A Shift in Priorities - Sequel

[rast]

In a world of fugitives, the person taking the opposite direction will appear to run away.
(T. S. Elliot)

The boss – Professor Misuku – had eventually returned home. Yeah, he could be more useful in Duala than here on board S.M.H. Königin Elisabeth Christine. The hunt for viruses clearly was no job for him. And for similar reasons, Professor Ramsauer had retired to his old station. Both were distinctly out of their depth. Konrad Schabunde was now leading the team.

Well, one had learnt a lot already – about the world of the viruses. But one hadn’t yet found a variant that disabled BAMS. Viruses were doing a lot of things; they were everywhere, but BAMS seemed to be quite unappealing. Nevertheless, there were several specimens causing irritations to the bacillus, however, none powerful enough to crush or take over the germ. BAMS was getting the measles – so to say – but it wasn’t neutralised.

All attempts to turn the – ahem – measles into something disabling BAMS had failed to date. And, of course, it wasn’t ‘turning’, but rather monitoring their mutations – and testing these. It was extremely laborious – and unrewarding. Was it the wrong track? Konrad still was nourishing hope of success, but Adolf and Manfred, the two Snowpusher colleagues and virus experts in the core team, were already voicing doubt.

You could manipulate germs, but viruses were too small for that. You could only monitor them. One should focus on manipulating BAMS – and shelf the virus approach. But that was the antidote method, which didn’t work although the world’s best antidote wizard had been at work. No, one had been there already; it didn’t do the job. Let’s face it: either a virus solution can be found – or we will be at the mercy of BAMS.

 

[rast]

Men are always averse to enterprises in which they foresee difficulties.
(Niccolò Machiavelli)

The reactor was in place. The PUV engineers were now gathering in their shack, summoning the spirits; arousal – initiation – was due the day after tomorrow. Was there a danger linked to this operation? Might there be any problems? Holenarasipur Govindrao Srinivasa Murthy hadn’t received a clear answer. Well, the most probable problem was that the gizmo wouldn’t start at all. Apart from that, not much could happen, normally. In the worst case, though, Sheshanga would be destroyed. But that was altogether unlikely.

Okay, one would evacuate the dockyard on arousal day. The TISCO folks couldn’t weld and hammer anyway – while the initiation ceremony was taking place. Clearing the whole site wasn’t required, thank goodness. Actually, he didn’t think any straits were due to occur. The PUV guys knew their job. How many reactors had they up and running in the Bharat? Eleven, not counting the experimental ones; that should suffice to train the most obdurate expert.

The other day, the Chinese had announced the intention to build an NPP of their own. They wouldn’t hitch on the Japanese model. So, one was going to have an East Asian NPP glut – in five or six years. By then, however, Sheshanaga would already be a proven spacecraft. – What was SUS planning in that respect? Sarabhai had ordered an intense review of the German Mars records. Hence, one could assume it would be Mars. That was reasonable, thought Murthy.

Obviously, setting up a lunar colony was not intended. Yeah, one had already done without an orbital station. It was the typical low budget approach peculiar to Star Udaan Sangh. Just keep in touch with the leading nations – and muddle through – without being a money pit.

 

[rast]

I’m trying to think, don’t confuse me with facts.
(Plato)

There had been an attempt on her life. Nothing serious, just a lone gunman. The bodyguards had easily prevented grievous ramifications. The perpetrator, though, had escaped – bleeding… Gudrun was unhurt – and quite sure who had sent the scoundrel. Strauß, the ratfink, who else? Well, it was almost a compliment, wasn’t it?

Okay, she could reply in kind. The jerk had to learn that what goes around, comes around. Just a precautionary bomb – to teach him the lesson. The bodyguards, some of whom happened to be trained commandos, would deliver the warning package.

Yeah, her brother had conciliated them. They previously had worked for Theo Eicke, the famous crime fighter. A scary lot, indeed. And well connected to police and the secret services. They had got a little bit long in the teeth, granted, but their experience was matchless.

This was a whole new ball game now. She was confident Strauß would get the message. He was a knave, but not a jackass.

 

[rast]

If you don’t make mistakes, you don’t make anything.
(Joseph Conrad)

The first Bhaee, with a Mota Chooha attached, had left Puri. It was expected to touch down at Bukoba tomorrow morning, at about 09:00 hours local time. It was an event that justified disrupting campaign work. Max Sikuku had stopped coddling voters and kissing babies – and had boarded the train east. At Wangamira, tomorrow morning, a company helicopter would pick him up and fly him to Bukoba. If things went as scheduled, he would arrive just in time to see the jumbo come over the horizon.

