The God Particle

by Daniel Danser

  ‘Probably not,’ Tom replied, wrapping his arms around her.

  ‘Do you have to go straight away?’

  ‘Definitely not.’ He swept her up into his arms and carried her into the bedroom.

  ***

  An hour later, Tom was on his way to Frederick’s office in one of the golf buggies, with Serena beside him. She had dressed quickly after their lovemaking and slipped out of her apartment, returning a few minutes later with a plastic carrier bag, which she presented to him. He’d looked inside to see a security guard’s jacket. When he’d asked her where she had got it from, she just smiled and tapped her nose with her index finger. Not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth, he didn’t press the point and slipped it on. It was a tight fit, but would certainly do the job until he’d had a chance to go into town to purchase a replacement.

  They had agreed that she would drop him off and then discreetly wait for him away from the building to avoid being spotted by Frederick, should he look out of his window.

  ***

  It was still bitterly cold. Tom zipped up the front of his newly acquired jacket and pulled the collar up to protect his face. The snow had stopped falling and the sun was trying to make an appearance from behind grey, patchy clouds. The crispness of the snow crunched beneath the small wheels of the cart as they drove down the central boulevard.

  Serena was directed to stop about a hundred metres short of the office and reverse the buggy in between two buildings. She had a clear sight of the entrance and would be able to see Tom as he came out.

  ‘Is this cloak and dagger stuff really necessary?’ she whinged, putting the fur-trimmed hood up on her padded jacket.

  ‘If it was up to me, then I would have you in the meeting with us,’ replied Tom. ‘But Frederick was insistent that I didn’t tell you about it. I don’t know what he’s up to, but I get the distinct impression that I’m about to find out.’ He jumped out of the buggy. ‘If I’m not out in an hour, call Inspector Gervaux.’

  Serena still didn’t know when to take him seriously. The expression on her face must have mirrored her feelings, because Tom laughed and told her that he was only joking and would text her if there was a problem. He made his way across the street.

  She watched him all the way into the building, then sat back and prepared herself for a long wait. She smiled to herself as she began to reminisce about the previous evening’s lovemaking. However, in her reverie, she failed to notice the two figures in the golf buggy that had pulled up further down the street, who were also watching Tom as he entered the building.

  ***

  ‘Thanks for coming, Tom. Please take a seat.’ Frederick was back to his usual warm and vibrant self.

  ‘You left me little choice,’ replied Tom. ‘You sounded so mysterious on the phone, I just had to come and find out what it was all about.’

  Frederick gave a short laugh. ‘Yes, sorry about that, but it will all become clear when I explain to you why I wanted to see you.’ He played with the pen on his desk for a few minutes; he seemed to be finding it difficult to know where to start. He took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly, deciding his only option was to lay all his cards on the table at once.

  ‘When I last saw you,’ he began, ‘I mentioned that I would like to run the document you showed me past a few colleagues. Well, those colleagues are in fact an esoteric group of eminent scientists, whose sole purpose is to steer mankind away from any paths that could potentially lead to an apocalypse.’

  He looked earnestly at Tom, whose expression had turned to a mixture of incredulity and scepticism. He paused, waiting for the inevitable questions, but when none were forthcoming he pressed on.

  ‘Ever since the Ancient Greeks turned science into a vocation, man has been experimenting with his natural environment, the outcome of which has not always been certain. Until fairly recently, the consequential damage that could be inflicted on the population as a whole, as a result of those experiments, was negligible. Gunpowder, TNT, gelignite, semtex – the most powerful explosives of their time could, at worse, cause only localised damage. But the splitting of the atom changed all that. It was a turning point in the history of scientific experimentation. The energy released when one neutron is cleaved from a single uranium nucleus is fifty million times greater than when a carbon atom combines with oxygen in the burning of coal. Can you imagine the cataclysmic damage that could have ensued if scientists had been allowed to conduct experiments on those materials without the proper guidance?’

  His eyes never left Tom’s face, trying to gauge his reaction like a player in a poker game. But Frederick knew it was too late to stop now; he had already played his hand. ‘It became evident shortly after the discovery of X-rays that radiation was not only a source of energy and medicine, but it could also be a potential threat to human health if not handled properly. When Thomas Edison’s assistant died from a radiation-induced tumour as a result of too much X-ray exposure, he vowed the same fate would not fall on his fellow scientists. He therefore banded together with the early pioneers of nuclear experimentation to ensure not only their safety but, more importantly, the safety of mankind.’

  Tom was listening intently. He made no attempt to interject or ask any questions.

  ‘They formed a group that would meet on a regular basis to share ideas and philosophies,’ continued Frederick. ‘They exchanged views on potential risks which, eventually, they developed into a code of practice and ethical standard. The group grew in popularity and became respected as the ultimate authority on radiation. By 1914, it had over a hundred members worldwide, all dedicated to the pursuit of atomic knowledge through a strict and disciplined set of rules and regulations...’

