by Ward Wagher
“You seem to be back on balance this morning, Dieter,” Florian said, walking over to Dieter’s bench.
“I have a new idea. It always puts me in a good mood. At least until the confounded thing doesn’t work.”
“Have you tried it yet?”
“No. I only just got here. And I had to have my morning cup of coffee.”
Jette worked her way through a stack of papers Ignatz had left on her desk. Dieter was never entirely able to figure out how the little man acquired or generated so much paper. Jette worked diligently to bring Ignatz’s office to order, yet her efforts seemed to yield even more paper. Dieter idly wondered if there was something about the magic of this place that caused it. It reminded him of the old story about the Sorcerer’s Apprentice. Despite everyone’s best efforts, it seemed like the laboratory operations always skirted the edges of chaos.
“The morning coffee seems to solve everything,” Konrad said as he walked over to two of them. “I can’t seem to think straight without it.”
“You can’t think straight with it,” Florian reposted. “I don’t know why this morning should be different.”
Dieter laughed. “No wonder things are always so hopeless. Coffee is our only hope.”
They chatted for a few more minutes and then returned to their work. Through it, Jette continued to work at her desk. She rarely interacted extensively with the crew, although she did help herself to the coffee. The rest of the workers in the lab and the manufactory knew of Ignatz’s protectiveness towards the girl as well as her friendship with Dieter and so left her alone.
Working at his new device, Dieter lost awareness of his surroundings. His concentration was such that he jumped when he heard the voice next to him.
“Started on a new project, have we?”
He looked over to see Rolf next to the bench.
“Oh, hello, Rolf. I did not hear you come in.”
“I was in Frankfort today, and thought that it would be good to visit my favorite inventor.”
“Where have you been?”
“Oh, I’ve been at the Western Front observing our Magicians. I must say the Führer is very pleased with the performance of your new weapons. The enemy is in total disarray. The OKW thinks we will be in Paris by the turn of the year.”
“That’s good news, then,” Dieter commented. “And, yes, I am trying something different. I have concluded that inventing magic is like beating my head against a wall, but with fewer opportunities for reward.”
Rolf laughed heartily. “That’s very good, Dieter. And your efforts have been outstanding. What are you working on now?”
“We haven’t managed to figure out a way to control the anti-gravity mechanism, so I had a thought over the weekend to combine that with the force field. It feels like it should create a whirlpool of air.”
“Sort of like a tornado, then?”
“Well, yes. I am not sure it would be that powerful, but that is the general idea. Do you think that might be a useful weapon?”
The SS man rubbed his chin as he thought about it. “Perhaps it might. If nothing else, it might sow confusion among the enemy. I think sooner or later they will be accustomed to our new weapons. A big part of our advantage has been in sowing terror. They have seen the beam weapon, so maybe something new will reignite the panic.”
“That is something to be hoped for,” Dieter commented.
Rolf leaned forward confidentially. “Something I am concerned about that I needed to speak about with you.”
Feeling the tendrils of fear in his stomach, Dieter glanced at Rolf. “What is it?”
“I need to be certain you do not develop a relationship with the girl.”
“With Jette? She is just a friend.”
“Yes. You realize that we cannot tolerate the subhumans here in Germany. We are willing to indulge Ignatz for the moment, because of your contributions to the Reich. But sometime in the future, I think we will be able to dispense with her services.”
“I think I understand,” Dieter nodded.
Rolf smiled and patted Dieter on the shoulder. “Good. I am glad we had this conversation. You are one of our outstanding Aryans. You are the future of the Reich. You do not want to jeopardize that.”
“Of course.”
Rolf then wandered about the lab for a few minutes and then disappeared into manufactory. Rolf and Karl seemed to enjoy mutual flattery, Dieter thought, and he was happy to leave them to it. He decided that Jette was right about Rolf. But what was he to do about it?
Late that afternoon, he completed the rough prototype of the new machine and decided to power it up. On a whim, he had connected the controller that Konrad made to it. He looked over at Florian.
“Got your notebook, Florian?”
“Absolutely. You have been so busy today that you noticed no one. What are we doing here?”
“I think it will be a whirlpool of air.”
“Oh. Like a tornado, then?”
“That’s what Rolf asked me. The answer is, I don’t know. I don’t even know if it will work. But if we don’t record the event, Ignatz will be unhappy with us.”
“Too right.”
“Very well,” Dieter said. “Observe as I apply power.”
Florian looked at his watch and noted the time in his workbook. “I confirm that power is on. And we have the indicator light.”
“Right. Now we slowly increase power.”
He turned the rheostat and watched the meters rise. Early on, Konrad had constructed a device to measure the current flowing through the inventions. It not only allowed them to track current usage by the machines and establish a baseline but also allowed them to compare the power of the different magicians.
“I am showing power output at the threshold for magic, Florian.”
“Confirm we are at the threshold. Power draw seems nominal.”