SIKOS – Sikuku Kosmonautics, the company Max had created for operating the Bhaees, was headed by Rudolf Ntussu. He had been one of the directors of UMS Shipping; Ulugewe & Mwabi & Sikuku was the largest Middle African, no, Pan-African, transport trust. Hence, Ntussu certainly had only hazy notions of spacefaring, but knew how to run a successful enterprise. Max would not appoint a moony stargazer where a hard-bitten businessman was required.

With the Bhaee would arrive the complete parcel – pilots, mechanics, maintenance crew – trained by the Indians. One would need an acquaintance period to merge them with the local SIKOS folks. And the second jumbo plus parcel also had to be integrated after it had hit home in a fortnight. Therefore, the services of SIKOS could only be available next year, 1966. Ntussu had already established communication with RRA. But the Snowpushers had not yet agreed to employing SIKOS at all.

They wanted to scrutinise SIKOS before taking a decision. That was understandable. Well, Sikuku Enterprises always had observed German industrial standards. Max didn’t think there were going to be major problems. And the Bhaees were straight copies of the Dornier SR aircraft. So, what could go wrong?

 

[rast]

Being born in a stable does not make one a horse.
(Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington)

Ucan Halı enhancement was about to be finalised. The Turks were highly pleased – mostly with themselves. Yeah, the Germans were planning a new orbital station – Himmelsschmiede – but Ucan Halı was going to be the first facility with artificial gravity. One was in the act of achieving a remarkable first. – Well, actually the credit should belong to him, thought Wernher von Braun. But that new Turkish jingoism, inspired and fuelled by the Grand Vizier, had also gripped OŞU.

It was irritating. However, the end was in sight. The prestigious ETH – Swiss Federal Institute of Technology – in Zürich had offered him a professorial chair, and he had accepted. The Turks didn’t know yet, but the terms of his contract didn’t require him to tell them in advance. The contract was just going to end in three months – and he wouldn’t extend, end of the story.

Well, to be honest: it was NPP that was souring his life, not Turkish jingoism. He was the master of the chemical rocket, had almost singlehandedly paved the way to the Moon – only to be dethroned by this brutish technique. And it was well and truly over. The future belonged to NPP and fusion drive; his expertise was no longer in demand. It was sad – but couldn’t be helped. And it would be foolish to insist on outdated methods.

Being outstripped was a bitter verdict. From hightech device to junk room stuff in less than ten years… And don’t expect gratitude… But Switzerland was okay. A tidy country ruled by levelheaded men. He might write a book – or books – about his accomplishments; professors used to have time for such endeavours. And they had students to do the tedious detail work…

 

[rast]

The distinction of being without an honour is becoming a rare and valuable one and should not become extinct.
(Robert Peel)

Alarm! The chancellor’s official car had been blown up. The driver and an accompanying security guy had been killed. Fortunately, the chancellor hadn’t been on board. – The services were now trying to find out who was responsible for this attempt. – Curiously, Franz Josef seemed to be unperturbed. He had only blinked upon receiving the news.

Later that day, he had phoned that lady, the chairwoman of the new party Freiheitsbanner. They had talked for about two minutes. That was all reaction he had shown. – While the services had started scrutinising the Russians, the Ukrainians, the commies and everybody and his dog, Franz Josef had returned to studying the newspaper clips Hanne Zülch and her team were preparing for him.

Hanne knew her boss well enough to develop second thoughts. What the heck was going on there? Yes, she could see: someone had shot on the lady, but had missed her. The perpetrator had escaped, wounded as it seemed. The police hadn’t found him – and evidently had no clue where to look for him. And now someone had planted a bomb at Franz Josef’s sedan, and event that only had made him blink – and then phone the lady…

Putting two and two together, Hanne could easily guess the hidden agenda. Looking at the lady’s bodyguards, gasp, they were a scary lot indeed. Yeah, so Franz Josef had started it – and now had signalled his readiness to end the contest. And seeing him laze in his chair, reading the news, it appeared the lady had agreed. Quite remarkable…

 

[rast]

And what would you do, … if you could rule the world for one day? I suppose I would have no other choice but to abolish reality.
(Robert Musil)

Indrik Zver had reached Earth orbit, but Shishmarevo hadn’t yet given green light for landfall. They were busy installing the power plants on Stribog, Khors and Svarog – and couldn’t interrupt because of a touchdown. Yeah, that was reasonable although most unfortunate. A pity that the time spent waiting didn’t count against quarantine. One had moored at NSÓ, but wasn’t allowed to enter the station.

