are experimenting with ways of splitting the atom, causing particles to break off and shoot away from the atom. Their hope is to start a chain reaction, one atom hitting another, and it hitting another, and on and on. This is nuclear fission."
"Where are you when you have nuclear fission?" Crown asked, sorry to see the conversation take a scientific turn.
"London and Washington speculate that the chain reaction could balloon violently, causing a massive explosion. The German research is designed to produce a bomb."
"That's just what the goddamn Germans need, another bomb."
"This one is different. Our scientists believe that, just like a conventional explosion, when an atom bomb is detonated, there will be an extremely rapid rise in temperature, which will result in the complete vaporization, or gasification, of the products of the explosion and also of the container. These very hot gases produced in the restricted space will start to move outward immediately following the detonation. But there are several ways an atom bomb will differ from TNT. First, the amount of energy released will be a thousand or more times that of our largest current weapons. The scientists figure that the wind velocity a quarter-mile from the explosion site will reach eight-hundred miles per hour, and that all structures within two miles will be flattened."
Sackville-West looked up from the ominous statistics, and a shadow of fear crossed his face, something Crown had never seen before.
"Second," the Priest continued, "the explosion will be accompanied by a highly penetrating and deadly invisible ray. The scientists are only beginning to guess the effects of this ray, but they suspect it will have the effect of a massive overdose of X ray, that is, sickness and deterioration of the body parts. And third, radioactive particles will remain in the air and on the ground after an explosion. The particles will sicken or kill people coming in contact with them."
Sackville-West raised his hand to prevent an expression of disbelief, and said, "We know the Germans are spending millions on atom research right now. We also know that the Reich Ministry of Economics has forbidden the exportation of radioactive materials. The location of German stockpiles of uranium has become a German state secret of the highest priority. Even more frightening is that the Germans first produced heavy water in 1937 and split a uranium atom in 1938."
Sackville-West anticipated the question and went on, "Heavy water is water that has been made fractionally more dense by passing electricity through it. It's used to slow down the neutrons and divert them back into the reaction, thus allowing the reaction to build. The fact the Germans first produced it five years ago indicates they are far ahead of us in nuclear-bomb research."
The Priest was warming to his subject. His usually conservative gestures were now more animated, and his voice lost its hard, articulated edge. He was the United States government's premier operative. His agency was given information and told to act. Act secretly, swiftly, and surely. It was inconceivable that his data had not been analyzed and sifted by the best minds in the country, who had been trained to look for weak spots, inconsistencies, and planted information. That Sackville-West had been ordered to act made it clear that the United States was deeply concerned about this German research. Crown's doubt of theunbelievable tale of a city-destroying bomb the size of a basketball disappeared.
"Now, to Hess's role in this affair. Rudolf Hess has always been viewed by us as Hitler's faithful, do-anything dog. Our studies on him done before his flight to Scotland showed him to be of medium intelligence with a rather shallow personality. We believed he rose to his powerful position in the Third Reich simply because of his unquestioned, blind obedience to Hitler. Hitler spoke, Hess jumped. Take a look at excerpts from some of Hess's speeches made before
"Where are you when you have nuclear fission?" Crown asked, sorry to see the conversation take a scientific turn.
"London and Washington speculate that the chain reaction could balloon violently, causing a massive explosion. The German research is designed to produce a bomb."
"That's just what the goddamn Germans need, another bomb."
"This one is different. Our scientists believe that, just like a conventional explosion, when an atom bomb is detonated, there will be an extremely rapid rise in temperature, which will result in the complete vaporization, or gasification, of the products of the explosion and also of the container. These very hot gases produced in the restricted space will start to move outward immediately following the detonation. But there are several ways an atom bomb will differ from TNT. First, the amount of energy released will be a thousand or more times that of our largest current weapons. The scientists figure that the wind velocity a quarter-mile from the explosion site will reach eight-hundred miles per hour, and that all structures within two miles will be flattened."
Sackville-West looked up from the ominous statistics, and a shadow of fear crossed his face, something Crown had never seen before.
"Second," the Priest continued, "the explosion will be accompanied by a highly penetrating and deadly invisible ray. The scientists are only beginning to guess the effects of this ray, but they suspect it will have the effect of a massive overdose of X ray, that is, sickness and deterioration of the body parts. And third, radioactive particles will remain in the air and on the ground after an explosion. The particles will sicken or kill people coming in contact with them."
Sackville-West raised his hand to prevent an expression of disbelief, and said, "We know the Germans are spending millions on atom research right now. We also know that the Reich Ministry of Economics has forbidden the exportation of radioactive materials. The location of German stockpiles of uranium has become a German state secret of the highest priority. Even more frightening is that the Germans first produced heavy water in 1937 and split a uranium atom in 1938."
Sackville-West anticipated the question and went on, "Heavy water is water that has been made fractionally more dense by passing electricity through it. It's used to slow down the neutrons and divert them back into the reaction, thus allowing the reaction to build. The fact the Germans first produced it five years ago indicates they are far ahead of us in nuclear-bomb research."
The Priest was warming to his subject. His usually conservative gestures were now more animated, and his voice lost its hard, articulated edge. He was the United States government's premier operative. His agency was given information and told to act. Act secretly, swiftly, and surely. It was inconceivable that his data had not been analyzed and sifted by the best minds in the country, who had been trained to look for weak spots, inconsistencies, and planted information. That Sackville-West had been ordered to act made it clear that the United States was deeply concerned about this German research. Crown's doubt of theunbelievable tale of a city-destroying bomb the size of a basketball disappeared.
"Now, to Hess's role in this affair. Rudolf Hess has always been viewed by us as Hitler's faithful, do-anything dog. Our studies on him done before his flight to Scotland showed him to be of medium intelligence with a rather shallow personality. We believed he rose to his powerful position in the Third Reich simply because of his unquestioned, blind obedience to Hitler. Hitler spoke, Hess jumped. Take a look at excerpts from some of Hess's speeches made before
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