I suppose they could drown the area with the strategic reserve of maple syrup!
Stupid Luck and Happenstance.
- Thread starter Peabody-Martini
- Start date
I suppose they could drown the area with the strategic reserve of maple syrup!
To add to the mess such a (hypothetical) bomb makes, it would be a GROUNDBURST! The blast wouldn't be as bad as a similar bomb that went off at a high altitude, but the vaporized ground, concrete, and more would be horrific, and fall out close by, in many cases. Fat Man and Little Boy were set for airburst to maximize the blast. MESS if it goes off!
Part 41, Chapter 516
Author's Note: I don't know how familiar you might be with Edward Teller but I recall him giving interviews where he was enthusiastically lobbying the US Congress for civil applications of hydrogen bombs. In short, this is someone you wouldn't trust with a box of waffle mix much less anything that could go boom.
Chapter Five Hundred Sixteen
4th January 1946
Berlin
It was still a bit hard for Doug to accept what Kat had told him on New Year’s Eve, all of it. The truth about his parents or the fact that she would probably never be completely free of the Wehrmacht or Abwehr by extension. As the final days in Montreal wound down he found himself wondering if it would be possible to go back to how things had been before this horrific mistake of a vacation. Back when all he had to worry about was Kat ripping his arm out of the socket and beating him with it because he touched her by mistake. More innocent days. On the flight back across the Atlantic seemed to go a bit faster, something about the winds aloft. It was noticeable that when Kat fell asleep she was leaning on the inside wall of the fuselage this time.
At the curb Doug was helping Kat load her luggage into the car. The man who was driving the car that he knew belonged to Kat’s family was someone who he didn’t recognize at first. Then it hit him. The man looked like Hans Mischner, just twenty-five years older and a thousand times harder. The mysterious Otto Mischner who Hans and Kat talked around.
“You Douglas?” Otto asked, looking at Doug with eyes that looked like chipped ice.
“Yes, Sir” Doug said, his voice sounding thin to his ears.
“How was the trip?” Otto asked.
When Doug hesitated to give an answer Kat stepped in, “It could have gone better” She said. Thank you, Doug thought to himself.
“You went to meet his parents” Otto asked Kat.
“Yeah” Kat said, “Please, leave it at that.”
“I see” Otto replied before getting into the car.
Kat turned to Doug, “Sorry about everything” She said, “We need to go on an actual vacation sometime.”
“We don’t get to pick our families” Doug said, “Everyone knows that.”
“But still” Kat said, “At least I didn't kill anyone in Canada, that sort of was the goal.”
“Really?” Doug asked, “That’s a rather low bar to get over.”
“For you perhaps” Kat said with a smile, “I need to check on the girls and get ready for the rest of the term.”
“That’s still a thing for you?” Doug asked.
“Of course, it is” Kat answered, “It gives me an excuse to tell certain people no.”
Then Kat leaned in, kissed him and whispered, “We aren’t our parents” in his ear before jumping into the passenger seat of the car. So, she wasn’t angry with him after all.
“I’ll call you tomorrow!” Kat called out the window as the car pulled away. Doug waved as it disappeared down the road. He looked at the cart containing his suitcases. At that moment he noticed that it was actually a cold winter afternoon. He hadn’t noticed until now.
Chicago, Illinois
Teller was looking at his plans, he had everything he needed and the time to complete the build. It looked like an unholy cross between a water heater and a spark plug. He had worked on this during the Manhattan Project, he called it the “super” when they had wanted him to complete the gadgets. The theory was that the “gadgets” were wildly inefficient in their use of fissile materials and that perhaps the core implosion could merely be the trigger for a much larger, more focused device. He had driven the van with the materials needed across the country, only taking a side trip to get the final ingredients and taking the time to steal the partially completed device as well. By now the authorities in Washington State would have noticed the man that Teller had shot but it would probably take days for them to do an inventory to figure out what was missing. By then it would be far too late.
