The Gemini Divergence (13 page)

Every instrument on the plane was so high
tech that it had to be hand made because there were not yet enough
public uses for these instruments in 1947 for any commercial
company to manufacture them.

All of the combat markings and paint schemes
had been removed and the plane had been repainted with the markings
of a weather plane.

Inside of the plane Volmer was working on an
instrument panel that was to control the new data collection and
sampling systems. The moist air had fogged his glasses to the point
that it necessitated he remove the spectacles and wipe them off
with his handkerchief.

As he wiped, Gus approached him in the plane;
the sound of rain pounding on the aluminum fuselage like a large
tin roof.

Gus asked, “We’ve finished a lot today Mr.
Volmer, and everyone is soaking wet, can’t we call it a night and
come back tomorrow?”

Herr Volmer turned and put his glasses back
on as he responded, “Oh my, Heavens no, General Lemay has flown me
here on a moments notice to respond to this most recent
sighting.”

“You mean the Arnold sighting the other day,
it’s all over the papers?”

“Yes, that is the one.”

“But why don’t they just ready a fighter
pursuit squadron and wait for those things to come back?”

Volmer explained, “The General was very
impressed by the data our balloon returned a few months ago. He has
increased funding for more balloons and even funded this aircraft.
He wants to be able to take scientific samples any where in the
world, at a moments notice, from now on. Right now he wants to know
what those things that Herr Arnold saw were, and he thinks we are
the best ones to figure that out.”

“What was so interesting about the data from
that balloon?”

“Oh, I am afraid that I am not at liberty to
tell you, my young airman. General Lemay has forbidden me to talk
to anybody about it… You should be proud enough though that he has
hand chosen you to be on this new secret team.”

Gus sarcastically scowled his response,
“Yeah, these blanket orders are working swell, the rest of the Air
Force seems to be so understanding of them.”

“What on earth do you mean?” asked Volmer,
when they were suddenly interrupted.

A flight mechanic sergeant from the local
base stuck his head into the plane and asked, “Hey corporal, where
the hell is the NCO in charge of this fly by night circus?”

Gus responded, “That would be me sergeant.
What do you need?”

The sergeant started to laugh and exclaimed,
“What the… a corporal, are you kidding me? They woke me up to come
work on this piece of shit in the middle of the night, in the rain,
and now you are telling me that a corporal gave the order? What the
hell gives you the right?”

Gus looked at Volmer with a facial expression
that said, see I told you so, as he pulled a folded piece of paper
out of his pocket and handed it to the sergeant and said, “Here are
my orders and authority.”

The sergeant looked very peeved as he
unfolded the paper and started reading. He looked confused at first
but when he got to the bottom and saw Lemay’s signature, his eyes
practically jumped out of socket as he said, “Well, I see Lemay’s
signature, but I don’t see the part that says a corporal can boss
around a sergeant.”

Gus responded, “They are blanket orders
sergeant. Do you see the part that says I have the authority from
General Lemay to use any available U.S. resources to complete my
objective?”

“Yes, but.”

Gus interrupted him bluntly and loudly, “Are
you, or are you not a U.S. resource in the eyes of the Air Force?
Do you want to call General Lemay yourself? Mr. Volmer here has his
personal phone number. He is also supposed to call General Lemay
first thing in the morning and tell him whether or not I have had
any trouble with the local base personal getting this damn project
done.”

The sergeant started back peddling
immediately and stammered, “Oh, there’s no problem. I was just
checking things out.”

Gus quickly interjected, “What did you need
in the first place sergeant?”

“Oh, Yeah, I need to requisition some parts
to get this thing flight ready. I need somebody to sign the
forms.”

“I’ll sign them, and when the parts room
sergeant gives you the same reaction that you just gave me, just
send him to me for ‘his’ enlightenment.”

The next morning Volmer went into a nearby
hanger and called General Lemay.

“Hello, General Lemay Sir,” started
Volmer.

Lemay responded, “Yes Mr. Volmer. Is the new
platform going to be able to fly its first mission today?”

“I believe so Herr General, Corporal Danuser
has worked through the night and ensured that everything has been
done. I think that you need to promote him. He does a fine job
leading men of higher rank.”

Lemay interrupted, “Dr. Volmer, please try to
focus, I have more important things to worry about right now.”

“But I don’t understand the urgency, sir?
“

“Dr. Volmer, my superiors are very alarmed
that your balloon experiment proved that those German voices were
in fact coming from an altitude higher than the balloon and higher
than any of our aircraft can fly. Now that this Arnold guy has
given what seems to be a perfect description of the Nazi Horton
Bombers, skipping through the air like the Nazi Antipodal Amerika
Bombers, they are all fit to be tied, and they’re breathing down my
neck like a scared and nervous dragon.”

“Yes sir, I see where that would cause you
some concern.”

“Some concern!” scowled Lemay. “They are
livid, and they want answers right now. Nobody in the general
public knows about those secret Nazi projects. How in the hell does
some small time pilot give a perfect description of them unless he
actually saw the damn things? … I tell you, I would not have had
any idea what to do if I had not seen your balloon experiment. I am
really counting on you guys to figure out what these things are,
and what in the devil is going on. Please don’t let me down.”