Although his ship was brimming with personnel – these trainees truly were receiving profuse training on the job – Polkovnik Ivan Ivanovich Drubchev was shrugging off the delay. One was in space – and could practise with the vessel and the dinghies; it was okay. Sure, down yonder families were waiting – and friends, but that was normal fate for mariners and kosmonauts. You couldn’t have regard for it.

Dorodnitsyn thought the works in question would be finished in eight days. Clearing the site would require two more days. Hence, on should be able to make landfall on September 14th, 1965. Add four weeks of quarantine – and winter would be there. Time for extended leave… Malapartov was going to take over – and execute the shift change manoeuvres for Lunoseló and NSÓ. He had promised the family vacations on Crete.

The sea should still be agreeably warm in early November. School was not a problem; the kids of the kosmonauts were getting special treatment in that respect. – Dragotsénnost, the asteroid one had captured, was not due for arrival before March 1967, about the time when the three new craft would become operational – according to Dorodnitsyn. Until then, however, one could take it slow.

 

[rast]

Nothing in the world is to be feared… only understood.
(Marie Curie)

The Feuerdrache was resting in its berth; and the experts were crawling about it, muttering under their breath. Radiation was bothering them. One had no measurements – for obvious reasons – of the Hammer after the Jupiter journey. However, the readings at the Feuerdrache’s tail end were high; higher than ever metered on the Hammer.

And the radiation was advancing. The complete shock absorber unit was affected – as was the gun. Okay, the jumbo had a detachable tail. One could – in theory – install a new one. The first problem was: one didn’t have a spare. Krupp would have to manufacture it. The second problem was even harder to solve: the old contaminated tail was too heavy to be moved en bloc.

One would have to dismantle it in place. This was going to be a complicated operation requiring remote controlled machinery for the heavily contaminated parts. Thereafter, the new tail unit would have to be assembled – also in place. Provided, Krupp had the spare parts ready, the Feuerdrache would be out of operation for at least half a year. – Consequently, the work could only be done when the Four Sisters – or at any rate one of them – had been commissioned.

Could one keep the bus in operation until then? Or would the radiation creep into the main body, contaminating the power pack and the torus containing the landing legs? Well, there were shields between the tail and the main body. They should stop contamination. But would they? One had to monitor things quite closely from now on...

 

[Ciryatur]

Sounds like an expensive problem. Would the fusion drive have the same issue?

 

[rast]

I am now convinced that theoretical physics is actually philosophy.
(Max Born)

Start of construction of the Phönix was scheduled for 1972. Was that reasonable? Bruno Bredigkeit knew that everything depended on the readiness of the NPP craft. The Four Sisters should become operational by the end of the second quarter next year. Progress looked good here. Building the Junior Siblings would follow suit. Their commissioning was planned for the end of 1969. That was, based on the experience gained from the Four Sisters, realistic.

The crews for these eight ships were already in training. Those earmarked for the Four Sisters were almost ready; those destined for the Junior Siblings had just begun their formation. Insofar, his training organisation was on the right track. – However, these eight ships would be required for establishing Arx – and thus would not be available for building the Phönix. – However, after the Junior Siblings, Hammerhorst was due to construct the three NPP dinghies for Phönix.

These three vessels would have to accomplish the bulk of Phönix construction. If building them started immediately after the Junior Siblings had cleared the dockyards, they couldn’t become operational before the end of 1972. That meant the 1972 date for the Phönix to be started could just about be observed – if everything else went according to schedule.

How long was Phönix construction going to take? At least three years, most probably five… So, training for the NPP dinghy crews – and for the Phönix crew – would only have to start in 1969. His plans were still correct. There was, however, that newly surfaced problem with tail section replacement. It did not apply for the Phönix and its fusion drive. But it might affect its NPP dinghies. Yet, even if this occurred, there would be no impact on crew training.

The nine vessels sent out for Arx construction would most certainly be affected, but this would not impair crew training for the Phönix package. Well, there surely were frictions to come; they were always coming along. But right now, with all knowledge at his disposal, he was doing and arranging the right things.

 

[Volksbrot]

“Wahlkampf” taking on a new meaning, I see. Or perhaps just going back to the old days. Still, I hope this doesn’t end in more instability.

Worrying news about the space program. Was the hype for the NPPs too much? That sort of maintenance certainly puts a spanner in the works, and also requires a ton of well developed infrastructure. You don’t have that everywhere.