“Very well,” Dieter said. “I will now bring power over the threshold. Note that the device is humming slightly.”
“That’s new,” Florian said. “Everything else has been silent.”
A whistling of air filled the lab when Dieter moved the power up over the threshold. Unanchored paper and dust swirled up over the device as they felt they were next to a powerful fan. Florian looked frightened, but Dieter reached out and began moving the stick on the top of the controller. The whirlpool of air moved away from the bench into the center of the lab. He then reached out and turned the rheostat knob counterclockwise, and the wind stopped.
Around the lab, everyone was staring at him. Ignatz stood in the doorway of his office with his hands on his hips. It seemed to Dieter that this was Ignatz’s favorite pose.
“It would seem you have graced us with another invention,” the little man said.
“I had an idea over the weekend. I wanted to try it out.”
“I should hope to think so,” Ignatz responded. “I think any further tests of this device must be conducted in a larger space, or perhaps outside.”
“I think so, too.”
Florian was scribbling in the notebook, trying to record all the data before he forgot something. This was a significant invention, and he wondered how far they could scale the thing up. The weapons were useful, but trying to combine them on a single magician would weigh him down. He could see there would need to be conversations with Karl to engineer a solution.
“I can see you are already planning an implementation,” Dieter said.
Florian looked at him sharply. “Am I that easy to read?”
“I have gotten to know you well,” Dieter said. “Besides, when we invent something, that is always the first thing you talk about.”
“Karl is a good engineer, but he sometimes doesn’t think about the magicians too much.”
“I wouldn’t want to carry all this equipment around with me. Just the times he outfitted me for demonstrations, it got heavy. I almost didn’t need the heater when I was outside with it.”
Florian grinned at Dieter. “I
am just as happy to stay here in the laboratory and not have to march around the French countryside in mufti.”
“Keep thinking those happy thoughts,” Dieter laughed. “Those magicians are stronger and braver than I.”
Usually the talkative one, Dieter said little during the drive home. The little KdF Wagen hummed along in its normal fashion in the snow while he and Jette rode in the comfort provided by the heater. She looked at him curiously when they arrived at the rooming house.
Later in the evening, he made his way quietly down the stairs and tapped lightly on Frau Hohltaube’s door.
“You had an interesting day, I expect,” the old woman said as she opened the door wider to allow him in.
“I had a conversation with Rolf today. He warned me about Jette. I understand what you were saying.”
“Sometimes, events have a way of focusing your thoughts, young Herr Faust.”
“He said that Ignatz was protecting her, but eventually she would no longer be needed. He told me that I should be careful not to get too attached to her."
“Then Ignatz is in danger as well. When you and the girl leave, the SS will take out their anger on him.”
“Can we do anything for him?” he asked.
“It is important for you and the girl to escape safely. I can make no promises, otherwise.”
“And where should we go?”
She shook her head. “Surely, you have thought about this.”
“I have given thought to what we need to take with us, but I have never left Frankfort.”
“You must ultimately find your way to the United States. That is the only place where you will truly be safe.”
“How will I get to the United States?”
“You are a problem solver, Herr Faust. You will figure out a way.”
“I suppose I should start working on that.”
“Yes, you should.”
He returned to his room in a thoughtful mood. He understood that he had made the decision to leave and now had to implement it. He began a mental list of things that would enable the escape and protect them on their trip. After all, he and Jette were the most powerful magicians in the laboratory. Given their acquisition of the necessary magical devices, that was a problem solved.
Transportation was another question. His KdF Wagen had virtually unlimited range with its magical machinery. But the little cars were still rare in Germany, and when the SS put out the word to detain him, he would be visible to everyone. He was confident he could build a shield for the vehicle. He thought some more about his experiments to make the wearer of the equipment invisible. That had not turned out quite as he expected. But he still felt something like that might be possible.
Another possible issue was in his traveling with Jette. The girl had a mind of her own, and he anticipated many lively arguments as they made their escape. He needed to get her to come to an understanding of who was in charge. He was not sanguine about those prospects. Perhaps he could convince Frau Hohltaube to speak with Jette.
As he pondered things, it led to another question in his mind. When in conversation with the old lady, he had uncritically accepted everything she said. Now, in the solitude of his room, he wondered about that. Who was she, really? What powers did she have? She had appeared in his life and had come to the rescue of the girl in the middle of a horrible situation.
After he discovered the physical effects governing his devices, which were, for want of a better term, magic, he was more apt to believe Frau Hohltaube possessed some magical talents of her own. And she certainly seemed to be interested in Dieter Faust and Jette Meier escaping from Nazi Germany and surviving the experience. He was now certain Jette would be in grave danger if she remained.
He pulled out his notebook and began listing things needed for the escape and their travel. He had no idea on how to get to the United States, but now that he had identified the problems, his subconscious mind began chewing on the situation. If there was a solution, he was confident he would find it.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
December 26, 1939
Meat was beginning to get scarce in the German groceries. Breakfast this morning was biscuits with gravy. Dieter recognized the gravy from last night’s pork loin. If the Beckers were unable to procure or afford their usual generous portions of meat for all the meals, he wasn’t going to complain. He suspected things were worse elsewhere.