Now Teller was working on the final assembly and wiring. As much as he would have liked to have an entire team working on this in the proper laboratory setting he settled for rented warehouse space and if you want it done right, do it yourself.
He looked up at the calendar, January the 21st was circled twice. It was going to be a day that no one was ever going to forget.
Near Hoeryong, Hamgyong Province, Korea
A few days earlier Colonel Gang Yeong-Su’s Regiment had reached Hoeryong and kicked the self-styled rulers out. Word had quickly reached their paymasters in the mountains. Gang had been systematically stripping these men of locals to extort of resources for the winter. Bringing law and order to the north had that effect. Now the bandits had two choices, fight or starve. They had opted to fight, not that Gang minded in the least.
As it was their nature to be full of bravo and bluster, the bandit leader, Kim Il-Sung, had told everyone that he had gathered thousands of men to destroy the Regiment and he was going to personally kill Gang himself. Again, that suited Gang just fine.
Now Kim’s men were in the field and approaching the town. Gang could hear the drums as they were approaching. He was going to be so happy to introduce them to his new weapons. The Provisional Government in Seoul had gotten a great deal on some slightly used German Panther II tanks and their 8.8cm main guns played such a pretty song, with the 20mm guns of the APCs as a delightful counter point. Walked down the line with his men dug in, they were all happy. They might be outnumbered at the moment, but they were soldiers, this was what they did.
Chapter Five Hundred Sixteen
4th January 1946
Berlin
It was still a bit hard for Doug to accept what Kat had told him on New Year’s Eve, all of it. The truth about his parents or the fact that she would probably never be completely free of the Wehrmacht or Abwehr by extension. As the final days in Montreal wound down he found himself wondering if it would be possible to go back to how things had been before this horrific mistake of a vacation. Back when all he had to worry about was Kat ripping his arm out of the socket and beating him with it because he touched her by mistake. More innocent days. On the flight back across the Atlantic seemed to go a bit faster, something about the winds aloft. It was noticeable that when Kat fell asleep she was leaning on the inside wall of the fuselage this time.
At the curb Doug was helping Kat load her luggage into the car. The man who was driving the car that he knew belonged to Kat’s family was someone who he didn’t recognize at first. Then it hit him. The man looked like Hans Mischner, just twenty-five years older and a thousand times harder. The mysterious Otto Mischner who Hans and Kat talked around.
“You Douglas?” Otto asked, looking at Doug with eyes that looked like chipped ice.
“Yes, Sir” Doug said, his voice sounding thin to his ears.
“How was the trip?” Otto asked.
When Doug hesitated to give an answer Kat stepped in, “It could have gone better” She said. Thank you, Doug thought to himself.
“You went to meet his parents” Otto asked Kat.
“Yeah” Kat said, “Please, leave it at that.”
“I see” Otto replied before getting into the car.
Kat turned to Doug, “Sorry about everything” She said, “We need to go on an actual vacation sometime.”
“We don’t get to pick our families” Doug said, “Everyone knows that.”
“But still” Kat said, “At least I didn't kill anyone in Canada, that sort of was the goal.”
“Really?” Doug asked, “That’s a rather low bar to get over.”
“For you perhaps” Kat said with a smile, “I need to check on the girls and get ready for the rest of the term.”
“That’s still a thing for you?” Doug asked.
“Of course, it is” Kat answered, “It gives me an excuse to tell certain people no.”
Then Kat leaned in, kissed him and whispered, “We aren’t our parents” in his ear before jumping into the passenger seat of the car. So, she wasn’t angry with him after all.
“I’ll call you tomorrow!” Kat called out the window as the car pulled away. Doug waved as it disappeared down the road. He looked at the cart containing his suitcases. At that moment he noticed that it was actually a cold winter afternoon. He hadn’t noticed until now.