 

[rast]

In Europe democracy is a falsehood. I do not know where it will end, but it cannot end in a quiet old age.
(Clemens von Metternich)

It was a wrap; Prussia was restored. And Egon Schagalla could remain the Dortmund chief of police. Well, not everybody had been lucky. The Rhinelanders hadn’t got the independence they had so dearly wanted. That was because of the Saarlanders. The latter had fiercely resisted the idea of being cut off from Prussia – and also the imposition of being ruled by Rhinelanders. In the end, reformed Prussia had offered enough leeway for the Rhinelanders to have them accede, although wailing.

Minister-President Fritz Erler had just announced the historic settlement. It was Thursday, September 30th, 1965. Prussia was a very modern state now – well, at least according to the text of the compromise. The new constitution still had to be drafted and passed by the legislators. That might take several months. – But for Egon this story was over. He had to integrate his local police force into the Prussian context now. That would keep him busy for sure.

Yeah, until departure for Jupiter – or rather for the training camp that prepared for life on Arx. Or was it in Arx? The Schagalla family – Egon, Gerdi, little Herbert and baby Ulrike – were ready to go. In fact, Egon had recently been appointed as Arx chief of Ordnungspolizei – the regular police force. That was outstanding – and a prodigious recognition of his work in Dortmund. Indeed, he was rated as colonel of police. That would make him a member of the colonial leadership elite.

Okay, there was this medical examination they had still to pass in about three years. However, Egon didn’t think it would derail the plan. He already had been accepted as one of the colony’s future leaders. They wouldn’t put spokes in their own wheel, would they?

 

[rast]

Nothing that’s good works by itself, you’ve got to make the damn thing work.
(Thomas Alva Edison)

The news had travelled fast, from Tokyo to Keijō in almost no time. The Doitsunin – or Dog-il-indeul for the Koreans – had inquired after the nanjaeng–i nodongja. There was a minor problem with their NPP craft involving radioactive contamination. RRA – the doitsu space agency – was interested in acquiring and testing a nanjaeng–i. Tokyo was ready to delegate the issue to Keijō and the chaebol.

The request caused quite some flurry in Keijō. The nanjaeng–i nodongja were a thing of the past. One had built and used them to seal the damaged reactors at Naju and Geumgang–Ri – thirteen years ago. Although a number of them – heavily contaminated as they were – were still resting at these sites, none were operational – and there was not the ghost of a chance to make them work again.

However, the Chung Group – Hyundai – said they had the plans in their archives and could construct a new nanjaeng–i. It, of course, would be identical to those used back then; one hadn’t developed the model any further. By today’s standards, the widgets were primitive. At least four operators were required to steer a single nanjaeng–i; for complicated manipulations, up to six operators might be required.

And the Hanjeon Power Corporation claimed they had about thirty-six former operators on their payroll. If Hyundai should construct such a unit, one would be able to operate and demonstrate it with seasoned personnel. The nanjaeng–i weren’t complicated, just remote controlled construction machines. – The upshot was transmitted to Tokyo, where Mitsubishi was responding to Hyundai – and answering the RRA request.

Yes, a nanjaeng–i nodongja could be prepared – as custom-made item. It could be ready in four months. Experienced staff was on hand. It would be appreciated, though, if the esteemed agency could soonest provide insight what kind of work the machine was intended to perform.

 

[rast]

The constitutional questions are in the first instance not questions of right but questions of might.
(Ferdinand Lasalle)

All right, the Prussian crisis was over, or almost. There was no reason anymore not to hold national elections next year. Even the DVP dudes – except Strauß, of course – were saying so. Strauß was saying nothing; he was trying to maintain a low profile obviously. But pressure in the Reichstag was mounting. If the government wasn’t going to move, the assembly must do it.

Gudrun couldn’t act here; her party, the Freiheitsbanner, wasn’t represented in the Reichstag. However, she could stoke up the debate via the media. Elections were the linchpin of democracy. Power was only granted for one term. Then, the voters were free to decide anew – and award the power to someone else, if they so decided. Without elections, you would live in tyranny.

The media were on her side, even those she didn’t grease. Strauß had no chance. The 1966 elections were going to occur. Recruiting members – and nominees – for the Freiheitsbanner was of paramount importance now. That was hard work indeed. You had to tour the country – the whole country. She had no established party to bank on – and money could buy much, but not everything.

However, she had inherited Dad’s talent for enchanting folks. It wasn’t that difficult to gather followers. Here in Berlin it had already worked fine.

