The Eve of Abounding Wickedness

by Mark Spaid

  “Your job now is to raise your sons for the glory of The Greater Reich. Teach them well, for one day the moment will arrive and they’ll be ready. Perhaps it’ll happen in your lifetime and that’ll be fine but if it doesn’t then you must have your sons ready for their chance,” Strope explained. They talked about other things then the meeting ended with the usual Nazi salute.

  It bears an explanation as to the meaning of The Greater Reich. Reich means realm or empire and of course Nazi Germany was referred to by the Nazis as the Third Reich. The First Reich was the Holy Roman Empire of the Middle Ages. The Second Reich was the Hollenzollern Empire started by Wilhelm I in 187 that ended after World War I when Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated and the Weimar Republic was established. The Third Empire or Third Reich was that of the Nazis and Hitler.

  CHAPTER SIX

  “We’re going now,” Dave said as he Sol and Warren waited to leave. Warren was being picked up at a different location. Sol and Dave were to go together.

  “Be careful,” Tatiana said.

  “We will but now listen. Here we can talk but at the lab I’m sure it’s bugged and there’ll no doubt be hidden cameras. They may take our phones from us…who knows.”

  “How will we communicate with you?” Belinda asked.

  “During the day, you won’t. Wait until we get home,” Dave answered.

  “No contact with anyone,” Sol reminded them. No police, no lawyers, no private detectives…nothing. Carry on as you always would, shopping, errands, taking walks, or whatever you want. Nothing will happen to you as long as the three of us are working on the problem.”

  “Good-bye,” Jozette said. Ariel hugged Warren and Tatiana hugged Dave and Sol.

  “Good luck,” Andy said.

  “We’ll need it,” Dave said and they left. They used two different cabs and made it with time to spare to their locations.

  “Here’s your work area,” a man said as he led the three physicists into a large room outfitted with lab tables, computers, large whiteboards, etc.

  “Okay, what exactly do you want from us?” Dave asked.

  “The world,” the man said. “By the way my name is Kleinschmidt and I’ll be in charge of you gentlemen.”

  “I take it you have something to give us,” Sol said. Kleinschmidt eyed Sol up and down then moved to a safe in the wall and removed a brown book.

  “Here is every physicist’s dream,” he said as he handed the book to Dave. “Peruse this and I’ll be back in an hour.” With that he abruptly left and they examined the book. It was indeed Tesla’s notebook. There were scribbled equations on the first ten pages that were seemingly unrelated. It’s important to derive a mathematician’s style. In Tesla’s case they saw that he worked left to right and not top to bottom. He reduced complexity using arrows instead of equal signs. Then he combined terms and after that he shifted down and continued. Simple enough except he used a series of footnotes to highlight significant parts. The notes explained the rationale for his conclusions. In time they began to decipher what he was doing. He was working on gravity derivatives hoping to find the one and only formula for gravity. There is of course the Universal Law of Gravitation but he needed to fit it into a lab setting to be used experimentally.

  The last part of the notebook was the UFT. He was seeking equilibrium just as Ron Shapiro was and as smart as Tesla was, it was clear that he was getting nowhere. It’d be similar to four vehicles moving towards a four way stop. A race car, a van, a fire truck and a steam roller. They had to move at different speeds to arrive simultaneously. But the steam roller could only go so fast and the race car could only go so slow. The key was to adjust the starting times and positions. Plus, any one of the vehicles could malfunction and not arrive on time or at all. There was no controlling the external conditions that caused the problems. The four vehicles had to arrive at precisely the same time or it wouldn’t work. A simplistic analysis but not inaccurate.

  “Where’s Ron’s work?” Warren asked.

  “We can ask, when he gets back here,” Sol said.

  “I don’t think he likes you, Sol,” Warren said.

  “Yeah, my surname might’ve been the tipoff for him.” Dave chuckled.

