly, the balance broke down. For a fraction of an instant, then, before the model hyperspace machine was destroyed, the intolerable energies of a blue-white sun poured forth.