  CHAPTER 24

  Inspector Gervaux had arrived at the facility just after nine in the morning. He had prepared himself to oversee another round of employee questioning by his officers, which was laborious but necessary. He knew from experience that criminals weren’t caught by dramatic breakthroughs, as portrayed in the cinema, but by the detail often found in the most innocuous of places: an email, a wastepaper bin, a passer-by who initially couldn’t recall the crime.

  That axiom was shattered five minutes after his arrival at the complex by a phone call from the lab telling him they’d had a dramatic breakthrough on the substance found in Tom Halligan’s apartment. It was potassium chlorate, the same grade as the residual compound collected at the scene of the explosion.

  He’d met his sergeant on the steps of the main building and told him about the results from the lab. Lavelle’s expression didn’t change, but inside he was pleased that he would get another opportunity to break the arrogant American. They made their way over to the accommodation block after establishing from the receptionist that Tom hadn’t yet turned up for work.

  They arrived at the apartment to find the door ajar. A cursory look inside was all it took to confirm that no attempt had been made to tidy it up after the burglary. They went through to the bedroom, which was in a similar state; the duvet and mattress were still spewing their feathery contents onto the floor. There’s no way he could have slept in this bed last night, the inspector thought to himself. They left the apartment and returned to the main building.

  He had asked Lavelle to assemble his men in Tom’s office, where he told them that a thorough search of the facility was required. As soon as the suspect was apprehended, they were to radio in and Lavelle would call off the search. In the meantime, they would speak to the Chief Security Officer to ascertain whether Tom had left the compound.

  ***

  Frederick rose from his seat and made his way to the window, perching on the sill. Tom’s gaze followed him, but the bright sunshine streaming into the room made it difficult for him to discern Frederick’s features clearly, as he continued his monologue.

  ‘And then came the war. Initially, these physicists were unaffected, as both the Germans and Allies each developed their own alternatives to conventional weapons – mustard gas
was the German’s choice, whilst the Allies preferred biological warfare, predominantly smallpox. But, as the war progressed, both sides looked for a more permanent solution and the spotlight shone on the work being done in the field of radioactive elements. The side that could harness the destructive components in radium or uranium would have a war-winning advantage. The Germans were the first to realise this and set about rounding-up as many scientists in this field as they could find in the occupied territories. Fifty-four men and women were initially asked, then coerced, then tortured and, finally, killed for their knowledge, but not one of them broke the sacred code to which they had sworn allegiance, to protect mankind from itself. If they had cooperated, the outcome of the war would have been very different.

  ‘The Allies got wind of what the Germans were up to and tried to respond by approaching their own scientists, but came up against a similar brick wall. Most were incarcerated as conscientious objectors and their research grants taken away from them. After the war, they found it very difficult to get any kind of work...’

  ***

  The first hour had drawn a blank. An inspection of the security log had established that Professor Halligan had left the previous evening with the two policemen and returned by himself, some two and a half hours later. The absence of any other records meant that he was either still on the base or he had managed to by-pass the security systems protecting the perimeter walls and scaled the nine-foot high fence without detection. That was a highly unlikely scenario; Inspector Gervaux was informed by the Chief Security Officer, whilst sitting in his rather small office, surrounded by TV monitors flickering from one image to the next, as the entire base was being watched by electronic eyes.

  ***

  As Tom squinted up at the silhouette in front of the window, he could tell that Frederick was getting emotional. Frederick cleared his throat and continued.

  ‘The few remaining physicists that were still in a position of influence took the decision to form a clandestine organisation, not only to protect themselves, but society as a whole. They realised that the attention shown by the militia in their chosen field would make it difficult for them to operate in the best interests of humanity. They could see the writing on the wall – if the powers that be wanted to exploit their discoveries for use in weapons of mass destruction, they would be incapable of stopping them through rational debate. The only option open to them was to infiltrate all nuclear programmes in an effort to hamper the development of atomic bombs from within. They successfully achieved their objective for over twenty years, until midway through the Second World War, when the American government discovered it had dissidents in its ranks. A witch hunt was conducted, which led to several of our key members being arrested and shot as spies. That initiated the formation of the Manhattan Project, an ultra-secretive research programme specifically designed to develop an atomic bomb for use against the Axis powers.

  ‘Under the control of the military and funded to the tune of $26 billion in today’s money, our members found it impossible to influence the inevitable progression towards unleashing the power of the atom for use on the battlefield. The rest, as they say, is history. Over 350,000 civilians were killed when the Americans dropped their atomic bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshima. The images sickened the scientists working on the project so much that some refused to do any further work and left immediately. Others stayed on, but wrestled with their conscience about the moralistic virtues of their science, many feeling remorse and guilt for their part in creating what amounted to the cruellest and most inhumane technological instrument ever used against another human being. Our membership went from less than a hundred to over a thousand overnight, many looking to atone for their misguided ambitions.’

  ***

  The next hour had been spent in the Chief Security Officer’s cramped office studying the CCTV camera footage of the complex, starting with the accommodation block the previous evening, which clearly showed Tom exiting from a taxi and going inside. Fast forwarding through the tape revealed several people coming and going during the night, but none could be identified as their suspect.