  “Does it make any sense to you?” Kleinschmidt asked as he walked into the lab an hour later

  “He just scratched the surface and the problems are multifaceted and complex.,” Dave said. “You do know it may be unsolvable.”

  “That’d be unfortunate for you and your families.”

  “We know and for that reason we’ll do everything we can to solve it. We could use the work Ron Shapiro had done,” Dave said. Kleinschmidt nodded and drew some papers from the safe. Dave and Sol looked them over quickly.

  “Warren look at these,” Sol said and after a minute Warren looked up and nodded.

  “I think he has a path to weak nuclear forces.”

  “That’s what I saw. So, one down and three to go,” Dave said.

  “I’ll leave you to your work then,” Kleinschmidt said as he headed for the door. “Oh, by the way I’m sure you’ve divined that the room is bugged and there’re cameras. If you discover these devices do not touch them. You may use your cells as you wish but we can hear what’s being said on the other end so use good judgement. Remember that your family is in our sights at all times. Anything out of order by anyone of you could easily see one of the children meet their demise.” Dave, Sol and Warren stood silent as their blood ran cold. Kleinschmidt left and after a few minutes they sat down.

  “Okay, that’s it then. We have to solve this thing,” Dave said.

  “Absolutely,” Sol added.

  “Should we work together or separately?” Warren asked.

  “Maybe separately for a short time then we can meet together and look at what each of us has,” Dave suggested.

  “Why don’t we each work on electromagnetism and see how we compare,” Sol said and it was agreed. They worked for six hours, stopping for a short lunch that was provided then back to work. At five they gathered their work for the day and compared.

  “What do you have, Warren,” Dave asked.

  “I worked on gauging photons as they bang off objects and each other. Purely theoretical so far but I like the numbers I have. Regulating the components of electricity will be easy if and when we get the right numbers.”

  “That’s about what we had,” Dave said as he looked at Warren’s work. “Where’d you get that expression?”

  “I paralleled these two up here.”

  “How did the numbers get so high?” Sol asked.

  “I set it to infinity.”

  “But then we’ll never get useable numbers,” Dave said.

  “We’ll have to solve that in the future but the effects of the exponents as they increase geometrically can’t be ignored, Warren said. “It’s like saying let’s set this nuclear bomb off slowly.” Dave and Sol looked at one another and again at Warren’s numbers.

  “Boy, this slows us down,” Dave said as he sat on a stool and folded his arms.

  “Yeah, and I liked my numbers,” Sol said. “You know, Warren if we solve this it’ll be in no small measure attributable to you.”

  “We haven’t done anything yet,” Warren reminded them and he was right.

  “Tomorrow, I think we need to work together,” Sol said and it was agreed.

  “How was it?” Tatiana asked Dave when they came inside Justin and Belinda’s house.

  “Okay, I guess. Now, for everyone; we can use our cells but they can hear what the person on the other end is saying.”

  “That sort of muddies things,” Jozette added.

  “Tell us what’s going to happen,” Andy said.

  “The three of us are going to try and solve the UFT.”

  “What if you can’t?” Lexi asked.

  “The results won’t be good. Our handler already told us if there’s a single transgression on our part then one of the children will disappear,” Dave replied.

&
nbsp; “What?” Belinda gasped. “Can’t we run away or hide?” Jozette went to her friend to calm her.

  “We don’t have that option, Lind,” Justin said. I think things are very clear. These three guys will have to be successful for us to survive.”

  “Justin’s right; it’s a cold reality but that’s what it is,” Sol said.

  “Supper’s ready, why don’t we eat and forget about today,” Ariel suggested.

  “Good idea,” Will said. They let the girls lead the conversation and tried to stick to things about friendships, college classes, etc. At ten they all went to bed but around one am Dave got up. Tatiana was not in bed with him and he knew she’d be brooding.

  “Can’t sleep?”

  “Can you?” Tatiana asked.

  “We’re in a pickle, Love.”

