Free The Gemini Divergence by Eric Birk Page B

thing.”
    “Are you trying to suggest that a government
that does not exist any more is in the process of trying to trick
us?” queried Capt. Hanson. “I think that you are letting your
imagination run wild. You need to give it a rest and try to make
the best of however long we have to stay out here. Besides if it
was a trick, don’t you think that somebody higher up the food chain
would have figured it out by now?”
    “I guess so,” Lieutenant Mason admitted
sluggishly, “but why do we have to hide them out in the middle of
the desert? If there is no more enemy, than whom the hell are we
hiding them from?”
    “The American people, that’s who,” answered
Capt. Hanson, “The American public… How would we easily be able to
explain to all of the brave men that fought this war, and are now
home, unemployed, and can’t find work that we are gainfully
employing hundreds of Nazis with tax dollars that they can’t even
really afford to pay? Hell, I fear that possibility of that anger
more than I feared the Nazis in the first place.”
     
     
    ~~~**^**~~~
     

     
    The Cold War
/ Stalin’s Briefing
     
    Comrade Stalin was sitting relaxed in his
chair at the head of the table in his Kremlin meeting room, or at
least he was trying to appear relaxed.
    In reality he was lighting his next cigarette
before his last one was done. He tried desperately to hide from the
public that he was a hopeless chain smoker. He felt that it would
make him appear weak.
    The whole purpose of changing his name to
Stalin, Russian for wrought of steel, was to appear immortal and
insurmountable.
    All of his Generals and advisors were smoking
as well; trying to keep up the appearance that chain smoking was
common and not to make their Premier feel abnormal.
    They were all silent as Stalin spoke,
“Comrades, can one of you brief me on how the captured German
rocket scientists, which we have placed at Kapustin Yar, are
progressing?”
    There was complete silence as everybody
looked at each other with complete horror… No one wanted to speak,
and risk uttering a single errant word in front of Stalin.
    Stalin was agitated at the silence so he
deliberately picked somebody, “How about,” there was temporary
silence as Stalin decided who to call on when he suddenly blurted
out, “You Gennedy. Why don’t you tell me what you know about how
they are coming along?”
    Gennedy Kasparov turned in terror as he heard
his name roll from Stalin’s lips.
    As he was trembling, he stuck his hand into
his shirt to hold his three bar cross of the Russian Orthodox
Church for help. He even trembled with more dismay that Stalin may
discover his religious relic and realize that Gennedy was a devout
Christian.
    “Well Comrade Stalin Sir,” He stuttered, “The
last that I have heard is that they have successfully sent some
newts into space and recovered them.”
    “Did you say… newts?” Stalin asked as he
exhaled his smoke.
    Gennedy nervously stuck his fingers into his
collar and said, “Yes Premier Stalin sir, I was told newts.”
    Stalin slammed his fist on the table
screaming, “I hate newts! …They are slimy and disgusting.”
    Everyone in the room practically jumped out
of their pants they were so frightened by his increase in
volume.
    Stalin then stunned them by suddenly
reclining and softly saying, “Good thing that they have used newts
for such a dangerous test. I would really hate to see them use
dogs. Don’t you think?” Stalin looked around the room as if to seek
a response of approval.
    Immediately everyone in the room spoke at
once with agreement and praise for the Premier’s opinion.
    Stalin continued, “We will use dogs when it
is safer for one, then that dog will be an immortalized hero of the
Soviet Union.”
    Again the meeting attendees responded with
unanimous praise.
    Stalin then turned to one of his favorite
sycophant suck ups, Dmitri Yost, and asked, “Well comrade Yost,
what are your thoughts about our use of these enemies