“I’ll do my best Herr General. I will call
you as soon as we find anything… Other than that, we will be
waiting your further orders Sir.”

“Well, you need to get back to White Sands as
soon as possible. Tell the corporal to stay with the plane as it
flies sorties out of McChord. When that’s finished tell him to tag
along wherever the state department sends it, until I send him
further orders.”

“Well, that’s doesn’t seem very considerate
for Gus…”

“Dr. Volmer! … Please try to focus …Generals
weren’t created to fluff pillows for corporals.”

“Yes Sir… sorry.”

~~~**^**~~~

The Cold War
/ Stalin’s Reaction

Stalin was again sitting at the end of his
table with his typical tormented entourage seated about him.

His ever present cigarette was between the
fingers of his right hand as he nervously tapped all of his fingers
upon the table like a drum roll.

He looked at Yost who was already standing,
and had obviously just given some news to Stalin that wasn’t very
pleasing to him.

Stalin then looked at Yost and asked, “So
this American commoner is just flying along, and he sees these
craft, which the American public thinks are little green men from
Mars, but in reality, his description perfectly describes aircraft
on secret German drawings that we have recovered during the Great
Patriotic War. Is this correct Yost?”

“Yes Comrade Stalin,” confidently replied
Dmitri, “That is what is being printed in their papers, and our
patriotic scientists have verified the similarities.”

“So one could only assume that either the
Americans have captured enough information to actually build one of
these things, or that Hitler may have actually escaped to
Antarctica and the Germans are still out there somewhere building
airplanes… Right?”

Dmitri suddenly shocked all of the attendees
by actually snickering at what Stalin said as he answered, “Well
that is if anybody is stupid enough to believe that Hitler could
still be alive.”

He looked at Stalin, still laughing and said,
“Isn’t that right Comrade Stalin?”

Stalin started laughing along with Yost; to
the shock of everyone watching.

Yost turned and gestured for the rest of the
entourage to follow along in laughter.

Every one else hesitantly began to feint
laughter, but were all far too reserved to take the chance, so they
all pretended to laugh with great apprehension and fear.

Stalin, still laughing suddenly turned to
Yost and asked, “So, Comrade Yost,” He laughed some more as he put
his cigarette out, “Please tell me what is so funny about these
German voices from the sky that everybody has been hearing?”

Stalin continued to laugh as Yost froze in
his spot, changing his facial expression to instant terror.

Stalin picked up his lighter and started to
light another smoke as he ranted, “Comrade Yost, your foolish
overconfidence is clouding your judgment. I have no more need for
you to mislead me anymore… And for your information, ‘I’ am
apparently one of those fools that believe that Hitler may still be
alive.”

Everyone gasped as Stalin signaled for the
guards to take Yost away.

Stalin just stared at all of the others as
Yost was dragged away, kicking and screaming.

He then turned to Gennedy and said calmly,
“Gennedy my son, I know that you fear me greatly, but I also know
that you always speak your true thoughts; however reserved you may
be about doing so.”

Stalin leaned back in his chair and
continued, “Men like Yost nauseate me, but over confident bottom
kissers can be used strategically when needed. I am sure there will
be another just like him; eager to take his place.”

Stalin paused and looked directly at Gennedy
and asked very seriously, “Do you believe that Hitler may still be
alive, Comrade Kasparov?”

Before He could answer, Gennedy could see
past Stalin’s chair through a window, out into the court yard,
where the guards had just dragged Yost and stood him against a
wall.

“Well, Comrade,” Gennedy started, “I
believe…”

He was suddenly interrupted by the
executioner’s guns going off all at once. Stalin did not flinch; he
just took another drag from his cigarette as Gennedy could see Yost
fall to the ground, in the distance behind Stalin’s unflinching
head.

In horror, Kasparov nervously continued, “I
believe that it would probably be prudent to start a special
commission that has no purpose but to verify Hitler’s demise, a
commission that could never be distracted by any other sudden
task.”

Stalin scratched his chin thinking for a
moment, and then he began nodding his head in approval. “Yes,
Comrade Kasparov that is a brilliant idea. See to that
immediately.”

Relieved, Gennedy answered, “Yes Comrade
Stalin, I will do that at once.”

Stalin, having an after thought, strongly
suggested, “And call it Project Myth, I think that should be
appropriate.”

At that his entourage burst out in unanimous
praise for Stalin’s idea, encouraging him that it was an ingenious
idea, as well as a perfect solution.

~~~**^**~~~

The
Cold War / The Plan To Get Volmer

Ground crew members of the new
Raumsfahrtwaffe were toiling arduously in one of the New Swabian
hangers beneath the mountains of Antarctic ice.

Some were working on a saucer already in the
hanger, others were preparing for the imminent return of a
patrol.

Schwerig was standing with his hands cupped
behind his back, gazing out of a balcony window that was
overlooking the hanger floor.

Suddenly alarms sounded as warning lights
flashed. Crewmen started moving things away from the main floor of
the hanger as the large hanger doors started to open to a blustery
Antarctic day.