  “That’s putting it mildly.”

  “It looks like we’re hemmed in, Tatiana.”

  “So far but there’s always a way.”

  “What is it?”

  “I don’t know yet but when I do I’ll tell you.”

  “You know if we try anything, they’ll kill one of the kids.”

  “I know that, Dave,” she said with a perturbed look.

  “I’m scared too, Love.” She leaned on his shoulder and he put his arm around her waist.

  “You three keep working; I’ll think of something.”

  “Okay, let’s go back to bed.” She looked up at him and grinned.

  Everett Strope’s House

  1980

  “I have the medical report on your children and they’re all in excellent health. You’ve done a fine job,” Strope said.

  “We’re all pleased, Mr. Strope,” Thomas Rutherford said. He was the acknowledged leader and there was never a question about that by anyone.

  “Yes, and you should be as well since you’re fulfilling your mission admirably.”

  “What’s our mission at this point?” Simon Windsor asked.

  “We’re all in a waiting mode. Waiting for the day when the means are at your disposal to reinstate The Greater Reich.”

  “But, when will that happen?” George Klay asked.

  “You know as much as I do,” Strope said.

  “It’s time for us to move around the state and maybe the country,” Thomas said.

  “Indeed,” Strope agreed.

  “Where should we go?” Randall Willoughby asked.

  “That’s been decided for you.”

  “I don’t understand?” Walter West said.

  “All of you have been secured jobs. I have the information right here.”

  “Where will we go and what’ll we do?” Donald Wright asked.

  “Here it is,” Strope said as he read off a clipboard. “Homes have been purchased for you and jobs are ready for you to start…all within two weeks so you’ll need to pack and be ready to move. Arrangements have been made to move all of you except Thomas. He’ll remain here in Bloomington to coordinate things.”

  “Where do we go?” Walter West asked.

  “Walter, you and your family will move to South Bend where you’ll be a tire salesman.” You have one son James. Everything must go to advancing Walter Jr. as a leader. The wives knew this was the case but they understood that before they ever agreed to become involved so they didn’t complain.

  “Fair enough,” Walter said smiling at his wife who nodded.

  “Simon, you’ll be selling real estate in Kokomo and raising Andrew.”

  “Yes, Mr. Strope,” Simon said.

  “George, you and Kathryn and your son will move to Effingham, Illinois where you’ll run a campground. Be careful to keep the boy away from the other kids.”

  “Understood, Mr. Strope.”

  “Randall and Colleen, you’ll take your son to Indianapolis. You’ll be working at a farm machinery store.”

  “Okay.”

  “Don, you and Kim will take your son to Chicago where you’ll work as a loan officer in a large midwestern bank.”

  “Yes, Mr. Strope.”

  “Thomas, you and Angela shall remain in Bloomington as I said and raise your son. You won’t have a job like the others. Your task will be to formulate Reich policy when we come to power in the United States. Now, remember all of you that the oldest son is the key to the future. Your parents live for one purpose and that’s the oldest son All effort must go into developing your son’s talents for leading and serving The Greater Reich.” There were nods of agreement all around.

  “I’ll be taking a residence here in Bloomington so Thomas and I can meet regularly. I’ll keep in touch with all of you by mail and phone calls to keep you aware of any changes in the situation. You should also know that there are people working all over this country and Europe trying to find or create the seeds for the takeover.”

  “Are we close?” Simon asked.

  “Impossible to tell right now. We need a situation where the people are ready to turn to extreme solutions. We all know that’s how the Fuehrer was able to seize power the first time.”

  “You mean a depression?” Randall asked.

  “Yes, or a famine, a pandemic or an invasion from a foreign power.”

  “To the glory of The Greater Reich,” Thomas said as he stood up and raised his fist in the air followed by all the others.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  “Anything worthwhile, Warren?” Dave asked. They’d been working for two weeks with only minimal results of value.