Chicago, Illinois
Teller was looking at his plans, he had everything he needed and the time to complete the build. It looked like an unholy cross between a water heater and a spark plug. He had worked on this during the Manhattan Project, he called it the “super” when they had wanted him to complete the gadgets. The theory was that the “gadgets” were wildly inefficient in their use of fissile materials and that perhaps the core implosion could merely be the trigger for a much larger, more focused device. He had driven the van with the materials needed across the country, only taking a side trip to get the final ingredients and taking the time to steal the partially completed device as well. By now the authorities in Washington State would have noticed the man that Teller had shot but it would probably take days for them to do an inventory to figure out what was missing. By then it would be far too late.
Now Teller was working on the final assembly and wiring. As much as he would have liked to have an entire team working on this in the proper laboratory setting he settled for rented warehouse space and if you want it done right, do it yourself.
He looked up at the calendar, January the 21st was circled twice. It was going to be a day that no one was ever going to forget.
Near Hoeryong, Hamgyong Province, Korea
A few days earlier Colonel Gang Yeong-Su’s Regiment had reached Hoeryong and kicked the self-styled rulers out. Word had quickly reached their paymasters in the mountains. Gang had been systematically stripping these men of locals to extort of resources for the winter. Bringing law and order to the north had that effect. Now the bandits had two choices, fight or starve. They had opted to fight, not that Gang minded in the least.
As it was their nature to be full of bravo and bluster, the bandit leader, Kim Il-Sung, had told everyone that he had gathered thousands of men to destroy the Regiment and he was going to personally kill Gang himself. Again, that suited Gang just fine.
Now Kim’s men were in the field and approaching the town. Gang could hear the drums as they were approaching. He was going to be so happy to introduce them to his new weapons. The Provisional Government in Seoul had gotten a great deal on some slightly used German Panther II tanks and their 8.8cm main guns played such a pretty song, with the 20mm guns of the APCs as a delightful counter point. Walked down the line with his men dug in, they were all happy. They might be outnumbered at the moment, but they were soldiers, this was what they did.
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Md139115
Banned
January 21st 1946 is the third Monday of the month.
In our world, it would be Martin Luther King Jr day.
Why do I have the feeling that American children from here on out are going to have the day off for far more somber reasons?
"Teller was looking at his plans, he had everything he needed and the time to complete the build. It looked like an unholy cross between a water heater and a spark plug. He had worked on this during the Manhattan Project, he called it the “super” when they had wanted him to complete the gadgets. The theory was that the “gadgets” were wildly inefficient in their use of fissile materials and that perhaps the core implosion could merely be the trigger for a much larger, more focused device. He had driven the van with the materials needed across the country, only taking a side trip to get the final ingredients and taking the time to steal the partially completed device as well. By now the authorities in Washington State would have noticed the man that Teller had shot but it would probably take days for them to do an inventory to figure out what was missing. By then it would be far too late."
Dear God--he's building an hydrogen bomb.
Dear God--he's building an hydrogen bomb.
Why do I have a bad feeling January 21 is the day scheduled for the formal ending of the war in the East - or alternately to pull a complete decaptiation strike on DC as revenge.
For historical reasons, it's also interesting, as that was the day Louis XVI lost his head...
Yeah, Teller's a completely brilliant terror, and his revenge could be very outsized indeed.
The first successful atomic bomb test is immediately followed up by the first hydrogen bomb test...in a populated area.
Md139115
Banned
Worse yet, he's already in Chicago.
The intercity transport network between the East Coast and Chicago is far more advanced than between the West Coast and Chicago.
He has the capability to destroy any American city he chooses. And given his actions, it may wind up being Washington.
The intercity transport network between the East Coast and Chicago is far more advanced than between the West Coast and Chicago.
He has the capability to destroy any American city he chooses. And given his actions, it may wind up being Washington.
Hell, even if he just does Chicago....
That's a big hub of rails gone. And no highways meaning commerce internally is now dead.
http://nuclearsecrecy.com/nukemap/?...es=1018803&injuries=942185&psi_1=3298740&zm=5
Not just one city - the fallout cone of Ivy Mike would wreck Philadelphia and New York. It's ambitious, it may fizzle, but if it succeeds...and it's found out the reason for his disgruntlement is German sabotage...