 

[rast]

There is no use whatsoever in trying to help people who do not help themselves.
(Andrew Carnegie)

The Irish government had grown in size, but not in relevance. It was significant, however, that men were outnumbering women by five to one. And those few women found at Cill Gharbháin were old, past childbearing age one would suppose. It seemed, the Poblacht na hÉireann – the Irish Republic – didn’t look forward to a bright future.

Anyway, these folks had only one desire: staying drunk. Supplying fifty old geezers with booze wasn’t altogether difficult – nor was it debeting. Sober or drunk – it was their choice. The treaties had been signed. Remer had delegated handling them to one of his subordinates. Taking care that no infection occurred was the most time-devouring duty of this poor man.

Pilot training phase one was complete. The Four Sisters could be jockeyed – once they were ready. Jochen Zeislitz had held a short ceremony and graduated the blokes. Phase two was due to begin in four weeks. Taking leave hadn’t crossed Jochen’s mind. He had made several appointments at Prerow and in Berlin.

Learning more about the Phönix and fusion drive was his intention. He was under no illusion: he was a pilot. They never would make him the captain of a spaceship. But even piloting the Phönix would be a distinguished mission. Really, he wasn’t that old. And dying in deep space would be quite okay for him. Nobody could beat him in experience, that was evident.

Yeah, training pilots was nice and dandy – and yes, no question, of matchless importance. But steering that big bus to the voids of deep space would be something else entirely!

 

[rast]

The enemy of a good plan is the dream of a perfect plan.
(Carl von Clausewitz)

The Four Sisters should become operational in six months. That meant Himmelsschmiede construction ought to begin just then. The plans were currently being revised the umpteenth – but last – time. It didn’t matter, because standardised construction elements were going to be used. Hence, the industry had already started turning them out. They would be filled with differing mounting parts – later. In principle, however, production was under way. And Siemens was reporting reactor and power plant were fifty percent completed.

Gustav Stelzner knew that new brilliant proposals were bound to pop up all time. Nevertheless, he had introduced a deadline: no more clever ideas would be accepted – as of now. Even the old general’s brilliant future fancies were going to be shelved. The engineers needed time to work out the details; constant change would only produce scrap. Compared to Arx and Phönix the orbital station was small game, granted. But that didn’t make it optional.

The Turkish orbital station was ready and manned said Prerow control, but not yet officially committed. The Turks could be trusted to stage a major dog and pony show on that occasion. Well, they didn’t have NPP yet. So, lifting up dignitaries wouldn’t happen. – Fireworks in space? Perhaps some small nukes? It certainly would win them attention. – Their big wheel was working fine – said Prerow. Yes, of course, why not? The principle was simple and evident.

They really had hoisted up a small reactor into orbit – with chemical rockets. That was quite an achievement. But yes, Wernher von Braun, the turncoat, was working for them. – The Siemens power plant would require two NPPs for lift up. Stelzner wondered how smallish the Turkish reactor might really be. But they had nuclear powered submarines, some few. So why not…

 

[rast]

Unnecessary noise is the most cruel abuse of care which can be inflicted on either the sick or the well.
(Florence Nightingale)

No news from S.M.H. Königin Elisabeth Christine. It seemed Doktor Schabunde and his team weren’t making any notable progress. Well, viruses… Friedhelm Wiegand had tried to figure it out. Really tiny – and not accessible to the established methods of dealing with bacteria. Professor Ramsauer had resigned with reason; he was an expert for culturing germs, which, at least, could be seen under the ordinary microscope.

The professor said he had given the booklet ‘Frank-Charles 143’ to Doktor Schabunde. Friedhelm wondered whether the black man ever would find the time to study it. But okay, he still had the copy he had made. It had to deal with breeding bacteria. Even the warlocks at Porton Down hadn’t been able to manipulate viruses. Friedhelm had undertaken to compare the notes with the procedures one was applying when breeding bugs.

It did make a lot of sense. Whoever had written down the notes had been using methods almost identical to the ones the Ramsauer staff was employing. Unfortunately, ‘Frank-Charles 143’ didn’t tell which bacterium it was dealing with. But when comparing the single steps one quickly arrived at the finding that BAM must have been the object of the treatment – the original germ that had ravaged England and the continent.

Professor Ramsauer had checked Friedhelm’s compilation – and agreed to the conclusion. Yes, this was an important discovery. One had – at long last – found evidence that Porton Down must have bred BAM. But for the current concern, this ascertainment didn’t provide a solution.