  “I think I have an answer for gluon movement.”

  “Good, let’s have it,” Sol said as they all sat down at the lab table to share their work.

  “I like this; now we can substitute this expression here and leap frog over pages of work,” Dave said.

  “Well done, Warren,” Sol said and patted him on the back. But Warren sighed and looked at the big board where they did most of the general math.

  “Something wrong?” Sol asked. Warren walked back and forth in front of the board then he would stop and look closely at one section before resuming his pacing. This went on for ten minutes until finally he stood back with both hands clasped behind his head.

  “I have an idea.” Sol and Dave looked at one another.

  “Okay,” Dave said.

  “Remember Los Alamos?”

  “Yes, what about it?” Sol asked.

  “They worked for two years on implosion and got nowhere trying to create a symmetrical shock wave. Then the British suggested exploding lenses and it worked; they had their shock wave and could proceed to build the bomb.”

  “Alright, Warren, what’s your point?” Dave asked.

  “My point is we’ve worked for two weeks and gotten nowhere.”

  “I wouldn’t say nowhere,” Sol added.

  “I would,” Warren continued. We’re never going to find that point where all four forces reach equilibrium.”

  “Then we can’t solve it,” Dave said.

  “No, I think we might be able to but not the way we’re approaching it.”

  “Show us,” Sol said. Warren turned the big board around and started writing and drawing. After a few minutes he turned to face his fellow physicists.

  “Those are Venn Diagrams,” Dave said chuckling. “I think we need more than that.”

  “I’m not so sure,” Warren said. “Look, here’s electromagnetism…it’s large because it’s central to everything. The Philadelphia Experiment was all about high voltage. Time travel, we know from experience is electricity. Any particle beam weapon will be directed by electricity. Everything they want is tied to electromagnetism. So, it has a large circle. Strong nuclear force is significant but still smaller. Weak nuclear force is very small. We can’t ignore it because of the likelihood of chemical reactions no matter how insignificant they be at the time, so, it is a factor but a minor one.”

  “And gravity?” Sol said.

  “Ah, that’s the loose cannon for as we know it’s always there. We can never negate it like we can with electricity. We can’t turn o
ff gravity.”

  “So, how do we deal with it?” Dave asked.

  “I’ve been thinking about it for a week. At night I get up and sit by the window. It drives Ariel nuts. I can’t get it out of my head. I have drawings up here that I’ve been changing and adjusting for days,” Warren said as he pointed to his head.

  “And these are the drawings from your head?” Sol asked.

  “Not exactly, remember the ever-present nature of gravity. It’s always over our shoulder waiting to mess up what we’ve calculated. I think that’s what slowed down the other scientists who’ve work on the UFT in the past. I’m guessing that Ron Shapiro ran into the same problem.”

  “And you’re sure about this,” Dave said.

  “I’m not sure about anything that we’re doing. I just think a new approach might be the answer. Look, we can continue on a linear path but I can’t see a solution. There’re too many variables and we can’t control any of them let alone all. And make no mistake, if even one number is off, we get a negative solution and that won’t work. This way that I’ve calculated, gives us a chance. If it doesn’t work then we can go back to where we were and hope for a miracle. My way gives us shorter odds for success.” Sol and Dave nodded agreement.

  “Okay, Warren, we’ll play it your way,” Dave said.

  “Agreed,” Sol added.

  “Let’s see what you have?” Dave said.

  “Gravity’s our problem we all know that. It was Tesla’s problem and it was Ron Shapiro’s problem. I propose that we do this.” He erased the drawings he had and made new ones.

  “What’s the giant circle?” Sol asked.

  “Gravity. I think we should work inside gravity. We know the pull here on Earth and I think we can ignore all others bodies with the exception of the un.”

  “Well, how do account for the un?” Sol asked.

  “We give it a directional vector pulling the Earth. We know from what direction it’s coming and we can figure those numbers into each equation.”