Not just one city - the fallout cone of Ivy Mike would wreck Philadelphia and New York. It's ambitious, it may fizzle, but if it succeeds...and it's found out the reason for his disgruntlement is German sabotage...
Fun Fact:
My father attended a couple of lectures by Dr. Teller it was supposed to be for technical information on new weapons that the navy just received.
But it soon became a talk on how the United States could win a nuclear war with a surprise first strike attack and that the United States would only receive "Minimal Damage".
The first time I saw Dr. Strangelove: or How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love the Bomb with my father I thought that Dr.Strangelove was based on Henry Kissinger but my father told me it.was 80% Dr Teller and 20% Dr von Braun who he also met at Sandia Test Range.
My father attended a couple of lectures by Dr. Teller it was supposed to be for technical information on new weapons that the navy just received.
But it soon became a talk on how the United States could win a nuclear war with a surprise first strike attack and that the United States would only receive "Minimal Damage".
The first time I saw Dr. Strangelove: or How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love the Bomb with my father I thought that Dr.Strangelove was based on Henry Kissinger but my father told me it.was 80% Dr Teller and 20% Dr von Braun who he also met at Sandia Test Range.
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. . . ..Even Worse yet. In OTL 1946, the US Senate's Second Session started around January 14. Given the Butterfly Effect and other stuff, it may have been delayed either by climate or the international happenings precisely to January 21, a Monday.
. Meaning that there are damn good odds that the ENTIRE Line of Presidential Sucession, what by the way likely wasn't EVER defined here yet unlike OTL, ,most of the Senate AND House of Representatives AND the Supreme Court Judges, and a chunk of the Chief of Staff of the US Armed Forces would be there in DC if Teller its going there.
As things are right now in the US ITTL, and it happens a total decapitation of the US Leadership? The words FUBAR do come to my mind, as you will have the authority reverting to the States of the Union and until they decide in calling a NEW Congress, and doing all the steps quickly. . . there are potential odds of the Armed Forces's remaining Leadership out of DC calling Martial Law by themselves and declaring a Military Council in command until a new US Congress its called to function. The worse its that it would be the best option as it would ensure a clear chain of command in order to deal with the massive tragedy that would become this...
Md139115
Banned
The US, with the fall of the USSR and Japan, is one of only three major powers (the others being Germany and Britain) running the world.
The loss of the entire US federal government, at the precise time they are simultaneously dealing with a new world order and a domestic insurgecy, would be...
...
...
...
I honestly have no idea. I suspect that the Southern states may take the opportunity to throw the constitution out the window in order to crush this insurrection once and for all, which would just cause a race war. We could have a military dictatorship, or a permanently decentralized US where each state is essentially an autonomous entity with a nuch weaker government preventing them from destroying other countries or each other.
What I think of, curiously, is Spain in the 1930's.
Does it make me a bad person in wanting to see Teller show up all his detractors and prove nukes work in the worst way possible. And have the resulting investigation find evidence of German tampering.
The downside of Shultz and Schmidt Co. is that 99% of their plans go off fantastically and save the day. It's the 1% that's the real beatdown. They'll have indirectly been responsible for decapitating two governments by screwup, in addition to the ones they toppled on purpose (Japan and USSR).
I wouldn't say it's 99%, more like a large proportion of the time they manage to bend things their way helped by the odd reality that the agencies best able to counter them are in nations that are allied for the moment. Those other things, they just don't talk about those, particularly Africa. We never, ever mention what happened there. Got that?
Md139115
Banned
At this point, when Lang introduces the new Reich Chancellor to them, the poor guy is going to run in the opposite direction, screaming.
Oh yeah that's right, you really haven't talked about Africa...from this it sounds like there've been some rather spectacular Abwehr calamities.
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