Stan Mason - Stopping World War Three

We entered and he waved a hand for me to follow him to some bales of hay. Moving them aside, he opened a trapdoor, raised the flap, and motioned me to descend some steps to a cellar in the bowels of the earth. He followed behind, closing the trapdoor so that it fell back into place. The room was well lit with fluorescent lighting. It was an underground factory comprising many kinds of lathes and machinery, electronic and otherwise, with a large model of a laser gun similar to the one in the weaponry division of Dandy Advanced Electronics. I recognised it immediately.

‘We managed to put a pretty good laser gun together of our own design,’ related the old man easily. ‘You see, there’s very little difference in terms of design and operation. It’s the laser beam that counts. Most powerful laser beams can be produced only in short bursts. Continuous streams of laser light are necessarily weak because of the intense heat generated by the flash tubes which themselves could be destroyed if the beam is too powerful. No one has yet been able to overcome that problem successfully. It’s become the sixty-four thousand dollar question. However today we hope to combine experience, expertise and a little magic to make a weapon capable of establishing world peace.’

‘I don’t understand what you’re getting at,’ I told him candidly.

He took me to a work bench on which there was a model of a crystal laser. ‘This laser has a fluorescent crystal such as a ruby as its light-amplifying substance. The power for a ruby laser comes from a flash tube which is usually coiled around the crystal. The flash tube produces a brilliant flash of light which excites a large number of chromium ions, or electrically-charged atoms, in the ruby. The process is called optical pumping. You can see how it works from this model. At each end of the ruby rod is a mirrored surface. Coiled around that rod is a ruby which creates the flash and drives the laser beam through the rod to emerge at one end. The technical operation is much more complicated.’

‘What are you trying to tell me? I asked meekly.

He drew on his unlit cigar and stared at me intently. ‘The most advanced nations have laser guns but the technology is too weak to support an offensive weapon that could be used as a deterrent. The Americans have played with it for two decades to make only small advances. The plans of Dandy Advanced Electronics are somewhat better. They’re ahead of the Yanks but not very far. So what we’re going to do today is the culmination of five years of research by some of the best brains in the business, enhanced by the plans that you’ve given us. We’re going to turn base metals into gold.’

‘Turn base metals into gold!’ I repeated woodenly. ‘But I thought your main directive was to produce a capable laser gun!’

He laughed so loudly he was forced to remove the cigar from between his lips. ‘I’m talking figuratively about the alchemists’ dream in ancient times,’ he continued. My comment amused him greatly because it was the first time I had seen him without the cigar in his mouth. ‘We’ve combined the resources of three ruby rods with three flash tubes. The secret is that the flash tubes are twice as large as usual and the mirrored surfaces much bigger. Also, instead of a single mirror at one end, we’ve produced two angled mirrors to reflect the light from two different points. It’s never been tried before… this is the first time. ‘Okay, Joe!’ he called to one of the men. ‘Let’s get the show on the road!’

The man wheeled a unit on a trolley across the room. It carried a triplicated core which he placed carefully into the laser gun. AT the far end of the room rested a steel sheet about the size of an ordinary door except that it was two feet thick. He waved his hand to Musaphia to indicate that the weapon was ready to be fired and everyone in the room stood back. Someone handed out darkened glasses which everyone put on and then we waited. The octogenarian then nodded and the man squeezed the trigger. There was a short pause and a loud buzzing noise before the flash tubes exploded. Joe leapt backwards with his clothes on fire as the other men in the room rushed forward to put out the flames. We all stared at the burned-out core with dismay.

‘Only two of the flash bulbs started to work,’ claimed Joe who seemed undaunted at having been set alight. ‘There must have been a fault in the third one.’

‘Pretty dangerous stuff,’ I commented. ‘Are you all right?’

‘I’m fine’ he replied eager to resume the experiment. ‘Just as well I’m wearing protective clothing. But we never concern ourselves with the negative aspects of research here. People are only concerned with winners, not losers. And don’t worry about the loss of the core unit. We have others.’

Another man opened a cupboard to remove another triplicated core which he attached to the laser gun.

Schmuel Musaphia gave me a wry smile. ‘In research, it’s a case of try, try and try again until you get it right. We’ll succeed in the end, I’m certain. Maybe sooner rather than later.’

Joe wiped the laser gun with a cloth to remove the marks caused by the explosion and then aimed it at the target. I admired him for his positive attitude and his courage. If we had changed places and the equipment had exploded in my face and caught my clothes on fire, I would be in no hurry to start the procedure again. However, this man seemed fearless in his resolve to the point of becoming a martyr to the cause. He pointed the weapon at the steel sheet again without any qualms whatsoever and squeezed the trigger, keeping his finger pressed back to engage a longer burst of energy. The core unit buzzed and hummed inside the laser gun but the beam was not visible. Nonetheless, within fifteen seconds a large hole appeared in the metal door.

‘Enough!’ shouted Musaphia, clearly enjoyed with the result. ‘Enough!’ Joe released the trigger and the core unit ceased to function. ‘I want Menel to identify the reason why this laser unit functions so well. It’ll act as the embryo for other experiments. What it’s done is to prove that we have worked the oracle.’ He turned to me triumphantly. ‘The plans you gave us allowed this experiment to work,’ he told me gleefully. ‘Without it we would be at least two steps behind. Thank you for helping us, Jason. It’s very much appreciated.’

We walked over to the metal sheet which was still steaming. Then Joe pointed to the wall behind it to show a hole large enough for a man to walk through. ‘Look at that!’ he shouted excitedly. ‘Not only did it go through the steel sheet but it made a hole in the wall itself. It’s super machine which will be even better when we’ve developed it further. The beam treated steel, bricks and mortar like a hot knife cutting through butter.!’

The old man puffed furiously on his unlit cigar and put his arm around my shoulders. ‘What we have here today, Jason, is a piece of history. This is the place where the laser beam deterrent was born. Almost like Jesus being born in a manger. By the way, I want you to go to Stansted Airport in the morning at eight o’clock. A man will be waiting there for you with a placard marked number twenty-one. A plane will take you to the Gaza Strip where you’ll have a debriefing session with Commander Yasood and you’ll meet your wife there.’

‘In the Gaza Strip?’ I echoed with little enthusiasm.

‘And I can tell you that your team is doing quite well in the bridge tournament in Istanbul. Apparently Tony Woodman’s playing a blinder with the man who looks like you. Isn’t that what they say… a blinder? It seems everyone’s having success at the moment in whatever they’re doing.’

Despite all the jubilation, I left the warehouse with a hollow feeling inside me I wasn’t really sure whether to laugh or to cry. Penny was dead and I would be reunited with Jan tomorrow. I had no idea which direction my life would take from this point. But then I had always believed that each man’s destiny was written in Heaven. I could only hope that mine would be favourable from now on.