Free The Gemini Divergence by Eric Birk Page A

incoming caravan.
    Lt. Mason stepped forward as he flicked ashes
behind himself and said, “So these are all the special guests,
huh?”
    “I believe so,” said the captain. “And we’re
supposed to keep them out of sight from the public for the time
being, and allow them to work on whatever the higher brass brought
them here to do.
    “So it’s going to be another project like Los
Alamos?” said Lt. Mason. “We just let them work on their little
toys and keep them from the rest of the world and the rest of the
world from them.”
    “Except that it’s not a bomb this time”,
interjected the captain. “I hear that these people work on rockets,
big ones, not toys… big enough to deliver those Los Alamos
firecrackers to anywhere in the world.”
    The convoy of deuce and a half ton trucks
finally pulled into the camp, quickly parking at angles in echelon,
down the middle of the large main drive.
    Though the trucks had stopped, the dust had
only begun falling out of the air when all of the tailgates began
opening.
    Soldiers were the first ones out; then
turning to help men in civilian clothing climb down from the
military trucks.
    There was much confusion as the soldiers
started barking orders at the men in civilian clothing; telling
them to stand in lines.
    All of the civilians were re-located German
scientists from Operation Paperclip.
    The Germans were stunned at the hot and arid
New Mexico weather. None of them had ever witnessed anything like
it. Many of them were using their hats or whatever they could find
to fan themselves as they waited.
    Most of them cried, “Waser bitte”, for water
because if the heat wasn’t bad enough, the dust falling on them
could choke a horse.
    After they were all lined up, the captain
stepped forward to address them.
    In a very loud and commanding voice he
started, “Gentlemen, I am sorry that all of you are not yet
acclimated to our American deserts. I promise that all of you will
be able to drink all of the water you wish as soon as you are shown
to your quarters. All though this may seem like a prison, I am to
do whatever I can within my budget to make you feel at home. You
are not yet allowed to leave here. I am not even allowed to tell
you exactly where in the American south west that you are, as my
government has not yet decided how long you will be staying, or if
there will be any legal problems allowing you to stay, or whether
you will be receiving citizenship. As soon as I know anything, I
will surely let you know.”
    Captain Hanson looked around at many of their
blank faces and said, “Oh hell, I may just be spinning my wheels
here… Do any of you speak English?”
    The few soldiers and the Germans that spoke
English responded with polite laughter.
    The captain then threw the speech over his
shoulder in a large comical gesture, causing everybody, even the
German speaking men to laugh.
    Capt. Hanson then gave the order, “Sergeant,
please see to it that at least one English speaking man is placed
in each barracks.”
    The First Sergeant turned and saluted the
captain while reporting with a “Yes Sir.”
    The captain continued, “All of the sergeants
will show you to your quarters. Please try to feel at home. We will
have a general assembly meeting at 8:00AM to get started. I will
see all of you there. Thank You.”
    The soldiers in the crowd started to figure
out which guests spoke English and which did not and assign them to
barracks accordingly.
    Lt. Mason turned to Capt. Hanson and asked,
“Don’t you think that this was an extreme stroke of luck?”
    “Luck,” responded the captain, “I thought I
would get out of this God forsaken desert when the war was over and
the Manhattan Project was dissolved.”
    “No, that’s not what I meant,” returned the
lieutenant, “I mean capturing this much of a secret program. This
many people. This many assets, as well as all of the drawings, it
just seems too easy. It smells fishy to me. I hope we are doing the
right