 

[rast]

More fools know Jack Fool than Jack Fool knows.
(William Shakespeare)

The Kántsler had chosen him because he was a renowned expert in reconnoitring. However, reconnoitring why the Nemetsky economy wasn’t collapsing had proven impossible. Nor was it feasible to predict what Strauß might be doing – or not doing – next. Anyway, the NASA request to find out more about fusion drive was better suited to the means at his disposal. One was fairly well positioned inside the Nemetsky scientific community – and inside the great producers.

Well, the agents inside the companies were predominantly low-ranking folks – cleaners, secretaries, runners. They could nose out some secrets, but had no access to the really interesting stuff. And the companies usually were guarding their corporate secrets very well. – No, it was preferable to work through the scientific circles. They were crazy enough to publish all of their findings in the specialist journals – and would openly discuss what NASA was looking for.

Generál-leytenant Aleksandr Mikhailovich Sakharovsky had issued the pertaining orders. One would first screen the scientific world – and only if that didn’t yield what one was searching for would one attack the companies. Presumably, it should be easier to pump Professor Fuchs for information about the field generators he had invented than trying to infiltrate the vaults of Bosch or Siemens. In the end, the Russian engineers would in any case have to find solutions of their own, based on the principles captured.

Along the way, one should absorb a lot of knowledge about the Nemetsky fusion craft, the Phönix. These fools were discussing details of the widget in their specialist journals as well.

 

[rast]

I cannot conceive curved lines of force without the conditions of a physical existence in that intermediate space.
(Michael Faraday)

The goddamn Ivans had stepped up their espionage efforts; they were trying to fill in the many blanks they had concerning fusion drive. Well, quite a lot of it they could read in the journals – but not everything. Some aspects had never been discussed in public. The Abwehr had inquired whether it was possible to lay a false trail. By golly! Fooling Sakharov, Flyorov, Tamm, Cherenkov, and the other well-known Russian physicists should be quite a challenge. However… why not?

Klaus Fuchs had quickly checked which parts of the information might be eligible. The field generators had never been covered in depth in the specialised discussion. They were the true secret of the Phönix. The little sun principle was well known. But without the magnetic fields the little sun was just a short-lived heater. – Okay then, the generators were his brainchildren – in principle. The technical details had been developed by the Bosch engineers – according to his specifications.

The problem was, though, that even red herrings would lead to eventual realisation. Sakharov and his colleagues were no nitwits. The retaining field was a relatively simple affair, although it was the most powerful of the magnetic fields. The same applied to the protective field. But the feeding field was highly complex – as was the generator producing it. Yes, here was potential for a hoax… Humming, Klaus Fuchs went to work.

 

[rast]

It’s always a revolution, you know, when things occur of which you never happened to hear!
(Ida Tarbell)

The Muscovite peril seemed to be at a low ebb; the erstwhile Great Russian intentions of the Rodinyadniki all had come to naught – and they seemed to have lost their steam. Well, one should enjoy the respite. The threat would come back – rather sooner than later. It was inevitable. The history of Russia began with the Kievan Rus; it was at the very core of all matters Russian. Moscow had only entered the stage some centuries later; not to mention Sankt-Peterburg, this creation of modern times.

Yeah, the Russian soul ached for possession of the Ukraine. This craving wouldn’t go away – as long as the Ukraine remained outside the Muscovite sphere of power. Stepan Andriyovich Bandera was the last man to give in to these aspirations, but he could very well understand the mindset of the Rodinyadniki. – Harazd, instead one belonged to the Nimetsky sphere of power. A truly independent Ukraine wouldn’t happen in this century. At least, the Nimtsi didn’t mess with the internal affairs of the Ukraine.

His plans to create an alliance, an association for the common defence of the realm, were making no headway. The Nimtsi were blocking the process. – An expedient might be to go nuclear. The Ukraine did have nuclear power plants, three of them – of Nimetsky make. They were not suited well for producing weapons-grade material – but steropium was accumulating nevertheless. The fuel rods usually were reprocessed in Nimechchyna. Could one channel off enough steropium to build atomic bombs?

The scientists and engineers for such a venture were on hand. Would the Nimtsi consent? The Kantsler and Strauß were closest friends, said the Kantsler. Might he be able wheedle Strauß into agreeing to Ukrainian nuclear armament? Strauß had done many strange things already. Maybe he would concur. It should be worth a try. Persuading Leonid Ilyich wouldn’t be difficult. And if Strauß really said yes, what could go wrong?