Rather than his usual habit of pondering the upcoming day’s activities in the lab, he thought about how to procure and then build the devices needed for their escape from Germany. Money was not an issue. Rolf had made sure Dieter was well paid for his efforts. Finding the necessary parts would be a challenge.
“You seem quieter than usual,” Jette commented as they rode across the streets of Frankfort towards the SS base.
“I am planning for our escape from Germany,” he said simply.
She looked at him with her mouth open. “You have decided to go?”
“Yes, I think I have. Germany is becoming too dangerous.”
He was careful not to say much about his fears. He wasn’t sure how she would react if she knew Rolf was watching her. He was confident, however, that as soon as the SS officer decided she was not necessary to the lab operation, she would disappear. And he worried about Ignatz, too. Rolf cast the same suspicious looks towards the little laboratory manager as he did to the girl.
“I am so glad you have decided so. When do we leave?”
“There are a lot of questions to be answered, Jette. For example, how will we travel? Where will we go. What do we need to take with us? How will we avoid the SS and the Gestapo? If we leave without making any plans on how to proceed, things will likely end up much worse than if we stayed.”
“But, if we stay, they will kill me.”
“Exactly.”
She stared out the window as the little car rolled along. She turned back to him.
“We will each need a set of the magicians’ equipment.”
“Right. And how will we conceal it? If we wear the magicians’ outfits, we will stand out.”
“Oh. I didn’t think about that.”
“No problem,” Dieter said. “You are thinking along the same lines as I.”
“Can we steal the gear we need, or is this something you could build?”
“I can build it, although Karl’s artistry is much better than mine. Getting the parts may be difficult. I’ve been thinking about some other devices we might use, so I plan to start experimenting in my room in the evenings.”
“Buying the parts will take money.”
“Money is not a problem. My job pays me more than I can spend. Finding the parts in the shops in Frankfort is hard.”
“Perhaps Frau Hohltaube can help.”
He smiled as he thought about the fearsome old lady. It seemed she was able to intimidate anyone who came into contact with her.
“I will ask her tonight.”
“How much time do we have?” she asked.
“That is the question, is it not? I don’t know, Jette. We don’t have a lot of time, I am sure.”
“Then we must make a list,” she said forthrightly. “I am sure there will be some things that I can find or purchase. I think you need to spend your time on the equipment.”
“I have made a list,” he said. “It is back in my room. I can show it to you tonight.”
“I will think about this today. Most of what I do for Ignatz is mindless anyway. I will have a list in my head to share with you tonight. Um, Dieter, what do you think the chances are of slipping a couple of sets of gear out of Karl’s shop?”
“I don’t know. Karl’s people keep tight control of the inventory.”
“Do they hang the gear on racks or have it in boxes?”
Dieter glanced out the side window and then to the front again. “I think I see where you’re going. They packed the gear, one box for a set. If the box is sealed and at the back of the stack, they won’t know it’s empty until th
ey either check everything or send out a shipment.”
She nodded. “That makes sense. So how do we get in there to get the gear?”
“That is something we need to think about.”
They rolled through the main gate to the base and stopped in front of the laboratory building. She grabbed her lunch sack, and he his two small loaves, and they went into the building. He often wondered where she found the materials for her lunches. While he had to be content with plain bread, she usually had a sandwich with some kind of meat. He knew she wasn’t an observant Jew, but on the other hand, finding kosher foods in Frankfort was now nearly impossible. Perhaps the old lady had something to do with it.
“Ready to work on Faust’s Funnel?” Florian asked as Dieter arrived at his workbench.
“Faust’s Funnel?” His eyebrows raised. “What kind of a name is that?”
“I thought it was catchy.”
“You keep coming up with things like that, the only thing you’ll catch is a brick in the face.”
Florian laughed. “You just don’t appreciate getting credit for your brilliant work.”
“Yeah, give over. This is a team effort. “If it were just me by myself, we would never get anywhere. Faust’s Funnel, indeed. Let’s call it Florian’s Folly.”
“Oh, thank you very much, Dieter.”
“My pleasure.”
“Come on,” Florian said, “let’s get our morning coffee before Ludwig and Konrad drain the pot.”
Ignatz walked up to Dieter’s bench later in the morning and watched as he and Florian struggled with the apparatus.
“How are things going?”
“As well as can be expected,” Dieter replied. “I think we are starting to get the hang of controlling the effect.”
“I procured the base sporthalle for tomorrow evening to give you some room to test your latest device. Will that work?”
“That will help a lot, Ignatz. Thanks.”
“Just do not blow the windows out of the place. Colonel Treide would not understand.”
“I do not want to come to the attention of Colonel Treide,” Dieter said fervently. “That man is scary.”