  The morning images were much clearer because of the daylight, but the volume of people increased substantially, making the identification process slower as they had to freeze the recording on each individual in order to eliminate them. They reached real-time recording with no sign of their suspect having left the accommodation block.

  ***

  Frederick returned to his seat, which gave Tom the opportunity to ask about the German effort to produce a nuclear bomb.

  ‘Professor Reinhardt,’ explained Frederick, ‘who was head of our organisation at the time, was also responsible for the atomic research team for the German military. He managed to dissuade the Nazis from building a bomb on the grounds that it was too expensive and uncertain, and had no hope of success before the end of the war.’

  ‘And Oppenheimer? Wasn’t he a member of the organisation?’ Tom knew all about the Manhattan Project. Every undergraduate in atomic physics had learnt how Oppenheimer had been given the onerous task of bringing together the greatest scientific minds of his day to work on a project that had the sole purpose of killing thousands of people. He was noted for his mastery of all scientific aspects of the project and for his efforts to control the inevitable cultural conflicts between scientists and the military. He was an iconic figure to his fellow scientists, as much a symbol of what they were working toward, as a scientific director.

  But it wasn’t so much Oppenheimer’s scientific or administrative achievements that were to be debated in the lecture halls around the world to this day, but more the ethical values of science as a tool to advance the human race. The question asked was how could the development of the atomic bomb be justified for the good of mankind?

  Proponents argued that it shortened the war, saving the lives of many more soldiers and civilians that would have been killed had the war been allowed to continue to its natural conclusion using conventional weapons. The opponents, however, cited not only the indiscriminate way the bomb decimated everything in its path, but also the lasting effects of radiation on future generations of families fortunate or unfortunate enough to have survived the initial blast. This usually leads onto the wider implications of having such a weapon in the arsenal of a select number of countries who use it as a threat to make lesser nations capitulate, as opposed to being the ultimate deterrent and an essential instrument in maintaining world peace.

  ‘Robert?’ Frederick said fondly. ‘You could say he is responsible for making the organisation what it is today.’

  Tom looked confused, but let Frederick continue. ‘What most people don’t know about Robert Oppenheimer is that, not only was he a brilliant scientist, but he was also a deeply religious man. The two aren’t mutually exclusive, you know,’ he added, seeing Tom’s frown deepen. ‘He was a devout follower of Hinduism. When he was a young man, he memorised the entire seven hundred verses of the Bhagavad Gita, or The Song of the Bhagavan, in its original Sanskrit form, after learning the language. Years later, on seeing the flash the first time he tested the atomic bomb in the desert in New Mexico, he was heard to say, “If the radiance of a thousand suns were to burst into the sky, that would be like the splendour of the Mighty One”. And when the huge, sinister, mushroom-shaped cloud rose into the sky, he quoted another line from the poem, “I have become death, the shatterer of Worlds”.’

  Tom gave an involuntary shudder, as though somebody had walked over his grave.

  ***

  When there was still no sighting of the Professor, next came known associates. An officer was dispatched to check on the apartments of Serena Mayer and Anjit Bose, whilst the inspector and his associate re-ran the tapes looking to see if Serena had left the accommodation block. They found her on three separate occasions on the morning tapes. One was at exactly 8.55 am when she was seen leaving. The next was six minutes later when she was returning with a bag, and the third was seven minutes afte
r that when she was spotted leaving again, but this time in the presence of a security guard.

  When questioned about the identity of the man she was with, the Chief Security Officer wasn’t able to offer any assistance as he couldn’t recognise him because his face was obscured by the collar on his jacket. But he did inform the inspector that it was against company policy for a member of his staff to fraternise with a CERN employee and, when he was able to establish who it was, he would be disciplining them.

  It was of no concern to Gervaux, who brushed off the comment and asked to see the camera footage that would track Serena’s movements. She was seen getting into one of the buggies at the front of reception with the security guard and driving off. Another camera picked her up driving down the main boulevard, which then switched to another camera as she drove out of its range. She was last seen reversing into an alley between two buildings by a fourth camera.

  All eyes were on the screen, waiting for her to emerge, but several seconds passed without an appearance. And then the security guard walked out, crossed the road and entered a building on the opposite side. They watched the footage for several more minutes, but there was no sign of her.

  ***

  ‘But how could his conscience permit him to be involved in such a project that was clearly against his faith?’ Tom challenged.

  ‘Robert was given a job to do, which you could argue went against all religious ethicalities. He could have turned it down, of course, but he believed that, in creating the ultimate weapon, a weapon so powerful that it could destroy entire nations, the enemy would recognise the futility in continuing the conflict and lay down their arms, thus saving countless lives. What he didn’t know about at the time was the huge chasm that existed between the two sides’ attitudes to captivity. It was driven into the psyche of every Japanese soldier and citizen that death must be preferred to surrender. It took two physical demonstrations of the bomb’s capabilities for the Japanese to acquiesce, an act that Robert had no part in, but the consequences of which plagued him for the rest of his life. The fact that only eight countries in the world today have nuclear weapons capability, and Hiroshima and Nagasaki were the only times the bomb has ever been deployed against an enemy, is testament to the achievements of Robert and the organisation over the years.’